Possibly the best movie video and song ever created [via Kyle].
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Yearly Archives: 2005
Whatcha gonna do when the pest control comes for you?
From the “I can’t believe they are this power hungry” department comes a story of a pest control company who was recruited by the police department to “help fight crime”.
Technicians from Truly Nolen Pest Control of America are being trained by local law enforcement to spot anything unusual as they visit customer’s homes.
This is wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to start. In fact, I’m trying to think of something to say, but I’m pretty much in shock right now. As we all know the police have pesky rules (which are quickly fading away thanks to the likes of the PATRIOT Act) that disallow them from entering a suspect’s home or anyone’s home for that matter without “probable cause.” However, if you invite someone into your house, say a pest control company, and they spot something and report it that’s “probable cause.”
Sneaky little fuckers aren’t they? I should call pest control …
Sony PSP Review
I’ve been waiting to write this review for quite some time. I wanted to really play with my PSP before I sat down and wrote up a review for all three people who read this blog on a regular basis. If you’re in a hurry the short review is that the PSP kicks ass, but leaves you wanting more.
The first thing you notice about the Sony PSP is that they seriously tried to put the kitchen sink in this thing. In fact, I think they did manage to get a water fountain in there. The unit comes with an amazing LCD capable of doing 480 x 272 resolution, WiFi, IrDA, Memory Stick DUO and a UMD reader. The UMD format holds about 1.8GB of data and is cable of storing music, videos and games on it (sometimes all on the same disk).
The good stuff …
- The graphics and controls are great. There’s even an analog joystick that’s simply amazing.
- The built in WiFi simply works and it works well. It does fast scanning and even tells you if the access points are open or not.
- The new 2.0 firmware, which despite being “Japanese only” can be installed easily from the internet, comes with a Mozilla based browser. To put it simply, the browser kicks ass. It renders sites amazingly and the UI is top notch. I barely miss my keyboard doing simple browsing.
- The 2.0 firmware supports a wide range of codecs and image formats, including Apple’s AAC format, MPEG-4 video, etc.
The bad stuff …
- The LCD’s apparently have dead pixel problems. The one I bought didn’t have any dead pixels per se, but does have some “fussy pixels” that come and go. I’d recommend the Best Buy service plan, which will replace the unit after 8 dead pixels, while the Sony warranty won’t replace the until there are 38 dead pixels.
- Unless you’re lucky enough to get the 1.5 firmware (not 1.51 or 1.52), you won’t be doing any homebrew stuff on your PSP. I was really hoping to get install MAME, but until they crack the 2.0 firmware I’m out of luck.
- I want something that makes it simple to put video onto the PSP. There are a few programs, but the process for ripping a DVD and putting it onto a PSP is tedious at best. If I own the DVD I shouldn’t have to to purchase a special PSP movie to watch it on my PSP. It’s so shitty that I’d rather buy the UMD than tinker with ripping the DVD and converting it.
If Sony was smart they would …
- Add a VoIP client. It has WiFi and an interface port next to the headphone jack. They could easily add the ability to use a headset. I would pay for a soft phone for this thing in a second.
- Add chat software and/or voice-to-text software. They should release a headset and allow me to talk into the headset for chat over the internet (ie. iChat) or create voice-to-text software.
- Start selling and external hard drive or add a USB driver so I can plug in any USB hard drive and watch video, view images, etc.
- Sell a UMD writer and blank UMD disks.
- Sell and SDK and allow developers to start creating and selling homebrew games and applications.
- Create PIM/Calendar/Email/RSS clients for the PSP. I can’t stress this enough. I want a simple PIM/Calendar app for my contacts and calendar, iCal/Address Book integration, a simple IMAP/POP email client and an RSS aggregator. The aforementioned SDK would clear these needs up in less than a month I bet.
- The browser needs flash support so web developers can create flash games specially formatted for the PSP.
The short of it is that the Sony PSP is an AMAZING platform. If someone created one of these and opened up the platform with an SDK every kid on the planet would want one. What I’d recommend is creating an online store that would allow independent developers to upload and digitally sign their applications. They would then sell them through the store with a cut going to Sony. This would allow independent developers to create games, while keeping the platform closed and reducing the ability for people to copy video games. I could be sitting at a cafe and someone with a PSP could walk in. In order to play against him (or her) I’d need a copy of the game. No big deal, just go to the PSP store and download the game before playing.
I love the PSP and I’m quite addicted to Need for Speed Rivals, but I really hope and wish Sony will listen to the tremendous demand for an SDK and find a way to coexist with the independent developer community.
I told you Detroit sucks
Lots of people have heard of Ann Arbor thanks to the University of Michigan, however, not everyone has so sometimes I just say I’m from the “Detroit area”, which is accurate enough. People sometimes ask me if Detroit is as bad as it’s portrayed in movies, TV, news, etc. To which I normally say “worse.” As of now there are over 12,000 abandoned homes in Detroit. The city is hemorrhaging money. Here are some sad facts about a once great city.
- It’s the only city in the history of the United States to hit a population of over 1,000,000 residents and then subsequently fall back under that number.
- The city has lost more than half of its population since the 1950’s.
- Over 30% of the city’s population lives below the poverty line.
- Over 36 square miles (58 square kilometers) of land sits vacant, which is roughly the size of the city of San Francisco.
- The city tears down between 1,500 and 2,000 homes a year, which only keeps pace with the problem and doesn’t cut into the backlog of the 12,000 abandoned homes.
Things are getting so bad that people are moving their deceased loved ones’ bodies out of the city into other cemeteries.
“Suburbanites are taking the bodies of their relatives out of cemeteries because they’re afraid to come to the city,” Vogel said. “There are about 400 to 500 hundred (being moved) a year which shows you the depth of racism and fear.”
You know your city sucks when even the dead people are leaving.
Two Hicks Escape the Law
Once again I’ve been let down by the media here in the US. As exhibit A I’m introducing the photo to your left. Significant air time and large portions of papers and websites are devoted to these two idiots. Why? Because they managed to escape in a hail of gunfire. That’s it. I’m sure tons of prisoners escape jail each year in some way or another.
But what about the guard they killed? Ah, yes, another dull tool in the shed. You see, it’s mandatory protocol for guards to wear bullet proof vests. You see, Guard Wayne “Cotton” Morgan wasn’t following protocol when he was shot in the belly. In fact, both guards weren’t wearing their bullet proof vests. I’m not sure about you, but if I worked in law enforcement I’d be wearing my bullet proof vest at all times, including when I was in the doughnut shop ordering coffee.
So, when you look back at the “Big News Events” of 2005 you can think about all the time wasted on some drunk girl going missing and these two redneck hick idiots. Just look at that picture and think to yourself, “Wow, I wasted time reading about these retards.” I mean they didn’t even put up a fight when they were captured. They shot up a parking lot, meticulously planned the escape (including multiple escape vehicles), killed a guard and then just said “Ah, screw it, I give up.”?
Meanwhile, we’re fast approaching 2,000 casualties in Iraq and there are rumblings between the US and Iran. Rove knowingly outed an undercover CIA operative. Bush extended daylight savings breaking most of those expensive electronic toys you own. And, to top it all off, I have to put up with news about these two retards every time I open CNN.com.
Indian nicknames
The NCAA has recently imposed a ban on post season displays of mascots that are based on Indian nicknames (ie. Florida State Seminoles). As can be expected, FSU is not very happy about this. The school I attended used to be called the Hurons, however some PC idiots decided to change the name to the Eagles. This, despite the okay from local Huron tribes in Michigan.
Aren’t there governing bodies for these tribes? I suspect this is the case since they are independent nations of sorts with special provisions under US law. If this is, in fact, the case and said governing bodies approve the use of said mascot then what’s the beef? Now, if the name of the team is the “Reds” or “Redskins”, which many Native Americans find offensive, I can see the point.
What the NCAA should do is require schools using Native American mascots to get approval from the governing bodies referred to by said mascot. If the Native Americans are okay with their namesake being used as a mascot then who cares?
Next up? Iran!
The foundation is being laid for invading Iran as we speak. Various news outlets are reporting that various explosives found in Iraq after the second Gulf War were ‘clearly from Iran’.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that weapons recently confiscated in Iraq were “clearly, unambiguously from Iran” and admonished Tehran for allowing the explosives to cross the border.
Combine this with Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technologies and you’re looking at what the neocons will be using as the foundation for invading Iran. It’s pretty clear that we cannot fight wars on three fronts (Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan), which can mean only one thing: bringing back the draft. I’ll be watching this with great interest until March 15th, 2006, which is when I turn 26 and will no longer be eligible for the draft.
Stealing WiFi Access
There has been much talk in the news recently about stealing WiFi from your neighbors. I have a middle of the road point of view on this that I think most of my fellow geeks will agree with. There is much confusion as to what is okay and what is not okay. To help clear up some of this confusion I’ve created a simple grid that you can now reference whenever you come across a WiFi hotspot.
| All Good | Totally Uncool | |
| Is it an open access point? | √ | |
| Is is protected by WEP, etc.? | √ | |
| Is it located in a coffee shop? | √ | |
| Are you using it for illegal activities? | √ | |
| Are you splitting the bill with your neighbor? | √ | |
| Are you just using it for email while your connection is down? | √ | |
| Are you sniffing traffic or browsing their network neighborhood? | √ | |
| Is the SSID NETGEAR and the password “admin”? | √ | |
| Did you sniff traffic to obtain passwords in order to access the hotspot? | √ | |
| Is the SSID named “FBI Headquarters” or “CIA HQ”? | √ |
I look at it this way; if you knowingly leave your access point open to the world then it’s perfectly okay for me to use it, however, I should respect your kindness and not use it for malicious activities of any kind. The exception to this is what I call the “Idiot WiFi Hotspot”, which is like picking on the retard during recess. If someone is too stupid to at least change the admin password then they have no idea what’s going on with their WiFi and, while taking advantage of this idiot might be tempting, it’s just not very cool. The only exception to the IWFH rule is is if your connection is down and you want to check your email or read the news.
If you had to sniff packets or crack a WEP key to gain access to a hotspot then you’ve just broken the law and are a total douche bag. I liken this to someone breaking into your cable box and siphoning free HBO.
We’re not talking quantum physics here people. If you knock on someone’s door and they either don’t answer or the sign says “Closed” then you don’t just come on in. Use common sense and the handy reference table above and you most likely won’t be arrested for stealing WiFi.
Flip flops Exposed!
Ran across a rather amusing story today talking about the serious dangers of wearing flip flops. You read that right; an entire article devoted to the serious dangers of wearing flip flops. Researchers, and I use that term lightly, have found a wide range of problems associated with flip flops including the following.
- Flip flops can cause accidents by getting stuck under the pedal or “foot slipping off the pedal altogether.”
- Toxins in flip flops can cause lower sperm counts in men and are known to attack the liver, kidneys and reproductive organs.
They even have some in-depth first hand experience about just how dangerous this type of footwear can be.
Leigh Purves, gossip columnist for the Daily Star, is among those to have had a close call while driving with designer flip flops. She has told how, while travelling on the M1, her sandal got stuck under the brake pedal and she missed another car “by millimetres”.
I wear flip flops probably every day during the summer. Now that I live in Seattle, I wear them pretty much year round. According to this “research” if I’m are drinking with my friends at the beach I can pretty much kiss my liver goodbye (not that five years in college and a fraternity didn’t help with that effort).
But the ongoing scandal of wearing flip flops doesn’t just stop here. Oh, no, they can lead to international incidents as well! Recently, the Lacrosse team from Northwestern University, caused an international stir when they wore flip flops while attending the White House to meet President Bush.
The entire debacle unfolded after a player’s gay brother (he has to be gay; who else besides a gay man would notice a girl’s footwear in a photo?) sent her an email titled “YOU WORE FLIP FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!” Oh the shame!
So there you have it. Flip flops cause car accidents, organ failure, the shooting of proverbial blanks and, quite possibly, the use of a CIA hit squad to kill you.
Cameron and Damien try out for The Amazing Race
Geek friend and fellow blogger (God, did I call myself a blogger?), Cameron Barrett and his identical twin brother, Damien, are trying out for The Amazing Race.
This is one of Lauren and my favorite TV shows. Last year with Rob and Amber was simply some of the most exciting and entertaining TV I’ve seen. Cameron is the type of guy whose mind travels at about 15,000,000 miles a minute even if he’s not saying anything. I wouldn’t even know what to expect if they were to get on the show. But, you can definitely expect that Cameron will have a zany idea or ten and he’ll be moblogging like nobody else on the planet ever has.
Pass this on and blog about it. You can read more about it on Damien’s blog: Help Us Get on The Amazing Race.