I'm looking for sites on Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castille Soap. If you've never seen the stuff, the soap is very good, but the labels are mind-blowing! These great-smelling all-natural soaps were created by a soapmaker who had some sort of bizarre religious conversion, and used the packaging to carry the neatest insane religious rants I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the Bronnerfolks don't have a site I've been able to find so far, so I may be limited to store sites and newspaper articles. I was disappointed to read that Emanuel Bronner died a few years back. His family carries on the business, but I don't think they share the "All-One-God-Faith" religious fervor that made Bronner so strange and therefore cool. Anyway, if you know where to find any of the rants online, please let me know. Update: Found one of the tamer labels scanned on somebody's home page. More as I find 'em.
An absolutely vicious (and well-deserved) review of Sunday night's X-Files from Something Awful, via Busychild. That episode not only proved to me that X-Files is on its last legs, but also lowered my expectations for Carter's proposed "Lone Gunmen" series.
Flipping radio stations this morning on the way into work, I caught a few seconds of an morning show to which I almost never listen, because I find it so idiotic. This morning, however, I was preoccupied with traffic, so it stayed on long enough for me to hear a bit on some nude pics of Claudia Schiffer. The bozos on the radio were blathering about finding the pictures on the web, and I was about to change the station when they mentioned Robot Wisdom. The Schiffer pictures were near the top of Jorn's new links list this morning. What I wonder is whether the radio guys gave the RW URL because it was easier to say on the air than the direct "naked-celebs" link, or whether they didn't understand that it was only a pointer to content on another site.
Angus Young of AC/DC: "I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same."
The digital girl is trying to dispell the viciousrumors that she's actually the world's cutest niche marketing campaign. I'm tempted to spread the theory that there is a real Zannah, but she was digitally imaged (using Looker technology) several months ago, like the "model" in last night's (incredibly cheesy) X-Files. Aside: I'd like to plead with Chris Carter to bring the show to a dignified (if that's still possible) end instead of continuing to embarass himself, Duchovny, and Anderson (especially the "scan" of Scully at the end). The computer didn't have a BRS? They didn't make backups? Yeesh.
I have become so disgusted with the Motion Picture Association of America that I have given up any intention of purchasing a DVD player (including the Sony Playstation 2) in the forseeable future. Listen, DeCSS isn't about copying (which does not require decryption of the DVD), but about playback. The motion picture industry wants control over how consumers can play DVD's: where a purchased DVD can be played, what parts (FBI warnings, advertisements) must be played before the rest of the movie can be accessed. Matthew Pavlovich had a great idea: Allow users to search for dialogue within a movie. I doubt the DVD industry would ever allow such a useful feature even if it didn't require reverse-engineering, because it would allow users to watch purchased movies the way they wanted to. I have no objection to paying fair market value for a recording, or to obeying reasonable restrictions on making copies; however, I want to use a purchased product as I see fit. Hey, DVD CCA: See this $20 (the licensing fee the DVD Copy Control Association charges on each "legitimate" DVD player) I have in my hand? You ain't getting it.
...or just another Bug Hunt? Apparently, Sun attempted to embarass Microsoft at its Win2K launch, but the publicity stunt fell flat on its face. In reference to the infamous "Joe's Apartment" memo, about the alleged 63,000 bugs in Windows 2000, Sun attempted to send a fleet of pest control trucks to the launch at San Franciscos' Moscone Center. Unfortunately (it would have been a great joke) the extermination company found out that it was a publicity stunt and called back its trucks a few blocks from the convention center. Also in The Register: The world's first bio-electronic chip may allow for a true cybernetic interface, not just a subcutaneous transmitter in the arm of a publicity hound.
John Siracusa of Ars Technica has written the first hardcore technical review I've seen of Developer Preview 3 of Mac OS X. While he bags on some of the new features of the Aqua interface, especially the multi-purpose Dock, he does point out some of the good parts, too. Some Linux folks have been talking about using XML as a standard format for text-based configuration files; OS X seems to use this concept well. My Mac envy has been reduced slightly, but hardly wiped out. MacOS Rumours (via Cam) has some interesting DP3 stuff as well, including the possible ability to change the interface by editing a single file.
Matthew Rothenberg of ZDNet makes a number of good points about how competition between different computing platforms works for the good of the end user.
I really don't get the whole "leap day" problem. I can understand not knowing the 100-year rule for leap years; I was relatively late (possibly in college) to learn that 1900 was not a leap year. When I did so, I learned the 400-year rule about a minute later, and that 2000 would be a leap year. Who knows about one without knowing the other? Yeesh.
The Lorax led me to Infiltration, "the zine about going places you're not supposed to go". I found this article on a journey through the tunnels and catacombs below Paris absolutely breathtaking. The most appropriate white-on-black design I've seen in quite some time. It amazes me at times how much of the world that we humans have built has become lost and forgotten, only to be reborn for the exploration of future generations.
Even though I'm not much of a beer drinker, I subscribe to the Irish belief that any beer you spill during your life is collected in a barrel in heaven. When you die, you're stuck in this barrel head first; if you drown, you go straight to hell. I'm fairly clean-shaven, too, but I still hope that beer absorbed by facial hair doesn't contribute to this fate.
The Bird is compiling a map of realspace locations of webloggers. Only a USA map right now, so you won't see folks like Weblog Wannabe. Still, it's really neat; I knew the BradLands were located here in St. Louis, but I didn't know about NowThis or xblog.
I guess /. readers have been following the battle over a ballot initiative to require filtering software in the Holland, Michigan public library. According to ZDNN, the initiative was voted down by a comfortable margin. I'd like to think that the activism of the /. community helped. A great quote from the latest update:
You can't compromise with book-burners. When someone asks you to burn 1,000 books, you cannot agree to burn only 500.
Dan Bricklin (who told me in e-mail how to permanently link to his entries -- thanks) passes on an interesting anecdote about a Microsoft product demo. One moral of this story is that when you're playing a game, don't assume your opponent is playing the same game you are.
Good grief, someone has actually done it: A new web portal (link omitted for reasons which will become obvious) has created a self-propogating sig virus. Their web site includes an ActiveX control that changes the user's preferences, including altering the signature files of some e-mail clients. The new sig includes a link to the page that downloaded the control; of course, you have to click on the link, and (unless you've done something stupid with security settings) agree to run the control. So it's more of a Trojan horse than a virus, but if they can just figure out the back door that Microsoft uses for Active Setup, they'll have it made. Update:Wired details an attempt to get in touch with this seemingly fly-by-night operation.
This Wired article makes a good point about weblogging: While it isn't anything new, no matter what name gets slapped on it or how much hype it gets, weblogging is a return to the roots of personal web sites. Hey, a year ago, everyone was in a panic that the web was going to be taken over by commercial interests, marginalizing personal content. The weblog craze may be the last, best hope for keeping the web from becoming a giant billboard. Newtools make maintaining a personal site easy enough for anyone; if there's a real revolution, that's where it's happening.
A group of companies, led by palmtop maker Psion, is working on an open standard for synchronizing data across computers and other devices. Microsoft has not been included in this group. Gee, I wonderwhy.
The Weblog Monitor has added a "Hotlist" of the most-linked logs that have registered with the monitor. I agree with evhead that this is somewhat self-selecting. We've already seen ballot stuffing, so it calls into question how useful this measure really is. I must admit, the reason I've updated my sidebar is at least partly so that any data the hotlist gets from me better reflects my current surf habits. I think that a truly useful metric would have to take into account the difference between current (log entries) and static (like my sidebar) content. Aside:Neale, don't be too impressed; I was updating links anyway, so nyaah.
Too many bloggers to list have pointed out the latest T-shirt from Copyleft, but I think that the Copyleft-engraved Leatherman Wave is even cooler. Not that I have any plans to give up my Victorinox CyberTool, but if I do decide I need something heftier, I wouldn't mind a geek-branded model. A quick suggestion: how about a <head> cap to go with the shirt?
I've just started working out at the Y, and I've been looking for a good guide to stretching exercises. I'm going to have to try out this routine, which comes complete with animated GIF illustrations.
Researchers working for the U.S. Army are looking into using insects as land mine detectors. They can place sensors within a beehive to detect when honeybees have carried traces of explosive compounds back to the hive, and are working on new technology to track the bees back to the actual mine.
According to this /. story, scientists at UC Berkeley and Colorado claim to have discovered a newer, more efficient way of producing hydrogen gas using algae. This is especially good news given the advances in fuel cell technology I mentioned last month. I'd love for my next car to run on hydrogen fuel cells.
A German corporation has bought out the Muppets. EM.TV, a Munich-based producer of family and children's television progrms, has purchased the Jim Henson Company. Fortunately, they seem to see the wisdom of leaving the existing creative folks in place. They seem to be most interested in using Henson's creations to promote a family cable channel called Odyssey.
Yeesh. Now we know why he had to take such extreme measures to find a wife. 'Twernt my fault. Update:Who Wants an Annullment is just too pathetic to rate its own entry.
The Windy City had cows, now the Crescent City is going to have fish. Wildly decorated fish sculptures will be gracing the streets of N'Awlins this year. My favorite proposed design is a tribute to The Beatles, but another design best captures the spirit of the city. I'm gonna have to go visit my folks in Mississippi this summer so I can check this out. Backup Brain found this; I'm disappointed that my Dad, who sent me a link to the BourboCam this weekend, didn't.
My "Truth Name" appears to be DIFFICULT LOAF-PINCHIN' ENGINEER OF TRUTH (caps theirs). Brought to you by Whim & Vinegar, and the folks behind the anti-tobacco ads I've mentioned before. Sorry guys, it just doesn't have the same ring as Contagious Specialist.
SYSADMIN: Let me check my understanding of the situation. Here we are, in the final phase of a futile and worthless project, and you just blurted out a barrage of last-minute demands based on ridiculous and contradictory premises and implied that if I failed to meet these conditions then your own ability to work would be impaired in such a way as to impede or halt the work of anyone nearby, and it would look to everyone as though it were completely my fault.
MONKEY: Right. So what's your point?
Gee, I can't relate to this story, no, not at all. And I haven't been having dreams about Beth, who doesn't exist, either. Aside: Anybody know where I can find a copy of the "C Monkey" joke online?
I'm really not sure why I read Ceej's Black Book. I don't read any other diaries, although I do enjoy weblogs whose authors include bits of their personal lives. Anyway, I just read an entry with a line that just jumped out at me: "He had to sign an NDA saying he wouldn't reveal what he learned about Gates's personal life." It seems like such a strange contrast: A person who places nearly her entire life in the open for all to see, who is marginally famous only because she does so, vs. an incredibly famous man who feels the need to protect his personal life with legal contracts.
Jen Kitchen offers good advice for newbie bloggers like myself: "Don't get involved in inter-blog squabbles just to get noticed." That has become a mantra as I have watched the Dave vs. Derek war unfold. I will not link directly to either. Update: On second thought, one side has writen an essay so good that I have to link it, even though he mentions the feud.
Backup Brain wants credit where credit is due, and I have no problem with that. He has linked a number of online graphics generators, including this one from Adobe, which I used to create the above logo. Hideous, no? I still want to roll my own, but there's no telling when I'll get a round tuit.
Ten years after the release of Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu writes on justice, forgiveness, hope, and the future.
Retribution leads to a cycle of reprisal, leading to counter-reprisal in an inexorable movement, as in Rwanda, Northern Ireland, in the former Yugoslavia. The only thing that can break that cycle, making possible a new beginning, is forgiveness. Without forgiveness there is no future.
I did my first workout at the Y Wednesday night, and I'm really feeling it today. (Of course, it could just be a sign of my advancing age.) It's nice to know that my suffering may end up being even more beneficial than I thought. I need to stretch a bit more next time (hopefully tonight), though.
Well, the humiliation has begun; my thirtieth birthday is tomorrow, and my cow orkers have already decorated my cubicle. (Okay, it's only two balloons and a sign.) I may put up pictures somewhere when I get them developed. Anyone else wishing to send greetings, congratulations, or condolences is welcome to do so. I'll probably get a few e-mails courtesy of the World Birthday Web. Also, found my birthday horoscope.
So many webloggers have linked this interview with Wil Wright, creator of the computer game The Sims, that I wasn't going to, even though I've been playing the game like mad all week. Then I think I saw one of the "Trojan Horses" he talks about in action. Maxis has a new "Cuckoo Clock" object available for download. I download and install it just for the heck of it. Suddenly, light fixtures start burning out left and right, and a new "replace bulb" action becomes available when they do. I'd never gotten a burnout before I downloaded the clock, so I'm assuming this is a new feature; mildly annoying, but incredibly neat. Anyone else notice this? Update: According to further research, burn-outs were part of the game all along; the fact that I experienced them only after I loaded the clock was a coincidence.
Katz has posted a /. story about the "net vs. socialization" study I mentioned earlier. Best discussion threads I've seen on /. in a while, and I'm not just saying that because I made a few comments as Industrial Disease.
The American Legacy Foundation has been running a series of extremely edgy anti-tobacco ads; unfortunately, they've pulled two of the most over-the-top ads for unspecified reasons. I was lucky enough to catch both of these in the day or two that they ran; both depicted (dramatized?) protests against corporate tobacco. One involved piling 1200 body bags in front of a tobacco company HQ, to represent the people who die of tobacco in one day. The other was an attempt to get execs to submit to a lie detector test about their claims on tobacco. I hope they have the guts to bring these ads back. Update: Found the link to their slick Flash-based site, thetruth.com. Further Update: Reasons specified. Thanks to Rebecca and Jesse.
There's this old anecdote I heard somewhere about a class discussion between a professor and a female student. Apparently, the class was discussing prostitution, and the young woman was offended by the subject.
Prof: Would you sleep with a man for a million dollars?
Student: For a million dollars? Yes, I suppose so.
Prof: Well, would you sleep with a man for fifty dollars?
Student: Of course not! What do you think I am, a whore?
Prof: Actually, we've already established that you are; now we're just negotiating your price.
Consumers may finally be noticing that SUV's are too expensive, guzzle too much gas, and take up too much space; sales of SUV's seem to be on the decline as gas prices rise.
In the wake of the latest study that says Americans are spending too much time on the net comes news of another potential threat to our social lives. Guess who may not be man's best friend after all?
Back in high school, a friend made me a t-shirt with a cartoon of a goldfish swimming around in a blender, and the blurb, "I can't stand the tension!" According to randomWalks, someone has done this for real in the name of art. Seven goldfish have been pureed so far; for the first time ever, I'd like to see PETA step in. Update: Maybe they did; the story's been updated. By the way, the blender in the middle is "before"; the one on the right is "after".
More stuff on web standards via camworld: A condescending column from Microsoft that explains why they have no interest in a serious implementation of the "standards" to which they pay lip service.
I might have eventually noticed this on my own, but in all honesty, CamWorld deserves the credit. The HTML site I found yesterday also has a scathing review of the implementation of Standards in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0. So, I guess all my complaining about Netscape simply means that I'm more familiar with IE's bugs. Still, it's nice to know a site that tells it like it is on browser incompatibilities. Perhaps Gecko offers some hope.
Maybe /. isn't completely useless yet. A member of the Censorware Project has written an article with some interesting statistics on filtering software, and a disturbing story about how the censors dismissed them.
Baylink found yet another touching tribute to Charles Schultz. I'm sure there will be more to come as an entire industry mourns the loss of one of its finest.
Found this essay on violence and abuse in public schools by way of Lake Effect. While it focuses on anti-gay violence, a lot of this applies to anyone considered as weird in high school. I am only now coming to understand how lucky I was; for all the grief I got for being a fat boy and a nerd, I never got very much physical abuse.
A good Gillmor today blasts some of the big players in the industry: AOL has quickly toned down its demands for open access to broadband for ISP's now that it's in a position of power. DoubleClick is now claiming to be pro-privacy, although they want you to understand you don't really want it. And Microsoft continues to push UCITA, a piece of legislation that would remove the last few protections consumers have against software that doesn't work. Unfortunately, according to /. the Virginia state house has passed UCITA. Unaniamously. Of couse, sometimes a bill makes it through one legislative house for publicity, just to be quietly killed by the other (remember the Contract On With America?); I don't know anything about VA politics, though.
Slashdot is becoming more unreadable by the day, primarily because of 31337 hax0r d00ds who have decided to abuse the system. This post has about a thousand content-free followups, apparently generated by a script. Ghod, what a luser.
The page was getting so long, so I dumped to archive. Unfortunately, archiving is a "whole hawg or none" deal, so I can't just keep the last few posts current. Well, I'll have to keep that in mind when I work on the Evil Master Plan.
considered harmful adj.
[very common] Edsger W. Dijkstra's note in the March 1968 "Communications of the ACM", "Goto Statement Considered Harmful", fired the first salvo in the structured programming wars (text at http://www.acm.org/classics). Amusingly, the ACM considered the resulting acrimony sufficiently harmful that it will (by policy) no longer print an article taking so assertive a position against a coding practice. (Years afterwards, a contrary view was uttered in a CACM letter called, inevitably, "`Goto considered harmful' considered harmful'"). In the ensuing decades, a large number of both serious papers and parodies have borne titles of the form "X considered Y". The structured-programming wars eventually blew over with the realization that both sides were wrong, but use of such titles has remained as a persistent minor in-joke (the `considered silly' found at various places in this lexicon is related).
-- from The Jargon File, version 4.1.4.
