Via Gizmodo (originally from the Jerusalem Post) Tehran's main airport has a building that was built by Israeli engineers prior to the Iranian Revolution. On the roof, the Star of David has been sitting these past 3 decades, revealed for the entire world to laugh about, via Google Maps / Earth.
Now THAT is funny!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Did Lisa Murkowski just show her moderate side?
Senate vote 257 -To Overhaul of Food Safety Regulations - passed 75-25, and Lisa Murkowski joined 14 other Republicans in voting for passage, against Republican leadership (Kyl, McCain, McConnell).
Has she been turned moderate, now willing to go against her Republican leaders, whence in the past she did not? Hmm.
Has she been turned moderate, now willing to go against her Republican leaders, whence in the past she did not? Hmm.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Black Friday?
If as its namesake suggests, that it is not until Black Friday that retailers go into the black for the year, just how good are those deals, that they allow retailers to stop bleeding red ink on the day after Thanksgiving?
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Menstruating women at risk of being touched by TSA?
BoingBoing has picked up on this story of an Army vet who was menstruating and wearing a particular style of panty liner. The porno scanner was not able to see through it, and as a result, she had to receive a physical check of her genital areas.
That's just flat out disgusting. TSA's gonna check your vagina by pressing against your panty liner, to see if you're concealing PETN? Has it come to feeling the vaginas of menstruating women???
Fail.
That's just flat out disgusting. TSA's gonna check your vagina by pressing against your panty liner, to see if you're concealing PETN? Has it come to feeling the vaginas of menstruating women???
Fail.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Microsoft on The Good Guys, and other places.
Okay, I get that Microsoft wants to place their stuff on TV for brand and product awareness, but seriously, can't they get subtle at it? The past 3 Hawaii Five-O shows have been featuring close up views of WP7 phones. And now, a Microsoft logo on The Good Guys?!? It's not even a real product -- it's a prop monitor!?!
Monday, November 22, 2010
If the TSA's new backscatter x-ray scanners aren't pornographic...
Then no one will complain - not the least John Pistole, chief of the TSA - about Pistole's body scanned, blown up and posted on billboards around the nation. Or his wife?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Honesty is the best policy.
Who isn't smiling at the honesty Hillary Clinton displayed, when she was asked on Face the Nation if she would submit to the new, enhanced patdowns at US airports: "Not if I could avoid it. No, I mean, who would?"
If you want to put Obama on the spot, ask him if he'd be willing to submit his girls to the new, enhanced pat downs every month while the policy remains in effect. In fact, I think every single person in Congress and the TSA should be willing to volunteer their children for enhanced pat downs once a month, just to show that they support the new policy, don't you think?
Let's see if members of Congress and at the TSA can abide by their own policies, or if they think they're different from the rest of us, eh?
If you want to put Obama on the spot, ask him if he'd be willing to submit his girls to the new, enhanced pat downs every month while the policy remains in effect. In fact, I think every single person in Congress and the TSA should be willing to volunteer their children for enhanced pat downs once a month, just to show that they support the new policy, don't you think?
Let's see if members of Congress and at the TSA can abide by their own policies, or if they think they're different from the rest of us, eh?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
eMusic loses three independent labels; fails to distinguish itself.
Over a year ago, eMusic raised its prices (or as eMusic spun it: they kept prices flat but lowered the number of downloads of subscriptions) while bringing in Sony Music, angering a lot of its customers including myself.
I left.
Last month, eMusic restructured pricing, completely removing subscriptions and going with a per-download price scheme (effectively increasing prices once again for existing customers). At the same time, eMusic announced that they were bringing Universal Music Group on board.
According to the NYT yesterday, eMusic just lost three independent labels from their roster. Worse, their subscriber base has been flat, holding at around 400K for nearly three years. One might say that their move to major labels has been utterly uninspiring.
The transformation is complete: eMusic is now just another MP3 service with nothing to distinguish itself from the other sites. Dimensional Associates may never get a positive return on their purchase of eMusic, methinks.
I left.
Last month, eMusic restructured pricing, completely removing subscriptions and going with a per-download price scheme (effectively increasing prices once again for existing customers). At the same time, eMusic announced that they were bringing Universal Music Group on board.
According to the NYT yesterday, eMusic just lost three independent labels from their roster. Worse, their subscriber base has been flat, holding at around 400K for nearly three years. One might say that their move to major labels has been utterly uninspiring.
The transformation is complete: eMusic is now just another MP3 service with nothing to distinguish itself from the other sites. Dimensional Associates may never get a positive return on their purchase of eMusic, methinks.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Oh those Taiwanese. Video news of the TSA sexual predation.
Via BoingBoing, word is out that Taiwan's Next Media Animation - a group that adds computer animation to headline news from around the world - has decided to cover the TSA's preoccupation with touching and seeing naked pictures.
Warren Buffet's thoughts on "bailouts" and the involvement of "big government"
It's nice to see the third-richest (at the moment) person in the world, opine in the NYT on the real events of 2008, and the sheer lack of recognition of how well the government responded to prevent a disaster.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Preying mantis eating.
Grabbed this quickie photo near dusk (meaning that the photo is blurry because you just can't get a good photo from a phone camera w/o LED flash) of a preying mantis enjoying its food -- a dragonfly, I believe.
Dunno why, but I see the littlest details when I'm walking.
Surfing the big waves.
LA Times has a whole feature story with videos on surfing big waves, and traveling the world, following big waves. Partial towards Waimea Bay and the regularity of good waves out there, from a bystander's view, that is.
If you're in awe of big waves, definitely worth watching people trying to overcome their fears.
Speaking of big waves, as they say, "Eddie would go".
If you're in awe of big waves, definitely worth watching people trying to overcome their fears.
Speaking of big waves, as they say, "Eddie would go".
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Mount Merapi's photos.
Boston Globe's website has a series of 39 photos on Mount Merapi's current eruption; some are disturbing, others are spectacular shows of nature.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Last night, I dreamed about...space planning.
It turns out, my strongest, most memorable dreams come at the last stages before I get up out of bed. Naturally, I tend to linger in bed when the dream is interesting. Today's dream had quite the twist.
I have a reoccurring nightmare that I'm in college and I'm down several credits from graduating on schedule. This time, I was in college, moving into my apartment dorm. The first thing I did when I entered my apartment, was space plan the layout of the furniture. It gets weirder: my roommate was a female I went to high high school with, in real life. (I usually don't have dreams of contemporaneous people in my life, but of people from a very long time ago.)
Now this was no ordinary apartment dorm, because it had leftover furniture from a prior occupant (which never happens), was on the ground floor, laid out like cabins, and had dual sinks inside. The leftover furniture was very memorable, and weird. They were 2' wide by 7' tall CD cases (like bookcases but for CDs because they're shallow), were made with 1/4" thick balsa wood boards and held together with brass hinges that had fallen apart and nicked my finger. Of course there were bookcases as well, but they were wrapped in those vinyl cabinet shelving wraps.
I clearly remember trying rearranging the furniture a few times, trying to make it so that I'd have some sort way to block the view of my bed from the doors. Again, this was a weird apartment, because it had a front and back door, and was one very large room with two full size beds (not the usual twin beds you find in dorm rooms or apartments catering specifically to college students). Each time I arranged the space, it seemed like I was turning it into a linear layout with everything aligned to parallel walls, leaving the room wide open in the middle.
I also remember that my roommate had many female friends popping their heads in to say hi, and I thought this was going to be an awesome year. What a weird but memorable dream that was!
I have a reoccurring nightmare that I'm in college and I'm down several credits from graduating on schedule. This time, I was in college, moving into my apartment dorm. The first thing I did when I entered my apartment, was space plan the layout of the furniture. It gets weirder: my roommate was a female I went to high high school with, in real life. (I usually don't have dreams of contemporaneous people in my life, but of people from a very long time ago.)
Now this was no ordinary apartment dorm, because it had leftover furniture from a prior occupant (which never happens), was on the ground floor, laid out like cabins, and had dual sinks inside. The leftover furniture was very memorable, and weird. They were 2' wide by 7' tall CD cases (like bookcases but for CDs because they're shallow), were made with 1/4" thick balsa wood boards and held together with brass hinges that had fallen apart and nicked my finger. Of course there were bookcases as well, but they were wrapped in those vinyl cabinet shelving wraps.
I clearly remember trying rearranging the furniture a few times, trying to make it so that I'd have some sort way to block the view of my bed from the doors. Again, this was a weird apartment, because it had a front and back door, and was one very large room with two full size beds (not the usual twin beds you find in dorm rooms or apartments catering specifically to college students). Each time I arranged the space, it seemed like I was turning it into a linear layout with everything aligned to parallel walls, leaving the room wide open in the middle.
I also remember that my roommate had many female friends popping their heads in to say hi, and I thought this was going to be an awesome year. What a weird but memorable dream that was!
Chrome OS experience - Part I
Got my USB 4GB flash thumb drive yesterday (Monday) and finally got to writing a Chrome OS image to the drive. I’ve got a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 that I purchased this year (refurb for $215) - about March or so - in order to play with it. One of my goals was to test out Chrome OS while it was in development, and well, turns out that my Dell Inspiron Mini 10 was one of the earliest test mules for Chrome OS, so I knew it would work.
Normally you would have to grab the files from the Chromium project and build an image that you would then write to a removable drive. Instead of the hassle of building your own image, thankfully, you can find a build from Hexxeh, a developer that has done the heavy lifting for everyone. In fact, there are explicit instructions on his website detailing the steps to follow. Again, very easy to do for most anyone.
First thing to note, is that you will need to be able to connect to the internet directly, without network passwords or intermediate browser screens, the first time you log in. In order to access a Chrome OS device, you will need to log into the device using your gmail account and password. There is no intermediate step to set up a network, mind you, so without an open access to the internet, you simply won’t be able to log into your google account, and you’ll be kicked out before even stepping into the system. Once you’re in, you can set up your wireless network access, and presumably it should work from that point on. This probably means that trying to access a Chrome OS device at a Starbucks where you have free internet access, is a no-go for now. On the other hand, it might work if you have a mobile USB-based modem (3G/4G) attached to your netbook; since I don't have one, I can't test it.
Second thing to note, is that a lot of USB-attached things (other than external storage devices) probably won’t work very well, if at all. My wireless RF mouse was stop and start the entire time. The USB Bluetooth dongle was useless. Again, I don't know if a 3G/4G USB modem would work or not, as I don't use one.
Third and very important for netbook users, is that the trackpad functions are not working right. However, this may be a case of the software that I’m running on it - an Asus-based script to allow the changing of angle on the trackpad, so that one can read sideways and use the scroll sideways, as an e-reader.
Of course, because it’s not loading anywhere nearly as much stuff as a typical OS, the boot-up and shut down times are very quick. To turn off, you merely press the on/off button - no need to “hibernate” or “sleep” like you would typically want to do with a Windows machine.
- next blog entry will continue my experience with Chrome OS -
Normally you would have to grab the files from the Chromium project and build an image that you would then write to a removable drive. Instead of the hassle of building your own image, thankfully, you can find a build from Hexxeh, a developer that has done the heavy lifting for everyone. In fact, there are explicit instructions on his website detailing the steps to follow. Again, very easy to do for most anyone.
First thing to note, is that you will need to be able to connect to the internet directly, without network passwords or intermediate browser screens, the first time you log in. In order to access a Chrome OS device, you will need to log into the device using your gmail account and password. There is no intermediate step to set up a network, mind you, so without an open access to the internet, you simply won’t be able to log into your google account, and you’ll be kicked out before even stepping into the system. Once you’re in, you can set up your wireless network access, and presumably it should work from that point on. This probably means that trying to access a Chrome OS device at a Starbucks where you have free internet access, is a no-go for now. On the other hand, it might work if you have a mobile USB-based modem (3G/4G) attached to your netbook; since I don't have one, I can't test it.
Second thing to note, is that a lot of USB-attached things (other than external storage devices) probably won’t work very well, if at all. My wireless RF mouse was stop and start the entire time. The USB Bluetooth dongle was useless. Again, I don't know if a 3G/4G USB modem would work or not, as I don't use one.
Third and very important for netbook users, is that the trackpad functions are not working right. However, this may be a case of the software that I’m running on it - an Asus-based script to allow the changing of angle on the trackpad, so that one can read sideways and use the scroll sideways, as an e-reader.
Of course, because it’s not loading anywhere nearly as much stuff as a typical OS, the boot-up and shut down times are very quick. To turn off, you merely press the on/off button - no need to “hibernate” or “sleep” like you would typically want to do with a Windows machine.
- next blog entry will continue my experience with Chrome OS -
Sunday, November 7, 2010
To those Democrats in Congress that lost their job...
You have this one chance before you say your final goodbyes in Congress.
Pass permanent funding for health care reform; get that middle and lower tax brackets cut while allowing the top tax bracket to expire; bring HR 6160 to a vote in the Senate; get a vote on the record for immigration reform; pass modest clean energy legislation or go for broke and get a comprehensive clean energy bill to a vote; get a new campaign finance reform bill on the record; but most of all, get a full 8 month extension on unemployment benefits as well as a 8 week 5th tier.
Give Conservatives the finger, the bird, the one-finger salute...make Conservatives so mad that they lose all ability to think straight, and get them to do and say stupid things.
It's not like you're going to win back that seat anyway...you might as well go back to your previous career, but before you do, here's an opportunity to get into their heads and drive em foaming at the mouth. When they get to that point where they're angry and going to the airwaves, you should show a giant smile and mock them for being myopic; it'll just get them more angry to the point that they'll turn red faced and lose their temper.
It might appear as juvenile to purposely anger Conservatives, but really, what you're doing is ensuring that Americans will be helped in difficult times, for the next year, and nothing makes Conservatives more angry than having to own up to unpopular votes.
Don't you deserve to get some revenge while in the process of helping to improve the future of America?
Pass permanent funding for health care reform; get that middle and lower tax brackets cut while allowing the top tax bracket to expire; bring HR 6160 to a vote in the Senate; get a vote on the record for immigration reform; pass modest clean energy legislation or go for broke and get a comprehensive clean energy bill to a vote; get a new campaign finance reform bill on the record; but most of all, get a full 8 month extension on unemployment benefits as well as a 8 week 5th tier.
Give Conservatives the finger, the bird, the one-finger salute...make Conservatives so mad that they lose all ability to think straight, and get them to do and say stupid things.
It's not like you're going to win back that seat anyway...you might as well go back to your previous career, but before you do, here's an opportunity to get into their heads and drive em foaming at the mouth. When they get to that point where they're angry and going to the airwaves, you should show a giant smile and mock them for being myopic; it'll just get them more angry to the point that they'll turn red faced and lose their temper.
It might appear as juvenile to purposely anger Conservatives, but really, what you're doing is ensuring that Americans will be helped in difficult times, for the next year, and nothing makes Conservatives more angry than having to own up to unpopular votes.
Don't you deserve to get some revenge while in the process of helping to improve the future of America?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Welcome to the 21st century.
Last night I was watching The Good Guys on my 42" plasma TV while streaming my high school's championship football game being played 3500 miles away, thanks to OC16 in Hawaii. :D
How freaking awesome is that?
And they won!
How freaking awesome is that?
And they won!
Sulu sez Clint McCance - idiot - is a...
Just watch the video.
I couldn't agree more. If an adult tells kids they should go kill themselves because they're gay, that person is one sick piece of turd.
I couldn't agree more. If an adult tells kids they should go kill themselves because they're gay, that person is one sick piece of turd.
Friday, November 5, 2010
What's wrong with a wadiowactive wabbit?
Wuh woh...wadiowactive wabbit was caught awound the Hanford Nucwear Weservation! No weally, that's a wascally wabbit.
If you knew how and when - more or less - you were going to die, what would you do?
I look into the future, and I see something that goes like this: I die before I hit retirement age, probably in my early 50s. I don't know why this would happen, but I just feel like I know the plot to my story, if not the full narrative. As I think back, I've only ever had two plot lines to my story, and the one I didn't follow was the one where I was already retired by 40 and doing art. Really.
But the question remains: What would I make of that time, if that period of time is as such, dead by my early 50s?
Curious, but I think I'm already living that life. I'm not concerned about my future and how it plays out. I appreciate every day, and the air that I breath, the scents I can smell, the sounds that I hear, the beauty that I see and the flavors that I taste.
I do not concern myself with things that I do not wish to endure if it were to waste my time, which can be a bad thing for those who see it as a lack of ambition...something I was accused of, decades ago.
Sure, I save my money and make provisions for a future -- most likely working till I die -- just in case my fate is completely different from that of what I believe I see. Prudent, no doubt!
Still, I cannot arrest this feeling I've harbored the past 5 years or so, that I know where this plot is headed. Boy will I feel silly when I'm in my 60s and still alive and kicking!
But the question remains: What would I make of that time, if that period of time is as such, dead by my early 50s?
Curious, but I think I'm already living that life. I'm not concerned about my future and how it plays out. I appreciate every day, and the air that I breath, the scents I can smell, the sounds that I hear, the beauty that I see and the flavors that I taste.
I do not concern myself with things that I do not wish to endure if it were to waste my time, which can be a bad thing for those who see it as a lack of ambition...something I was accused of, decades ago.
Sure, I save my money and make provisions for a future -- most likely working till I die -- just in case my fate is completely different from that of what I believe I see. Prudent, no doubt!
Still, I cannot arrest this feeling I've harbored the past 5 years or so, that I know where this plot is headed. Boy will I feel silly when I'm in my 60s and still alive and kicking!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sparky Anderson, Baseball Hall of Fame Coach and USC bat boy, died today.
In memory of a great coach, two stories about him, from a USC perspective. One comes from USC's official athletic blog, with a nice picture of Sparky Anderson as a bat boy. Another comes from Dan Weber over at USCfootball.com, talking about his encounters with Sparky dating back to the 70s and how Sparky was at a USC football practice one day, back in the Pete Carroll era.
Sometimes I forget just how much history there is at USC, and the traditions and people who extend out from it.
Sometimes I forget just how much history there is at USC, and the traditions and people who extend out from it.
Where Democrats remained strong, and why there's a lot of room for optimism.
West Coast.
For all the money Republicans and their conservative cohorts spent, they had a net gain of two Representatives, between Nevada, Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii. They did not gain an inch in Oregon, and outside groups poured millions of dollars into Oregon's governor's race, in a losing effort.
In Hawaii, conservative outside groups and the Republican Party tried to spend millions to hold onto Charles Djou's seat after he won it in a 3-way race with two Democrats; Djou lost -- by 6.5 percentage points.
In fact, Hawaii Democrats took back the Governor's spot from Linda Lingle, when popular Neil Abercrombie won by a landslide 17 percentage points. Nearly the same thing happened in California, where Democrat Jerry Brown defeated Meg Whitman by 12 percentage points to turn the Governor's seat blue.
Sarah Palin? She's .500 on her endorsements. Of the 64 she originally endorsed, only 32 survived and won. I call that about as good as flipping a coin. The Tea Party is a bunch of hooey that the media cooked up to promote as a foil to Democrats, because Republicans, for goodness sakes, aren't really for anything but populist anger.
The gooey middle that couldn't make up its mind whether Republicans or Democrats could solve the economic crisis, has decided that they're keen on the Republican pledge to bring the nation back to 2008. Can't wait to see what John Boehner comes up with, for his first budget. Remember folks, Republicans promised to cut the budget 22% back to 2008 levels.
For all the money Republicans and their conservative cohorts spent, they had a net gain of two Representatives, between Nevada, Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii. They did not gain an inch in Oregon, and outside groups poured millions of dollars into Oregon's governor's race, in a losing effort.
In Hawaii, conservative outside groups and the Republican Party tried to spend millions to hold onto Charles Djou's seat after he won it in a 3-way race with two Democrats; Djou lost -- by 6.5 percentage points.
In fact, Hawaii Democrats took back the Governor's spot from Linda Lingle, when popular Neil Abercrombie won by a landslide 17 percentage points. Nearly the same thing happened in California, where Democrat Jerry Brown defeated Meg Whitman by 12 percentage points to turn the Governor's seat blue.
Sarah Palin? She's .500 on her endorsements. Of the 64 she originally endorsed, only 32 survived and won. I call that about as good as flipping a coin. The Tea Party is a bunch of hooey that the media cooked up to promote as a foil to Democrats, because Republicans, for goodness sakes, aren't really for anything but populist anger.
The gooey middle that couldn't make up its mind whether Republicans or Democrats could solve the economic crisis, has decided that they're keen on the Republican pledge to bring the nation back to 2008. Can't wait to see what John Boehner comes up with, for his first budget. Remember folks, Republicans promised to cut the budget 22% back to 2008 levels.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Cheer up Democrats!
The west coast was a net zero sum game for the Tea Party; they gained no more than they lost! And hey, Democrats still hold the Senate majority, and now John Boehner has to actually come up with a budget...his so-called 22% cut budget back to 2008.
So my fellow Dems, I tell you now, always look on the bright side of life!
So my fellow Dems, I tell you now, always look on the bright side of life!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A political 'what if'.
What if...
Democrats don't lose control of either the House or the Senate? Oops, polls and media?
Democrats don't lose control of either the House or the Senate? Oops, polls and media?
How to view each political party.
Excerpt from conservative David Brooks' piece from yesterday's NYT:
" (Memo to young journalists: Democratic victories are always ascribed to hope; Republican ones to rage.)"Not that he's got his facts right in the article about what to expect from Republicans, but still, his sarcasm is really not distinguishable from reality. Republicans only get out to vote when they're angry.
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