Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things

Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things: "Jim Baen, sf publisher, has passed away
Jim Baen, publisher of the extraordinary science fiction line Baen Books, has passed away. I loved Baen for his radically sensible approach to electronic publishing: give away electronic editions of books and people will treat them as advertisements to buy more print books."

I am saddened. Like DelRey, Baen was a label I grew up on (hell, I grew OLD on) and I too admired his approach to e-books.

Numb skulls. - The Red Ferret Journal

Numb skulls. - The Red Ferret Journal

Another entry in the noise cancelling head phone market.

Not a bad price compared to most of the other noise cancelling models (and really nice compared to Bose at nearly 300 bucks).

AMD preps memory-shaven Athlon 64 X2

AMD preps memory-shaven Athlon 64 X2: "Sporting just 256KB of level-two (L2) cache per core, compared with the 512KB of its elder brother, the new 3600+ will be nicely priced.

The Taiwanese paper says its sources say it'll cost between $140-$160."

A fish story

well, I am sitting on the couch sipping a beer when the doorbell rings. I open the door to find a DHL driver there: "I have a really big box in the truck" he says.

Ahah! Finally, the ginormous sailfish (now mounted) must be in. Sure enough, a 9+ foot crate is soon sitting in the hallway.

I did pop the cover on the crate (did they HAVE to use 1x12's???) and took a couple of quick snaps to fire off to John's cell phone so he could appreciate the effect :) Now I just have to figure out how to:

a) Get it the rest of the way out of the crate.
b) Get it mounted on the wall.

The section of wall near his bedroom he wanted it on, just may not work (it is only 7 feet wide).

Pictures to follow once I get into this mess...
The original pictures of the "catch" are still on flickr

I'll post the mounting saga there as it happens.

Mark

Stanley Bing's secrets to a happy retirement - Ju

Stanley Bing's secrets to a happy retirement - Jun. 23, 2006: "This is only the first of many bad habits you're going to want to maintain. I include in this category smoking and drinking, by the way, although smoking is a nasty habit unless you like it a lot. As for drinking, never get drunk more than once day. You're not a kid anymore. Less than that, however, is ill-advised as well, unless you've developed the habit previously."


An excellent article pointed out to me by another friend.

Pixel Magic Systems - Media Players - HD MediaBox

Pixel Magic Systems - Media Players - HD MediaBox

Sony's Vaio UX90 gets 16GB flash drive and mobile TV - Engadget

Sony's Vaio UX90 gets 16GB flash drive and mobile TV - Engadget

A nice convergance item.
Can be done with a PocketPC (Mobile Media Center) however perhaps these are cheaper and anyway, single function items are mass market items.

You have no privacy, now move along

You have no privacy, now move along: "People shouldn't be worried about the most recent data disclosers, but the ones yet to come. It doesn't take a genius to realise that the best way to find 'lost' data is to start buying up expensive laptops that appear at shady pawnshops; preferably ones that look like they've had 'Property of US Government' stickers recently peeled off of them. The local branch of organised crime is likely already developing their own methods of data mining that involve buying stolen computers in bulk, stripping out the hard drives, and scanning them for data. It's the new-wave electronic 'chop shop' except that today's civil-minded criminals can simply scan and copy the hard drives onto their Interweb-ordered multi-TB servers before shipping off the gear to a third-world country as a 'tax donation.'"

AT&T to customers: All your data are belong to us

AT&T to customers: All your data are belong to us: "The new policy allows AT&T will track the viewing habits of customers of its new video service and give that to whoever it likes as well."

Are YOU an AT&T customer? I certainly am not and as of now, will not be again.

Civet Cat Coffee

Civet Cat Coffee: "The enzymes in the animals' stomachs, though, appear to add something unique to the coffee's flavor through fermentation. "

A turd by any other name, will still smell like a turd...
Taste actually is in some folks ass (or at least the cats...)

I am a coffee fan, but you gotta draw the line somewhere.

MR. POTATO HEAD Star Wars: ARTOO-POTATOO with PRINCESS TATER- Product Detail

MR. POTATO HEAD Star Wars: ARTOO-POTATOO with PRINCESS TATER- Product Detail

Now this is just too cute.

Motorola moots USB rechargeable phone rech

Motorola moots USB rechargeable phone recharger | Reg Hardware: "The P970 is essentially a 1700mAh rechargeable battery in a curvy PEBL-like casing with a USB port on top."

Comic Relief

Pearls Before Swine"

A classic blogger one...

And yet, we blog on :)

Summer time....

So it is once again that time of year where the family packs off to summer fun :) John to Virginia to spend the summer with his grandmother and cousins (the ones closest to his age group) and Ritas off to her sister's house in Hawa'ii. They manage to come back home just in time for school to start again.

I usually take a week to go up and visit as well, but with just having been to Mexico and Germany, well I figured I will sit this one out. Plenty of stuff to do around the house to keep me occupied. The screen room should be getting rebuilt in July which might need a little attention...

Zatz Not Funny. . .»Blog Archive » TiVo Applies For DVR PPV Patent

Zatz Not Funny. . .»Blog Archive » TiVo Applies For DVR PPV Patent

Qtek 8300 Smartphone + Slingbox = TiVo on Your Mobile

Qtek 8300 Smartphone + Slingbox = TiVo on Your Mobile @ Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech

Another techy with too much time to kill. Really massive geek points though...

Why People hate Sony

Why people hate Sony: "I own four Sony products. I’m telling you this before some Sony groupies start flaming me as a 'Sony is the Devil' advocate. It is not. Merely a minor Demon Lord with ambitions, a sharpened knife and a well-thumbed copy of Julius Caesar tucked behind its pointy tail."

Hope I die before I get old?

Hope I die before I get old?: "'Overall, people got it wrong, believing that most people become less happy as they age, when in fact this study and others have shown that people tend to become happier over time,' says lead author Heather Lacey, Ph.D., a VA postdoctoral fellow and member of the U-M Medical School's Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine. 'Not only do younger people believe that older people are less happy, but older people believe they and others must have been happier 'back then'. Neither belief is accurate.'"


Still I do have some happy (if rose colored) memories...

MP3 Recording: Trying to cancel AOL

MP3 Recording: Trying to cancel AOL:

"Too painful to listen... I had to shut it off. And delete the file. And empty the recycle bin. And then wipe the hard drive. And then drill holes in my hard drive. And then drive over it with a truck 3 or 4 times. Then tie it to a rope, and drag it behind my car for several hours. And STILL, my skin crawls when I think of what it takes to disconnect from AOL. I'm glad I never joined."

Big media told to adapt or die - Jun. 1

Big media told to adapt or die - Jun. 13, 2006: "'The challenge is pretty clear. It's the digital transition. We would like to say we look at it as an opportunity. Every single part of our business is going through extraordinary technological change,' "

What gave it away? Dufus...
The 80's called, they want their CEOs back.

I guess better late than never, eventually SOMEONE in big media has to realize that the ship has sailed, standing at the dock is now pointless.

ezVision Video iWear

ezVision Video iWear

So these are back (again) but not from Sony this time. Do they suffer from the hidden flaw that plagued Sony (tendancy to induce epileptic seizures)?

APC Universal Battery, 10Wh

APC Universal Battery, 10Wh

Sweet. PocketPC devices can charge off the USB port, many others do as well. Nice to have an extra 10 hours in the bag for long trips.

My Dell has a (easily) swappable battery, but the HP and many others do not.

Ask the Law Geek: Install Kazaa... Get Fined $750 - The RIAA's Newest Plan of Attack? - Lifehacker

Ask the Law Geek: Install Kazaa... Get Fined $750 - The RIAA's Newest Plan of Attack? - Lifehacker:

"So here's a roundup of electronic copyright infringement in US courts so far:

* Sony v. Universal: VCRs are OK for in-home 'time-shifting' because they have a 'substantial non-infringing use' and would have a small effect on the market.
* Napster: Everything you ever did was illegal. We (the court) wish you were never born.
* MGM v. Grokster: [PDF] If evidence 'shows statements or actions directed to promoting infringement,' but beyond mere knowledge or potential for infringement, then the producer of that device may be held liable for copyright infringement, e.g. Morpheus.
* Elektra v. Barker: [PDF] (Proposed) If your computer allows sharing of copyrighted materials, with or without your knowledge or intent to share those files, and even if those files are rightfully owned by you, you may be held liable for copyright infringement."

MPAA says Grateful Dead are against the laws of nature

MPAA says Grateful Dead are against the laws of nature:

"He said that despite the fact the music industry had bought out the more powerful institutions in the land, it will be the 17 and 18 year olds who would eventually win. It was in his generation and it will be in the future."

Huzzah. Someone with a clue...

Goodbye eBay, here comes GBuy

Goodbye eBay, here comes GBuy

Competition = good for the consumer.

Double whammy for Cisco | The Register

Double whammy for Cisco | The Register

I'll say it again, if I were Avaya or Aspect...I'd be worried.

Wired News: You Say You Want a Revolution?

Wired News: You Say You Want a Revolution?: "Vote. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, 'My vote doesn't matter' or, 'I don't care,' I'd be parking my yacht next to Larry Ellison's. Here's a sodden thought: More people logged on to vote in the recent American Idol finale than voted in the last presidential election. But we're not sheep. No, sir."

OK, I swore to not approach anything Oracle, but this comment os too good to pass on.

Panasonic's 4GB SDHC card set to drop July 25 - Engadget

Panasonic's 4GB SDHC card set to drop July 25 - Engadget

The Monkey Chow Diaries

The Monkey Chow Diaries

People do strange things.
Often they are funny.

So far, this one is hilarious.

Special forces to use strap-on 'Batwings'

Special forces to use strap-on 'Batwings' | the Daily Mail

XBox Portable

- XBox Portable

Pioneer spacecraft data saved

Pioneer spacecraft data saved

All it takes is a love of science...
Bravo.

Mystery Robot Said to Solve Mystery Robot Said to Solve

Mystery Robot Said to Solve Crimes, Find Mines in Chile

PS3 hardware slow and broken

PS3 hardware slow and broken: "You end up with a console with half the triangle setup rate of the 360, a crippled CPU that is a bitch to program, and tools that are atrocious compared to the 360. To make matters worse, you have an arrogant set of execs telling us that twice the price is worth it for half the power, a year late. If it isn't already too late, Sony had better do something about this recto-cranial inversion or it may very well sink the console."

Synergy

Synergy

"Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It's intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s)."

I have just started using this at home and I am speechless...

OK, not really, but it is UBER neat. At work I have been dual-monitor forever, but not so at home. Worse, when I bring the work laptop home I have to use the pencil-headed-crap-for-brains-mouse-thingy and the crappy little keyboard. Not so any more. With this I seamlessly scroll over from my desktop 'as if it were a secondary monitor'. I then have total control with my desktop keyboard and mouse EVEN THE CLIPBOARD IS SHARED.

Dude.

Holy Crap, Batman!

Yep. I missed it. A year (well, more now) has gone by and I am still posting this crap. :)

Like I said originally, mostly just neat stuff I stumble across with a bit of commentary when I am feeling curmugeonly.

Let the celebration commence. OK, at least I'll go get a diet coke...

{w00t!}

Robots turn 85 years old - Engadget

Robots turn 85 years old - Engadget: "P.S. -And we, for one, welcome our new robot overloards."

If only they could speel overlords....