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My integrity would be less compromised Saturday, March 3, 2007 ...
Kevin Drum recalls moments in British publishing where the Brits prove themselves rather less skittish of naughty words than their American colleagues. An author expresses his displeasure over an editor's change to his book review. A transportation bureaucrat opines on the future prospects of his career and those of his workmates. (The quote's at the end of paragraph two.) If you're curious about the original book review, it's here.
One Nation Under God Friday, February 16, 2007 ...
Huh. More Americans would vote for a gay president than an atheist president. Indeed, atheists are the only group with a No rating of over 50 percent. They didn't poll "active Hizbollah president" though.
Naps may prevent heart attacks Tuesday, February 13, 2007 ...
After weighing none of the evidence, I am totally convinced.
Show your work Saturday, February 10, 2007 ...
I almost never link my political reading here, but I thought this simple post from Kevin Drum was provoking. He observes how much better mainstream political journalism would be if journalists explained how they came to write a story or highlight a telling incident.
2Prong Wednesday, February 7, 2007 ...
A disposable e-mail service that rotates its domain names to avoid banning. It automatically downloads and shows your mail too, so there's no need to constantly hit refresh.
Extruded homes Wednesday, January 31, 2007 ...
Coool. An inkjet-like robot is building the shell of an entire house in California out of concrete and gypsum. If it works, the article says, there will be no need for floorboards or straight lines for that matter. And when the robot goes on a rampage, it will leave a trail of construction across the countryside!
FlickrLeech Wednesday, January 31, 2007 ...
Display 200 Flickr thumbnails at once. Much better than their built-in navigation. This is also the only way I can access all 278 of my photos, because Flickr is hiding the first 78 until I give them $20 or my bike.
Things My Boyfriend Says Monday, January 22, 2007 ...
Ah, the unexamined life. This isn't an idea that can last for long, but what's here now is lovely.
"You shouldn't buy me things. Save your money for unicorn rides or whatever it is girls spend money on."
Hot Coke with Ginger Wednesday, January 17, 2007 ...
A four-word recipe to try.
Painting your house exterior Friday, January 12, 2007 ...
Detailed advice that I hope I won't need. They have mounds of other home improvement guides too.
Noka enemy number one Thursday, December 21, 2006 ...
A detailed, suspicious, and perfectly-paced expose demonstrating once and for all that a particular brand of luxury chocolate is overpriced, if you don't consider status or marketing. The passion, outrage and chocolate arcana make the article feel like an investigation that would bring down a president. Oh Internet. But I learned the word couverture.
AppSnap Tuesday, December 19, 2006 ...
I hope I won't have to set up a fresh Windows install any time soon, but if I do, I'll try AppSnap, a program that lets you check which free programs you want on your computer. It then downloads and installs them for you.
Ask Metafilter savagely Tuesday, December 19, 2006 ...
I've never seen Mythbusters, but it's mentioned enough on the Internet that I imagine you have. Adam Savage from the show answers questions along with the rest of the throng on Ask Metafilter, here on the topic of cold Cokes.
Gingerbread Carcassonne Tuesday, December 12, 2006 ...
Gosh, there's no end to the expansions for this game. Looks delicious.
Buffy Returns Tuesday, December 12, 2006 ...
An early birthday present! Joss Whedon will be running a two-year comic book series telling the story of ... season eight of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm a great fan of his Astonishing X-Men comic and have a big heart, so I can forgive season seven of Buffy.
This interview is mostly an I-ain't-saying-nothing tease, but Whedon names some marvellous comics as his favourites (i.e. my favourites). And there are some sample pages at the end.
Amazon.ca filler Sunday, December 10, 2006 ...
As this holiday shopping season draws to close, here's a tool for modern, globalized just-in-time shoppers such as myself. When you need something small to pad your Amazon.ca order to qualify for free shipping, just enter the amount you're short. The results are a little buggy and sometimes point to the wrong entry, but it's a handy starting point. (You can get Hamlet for $1.50!)
Peanuts Meets Marvel Wednesday, November 29, 2006 ...
Any copyright law that frowns on this has no soul.
Removing show-through Sunday, November 19, 2006 ...
A useful Photoshop tutorial on how to remove text that showing through from the other side of a scan.
Nearby Plovis Monday, November 6, 2006 ...
A funny and in-depth interview with The Onion's head writer. "The Onion, as an institution, is kind of like Versailles: it's a beautiful palace, but it can only exist thanks to an enormous underclass population of exploited peasants."
The interview is posted on "A Special Thing" which seems to be one of those influential and unmissable online communities that are utterly unknown outside their niche.
Mentos and Coke dominoes Thursday, November 2, 2006 ...
An amazing 3 minute long outdoor travelling fountain show, all powered by bottles of Coke and Mentos.
Scenes from the bubble Monday, October 23, 2006 ...
Two half-million dollar homes, one from Ottawa, one from Vancouver... You know where this is going. Mmmm, East Hastings.
World Bank game Monday, October 23, 2006 ...
The World Bank Institute is holding a board game contest, where first prize is a one-month US$6000 development contract. Gadzooks. The topic is "street addressing."
Unsharp Mask Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ...
Recommended settings for Photoshop's unsharp mask tool, based on the subject of the photo.
Get Rich Slowly Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ...
A weblog about sensible financial advice and frugality. I like the author's patient and open-minded approach. He seems to always be gathering different views.
Capitalists Love Frogs Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ...
Or so said my automatically-generated essay. This site takes your topic and writes some short meandering bafflegab, complete with chart, quotations and footnotes. Like most teachers, I've seen worse.
Scary Monster! Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ...
Cute monster cozies for your laptop. The third one in is a tribute to the Abominable Snowman of the Rudolph special. From BoingBoing.
The end of hegemony Monday, October 16, 2006 ...
A naive Ask.Mefi question about why people are still categorized by colour leads to a diverting discussion about language that reminded me of my time in the Queen's philosophy department, when I first absorbed all the sensitive terms and prickly code words. Apparently, many of the old standbys may be falling out of favour, including "person of colour" and even, sniff, "hegemony." No one even mentioned "the patriarchy." Gosh, I hope it's doing okay.
My favourite language sighting was the shift from GLB (gay, lesbian, bisexual) to GLBTQQIA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and ally). I can just see whoever thought of the "ally" dusting off her or his hands and glaring around the room. "Finished, then?"
Destined for Destiny: George W. Bush Wednesday, October 11, 2006 ...
A slideshow from the Onion team, previewing their upcoming book. This one will linked everywhere.
Padilla Tuesday, October 10, 2006 ...
Glenn Greenwald summarizes the ongoing case of Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil whose government imprisoned him in a windowless cell without charges, evidence or lawyer for 3.5 years. They didn't even give him a mattress. This wasn't a mistake or bad apples. This is what the U.S. government wants their country to be.
37,000 feet Tuesday, October 10, 2006 ...
The 737 that crashed with no survivors in the Amazon struck another smaller plane in midair. The people on that plane survived, and this is one passenger's story of that day.
Snippets from a marine's Iraq Monday, October 9, 2006 ...
A collection of memories and stories from the chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq. Best Chuck Norris Moment. They brought the mayor out to put him in a pick-up truck to take him off to be beheaded. One of the Bad Guys put down his machinegun so that he could tie the mayor's hands. The mayor took the opportunity to pick up the machinegun and drill five of the Bad Guys. The other two ran away. Like they say, you can't fight City Hall.
Ameritrash Thursday, October 5, 2006 ...
A BoardGameGeek user assembles a tribute to the complicated, warlike, genre-themed, component-heavy treasure chests that got many of us into gaming.
Muddled Thursday, October 5, 2006 ...
This is the most overproduced recipe site I have ever seen. [Warning: sound. Throbbing electronic speedboat movie sound.] It almost certainly cost more than I earn in a year. I suppose if you get anywhere near a Hollywood tentpole release, the money just sloshes over you.
Maps of War: Middle East Thursday, October 5, 2006 ...
The sweep of war and empire in the Middle East from 3000 BCE to 1948, shown in 90 seconds.
Google's garage Monday, October 2, 2006 ...
Crikey, and I thought property on the Island was expensive. Page and Brin, the guys who started Google, first worked in a rented house garage in Silicon Valley. They rented the garage, just the garage, for $1700/month.
Then again, reading the story, they seemed to get hot tub rights, which doesn't sound like a traditional perk of a garage. They were friends with the owner.
Google just bought the whole house as a landmark, and the person who rented them the house is now a VP.
Collusion Monday, September 18, 2006 ...
Clever examples of real auction participants who communicated with their rivals through their bids.
Most expensive year of life: 34 Thursday, August 17, 2006 ...
Current age of Tim: 34. And yep, while I've paid out more in other years, this year is definitely the one where the bills loom most steeply.
The meme spreads Monday, August 14, 2006 ...
Trying to remember something I wrote once, I hit Google and discovered this passage written by someone else: "And the more bear, elk, deer, buffalo, mountain goats, wild sheep, and other large-scale indigenous fauna I spied, the more acute my sense of loss regarding my mooselessness."
I've been running this site since 1999, and you might think one sighting in the wild every seven years is a slow spread, but now, NOW, my friends, the ball begins to roll...
Make yourself an admin Wednesday, August 9, 2006 ...
I managed to escalate my user privileges at work through nagging, but if that fails, here's an exploit.
Prince of Nobody Tuesday, July 25, 2006 ...
In the middle of one of the web's many justified outrages over Alan Dershowitz's cold dehumanizing of civilians, comes this brilliant story about a Saudi prince and a Boston bar manager. It's such a Hollywood moment that I think I've actually seen it on screen in some form. No matter.
Valve's Portal Monday, July 24, 2006 ...
My gamer friends will have seen this, but for the rest, here's a preview of Valve's game Portal, where you can shoot portable holes and then walk between them.
Shadows Sunday, July 23, 2006 ...
A role-playing game for children. The kids describe what they want to do and what their mischevious shadow wants to happen instead. Then you roll two dice to see who prevails!
Wisdom Saturday, July 22, 2006 ...
Strong opinions, weakly held. Via Marginal Revolution.
Online lottery for BC Thursday, July 13, 2006 ...
The provincial government has joined the exciting world of online gambling, and man, do they make it easy.
I bought a 6/49 ticket to try it out. They cleverly leave all the boring registration until long after the bright cartoony Flash buttons where you make choices like "How many tickets? 10? 104? Never ever stop because we love you?"
There are careful reminders here and there to know your limit, and there's a clock in the corner. I imagine that's because you can buy scratch-and-wins too -- just sit and pay all day. I've never bought myself an instant ticket in my life, but I still felt a chill. It's like standing on a cliff. You could throw your life away.
There doesn't seem to be anyone around Friday, June 30, 2006 ...
When alone, people behave more honestly if watched by a large poster of someone's eyes. The Ministry of Giant Eyes will be so gratified.
Leverage Tuesday, June 27, 2006 ...
Matthew Yglesias observes that the best way for the Gates Foundation to invest its stunning annual contribution to global health (which should rise to $1.7 billion with Buffet's donation) would be to not directly invest in health at all, but to lobby the U.S. government to live up to the U.N.'s Millennium Development goals -- which would amount to $77 billion in annual spending.
So how much lobbying can you do for $1.7 billion? All the presidential election spending for 2004 was only $1 billion.
Victorian London: the milk Wednesday, June 7, 2006 ...
BoingBoing passes along a collection of Victorian-era clippings, maps and sketches. Flipping casually, I found this:
Lactation is always an exhausting process, and as the child increases in size and strength, the drain upon the mother becomes great and depressing. Then something more even than an abundant diet is required to keep the mind and body up to a standard sufficiently healthy ... the substitute required is to be found in malt liquor.
Design a Catan scenario Tuesday, June 6, 2006 ...
Mayfair Games is sponsoring a Settlers of Catan scenario design contest. They ask that you use only the basic set, which is thoughtful, because that's the only set I own. The winner gets a fancy version of the game. Deadline is October 2006.
On a scale from zero to catastrophe... Monday, May 29, 2006 ...
An evaluation system for board game prototypes. I like the well-differentiated rating system for problems: non-existent; cosmetic; minor; major; catastrophic. This is a much more useful scale than 1-10.
Monitoring Craigslist Monday, May 29, 2006 ...
And while I'm marking How To articles, here's how to watch Craigslist for a sale you might want.
All I want is a rectangle Monday, May 29, 2006 ...
This is insanely complex, but here's how you draw an empty rectangle in Photoshop (full name: Frickin Adobe Photoshop). I've tried in the past and always just skipped to Fireworks instead.
Bookins Monday, May 15, 2006 ...
Bookins is a book trading service; it's U.S.-only, but I'd love to see something similar emerge in Canada soon. You list books you want to trade away and books you'd like to receive. Bookins links senders to receivers and manages a karma system so that you receive roughly the same quality of books you send. A clever twist is that Bookins provides free postage to senders, but charges you $4 to receive a used book. (The U.S. has a special book postal rate, the lack of which might make this service trickier in Canada.)
BoardGameGeek has casual "math trades" that work in a similar way. After learning everyone's offerings and wants, software calculates a series of round-robin exchanges that would result in the most trades overall.
A different kind of house insurance Wednesday, May 3, 2006 ...
Use housing futures to hedge your investment in your house. I'm not sure if argument-by-goat-insurance holds much persuasive value, but I've heard this idea bounced around, so thought I'd notch it here for me to remember.
None of the following are acceptable substitutes for fun Wednesday, May 3, 2006 ...
A short manifesto about fun. File under: Things I believe, but do not enact.
Packaging a Novel Wednesday, April 26, 2006 ...
An apparent case of plagiarism leads to this eye-opening account of "packaging" in the world of young adult fiction. Just like pop bands are assembled by smooth, anonymous market-savvy committees, young adult books now appear to be relying less on the talent and voice of their authors than on a corporate process. In this particular case, it seems possible that the author never even read the book she's said to have plagiarized, because she never really wrote the book that bears her name.
Small additional detail: this two-book deal was worth $500,000, although some of that money apparently went to the packagers, who share copyright on the novel. If this story has become your own guilty reading pleasure, there are more investigatory articles here
Buying a Car Wednesday, April 26, 2006 ...
Great Ask Mefi advice for buying a new car, although focused on the U.S. I've only had to do this once, and could use all the advice again for the (hopefully distant) round two.
Kirby Free Alarm and Task Scheduler Tuesday, April 18, 2006 ...
I don't use Outlook, so I may install this reminder program instead.
I want a freeware utility to... Tuesday, April 18, 2006 ...
More than anything, the Mooselessness link I revisit is Pricelessware. It led me to Cobian (backups) and MWSnap (screenshots), both of which have been lifesavers. Here's one more collection of freeware for whatever unknown problem I'll need to solve in the future. Like killbots.
BootCamp Wednesday, April 5, 2006 ...
Stylish response. "So you found a way to install Windows on an Intel Mac, eh? Well, if you can't beat em, join em."
Under Odysseus Wednesday, March 15, 2006 ...
An insider's view of the Trojan War.
Zombie muscle Z-lines are strong Sunday, March 12, 2006 ...
Someone from the medical profession answers an Ask.Mefi about zombie muscle decay. With blackboard diagrams taken from dramatic angles.
HD vs DVD in Middle Earth Sunday, February 26, 2006 ...
Someday, this page will cost me $5000. Hopefully, technology and inflation will have advanced to the point where that's my wage for a day.
"Did he tell you about the giant spider?" (video) Friday, February 17, 2006 ...
Kevin Smith relates the story of his time writing the doomed Superman Lives movie. I've heard the tale before and I usually lack the patience for videos, but man, Smith tells a story like nobody else. Hilarious.
The 10 Best Science Fiction Films that Never Existed Wednesday, February 15, 2006 ...
Slashdot has linked to this, so I'm madly behind the curve here, but no sf movie fan should miss this David Wong essay. Funny, wishful and smart. The top-ten format muddles the organization a bit, because he comes back to some of the same film-making problems more than once, but it's still a treat for fanboys and girls. Two previews of the piece:
1. The Wachowskis originally pitched a prequel, showing the machines' war with humanity... Maybe you tell it from a robot's point of view, one who lived through the whole thing, from uprising to all-out war. So what happened? ... If the second Matrix film is a prequel, it can't have any of the stars in it.
2. I would have killed off Obi-Wan in Episode II just to fuck with you.
Spiderman had these! Monday, February 6, 2006 ...
L.A. cops are going to be able to fire GPS tracer darts at fleeing cars! I am living in the *21st century*.
Optimus Crime Monday, January 30, 2006 ...
Best local outcome of the Canadian election? I've discovered a 1000 kilograms (a megagram?) of entertaining Canadian political sites. Here's a taste of Optimus Crime: Marc Garneau on his next steps: "Well, I'm, ahem, I'm unemployed. So I suppose I'll be looking for a job. I have a young family to support." Aw, somebody hook the dude up with some work. We'll keep our eyes on the classifieds for a 'Wanted: Astronaut' ad.
See also The Hammer.
Teach them the tranquil beauty of ninjitsu Tuesday, January 24, 2006 ...
The Ask.Metafilter crew offer advice on making your kid's childhood enjoyable and valuable. Television has many enemies. One family held a weekly doughnut night and a board game night. I wonder if it's too late for me to be adopted? Here's another post about creating traditions.
Amazon search tool Monday, January 23, 2006 ...
At long last, a free tool that helps you sort through Amazon results. I find books with multiple out-of-print editions agonizing to uncover on Amazon, but the filters here make the search a snap. I adore it. There's a Firefox demo.
August 29th, 1997 Monday, January 23, 2006 ...
I left a chicken breast on the gas barbecue for four hours. It looked like something Sarah Connor dreamt about.
Building a PC Wednesday, January 18, 2006 ...
A scrupulously thorough, technical and up-to-date guide to assembling a PC. What drew me was its coverage of the tests to run after screwing all the parts together.
FoxIt - Alternative to Acrobat Reader Tuesday, January 17, 2006 ...
FoxIt is a streamlined PDF reader that allows you to type on any PDF. And while I'm pitching alternatives to creaky software, here's an alternative to Quicktime. Hat tip to Derek.
Shadows. Masses, really. Tuesday, January 17, 2006 ...
Screenwriter Josh Friedman, who I've linked before, had a bout of food poisoning that put him in the hospital. Other discoveries followed. Part one is linked above. Here's the resolution, part two.
The Neal Pollack Invasion, one page Thursday, January 12, 2006 ...
Back in 2003, Neal Pollack saw how fiction writer James Frey was going all literary bad boy over Eggers and other new American authors and decided to show him who was truly America's grittiest writer. Note: this piece has by far the highest fuck to non-fuck word ratio of anything I've linked, so if you are at work, or on your way to work, or someday hope to hold down a job, you're better off reading the Hobbit Name Generator link again.
Pollack has an update too where he writes a long new list of crimes. I prefer the original, but I do like this part: "If you're wondering where all the records of my various crimes have gone, well, they were destroyed in a fire a few years ago, a fire that spread across neighborhood police stations in every state. You didn't hear about that fire because of another fire that night, this one afflicting newsrooms."
Rebuilding poetry Wednesday, January 11, 2006 ...
As you may remember, Poetry Magazine was bequeathed US$175 million, slightly more than I managed to raise for my magazine back at UBC. Here's how they plan to spend it, and I'm pleased to see it's not simply on grants. Their goal is to drag poetry out of the academy and popularize it again, growing a population of readers who will pay poets themselves.
Monopoly variations Wednesday, January 11, 2006 ...
I hope never to need these Monopoly homebrew rules, but if I'm trapped on an island without Puerto Rico, then perhaps they could save a life.
Do keyboards dream of electric bleeps? Wednesday, January 11, 2006 ...
I have had to replace my keyboard. The old one somehow crashed. I feel as though I have differently sized hands now. The keys require more pressure too. I am going to have tiny hands of steel.
Hm. It appears I am going to be the second site on the web to use that phrase. The first contains holiday Blade Runner fan fiction, of course.
Elected senate Tuesday, January 10, 2006 ...
So what would happen if we had elected senators? We'd need to crack open the constitution or live with a system where Nova Scotia would have almost twice the representation as B.C. in a body that not only has the theoretical power to block and introduce bills, but actually does it. (While at Tilting at Windmills, read their fast overview of why the pharmaceutical industry is so screwed up and steps to fix it. I hadn't realized so much drug research was public.)
Weird Worlds Tuesday, January 10, 2006 ...
An amusing space exploration game with lots of replay value even in the demo. The writing's clever. A description of a "green star" solar system mentioned that green stars were a sign that the universe had been recreated incorrectly. (Feynman would approve.) Eventually, I came to realize there was little strategy on the demo's random small map beyond planning your route. Exploring planets was much like flipping over entertaining cards for quick button-pushing rewards. But it took me 25 games to reach that point, each game lasting 5 minutes.
Indie PC games - best of 2005 Wednesday, January 4, 2006 ...
An eyecatching and surprisingly rich collection of indie computer games from 2005. The number one pick, Oasis, is an addictive discovery and investment game that take only two minutes per level. The GameTunnel review promises Civ-lite, but really it's a PopCap style game. I blew through my free hour like *snap* that. Indie games tend to be retro, so if that's your cup of tea (or your five year old computer's cup of tea), check the full list out. There's even an Arkanoid subcategory.
Pandora Wednesday, December 28, 2005 ...
Name a song or a band and Pandora will generate a radio station based on similar picks.
Ask Metafilter discoveries Wednesday, December 28, 2005 ...
Returning to Ask Metafilter after the holidays, I found a few links I wanted to hang onto. How to make buttercream icing. Jobs for copy editors. Bags for SLR cameras. How to clean sound recordings. How to photograph the moon. If you can use all these tips in one day, sleep soundly and mail me some of the cake.
CSS menus Tuesday, December 20, 2005 ...
Clever CSS menus and lists. One zillion of them.
How to become a Photoshop guru Monday, December 19, 2005 ...
Shortcuts, advice, tutorials and more from Ask Metafilter.
Restart now? Now? Would now be good? Thursday, December 15, 2005 ...
How to make Windows shut up and leave you alone after installing new updates.
Order of the Stick Monday, December 5, 2005 ...
Do you have time to read 250 stick figure comics about Dungeons and Dragons? I didn't think I did either. (Trivia: the creator of this strip was one of three finalists in the Wizards of the Coast world design contest, which I and 11,000 other people entered.)
The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse Wednesday, November 30, 2005 ...
A short story by Susanna Clarke, set in the world of Jonathan Strange. Also, Clarke participates in a roundtable about her own novel.
Dingbat Depot Friday, November 25, 2005 ...
A respectable collection of free dingbat (icon) fonts.
Douglas Adams speech Friday, November 18, 2005 ...
Shortly before his death, Douglas Adams gave a speech about endangered species and his trip to Madagascar. The speech itself is RealVideo, but the link for this post leads to an unusual blog called Gpod about documentaries and public domain videos. There's a short text excerpt to whet your appetite there.
Filterset G Friday, November 18, 2005 ...
If you use Firefox and don't want to see ads, please use Adblock and Filterset G, which is a list of ads to block. Thank you. Message ends.
March 21, 1918 Friday, November 11, 2005 ...
A wargamer pauses on Remembrance Day to look at the last major German offensive of World War I, drawing back steadily from the level of the individual soldier to the level of emperors and prime ministers. Strangely stirring for a collection of maps and counters; you get a hint of the still unimaginable scale of the war.
American Science and Surplus Tuesday, November 8, 2005 ...
I had this on my Christmas wish list page for years as a diversion, but they don't actually ship to Canada, so the link is moving over here. The page suggests a random surplus item from AS&S. Hit refresh to try your luck again.
I Want To... Tuesday, November 1, 2005 ...
Five years ago, this page was built on a firm foundation of stolen BoingBoing links. I'm now proud to announce a new era of stealing Lifehacker links.
Remember Password Monday, October 24, 2005 ...
Banks and other web sites that only wish they were high security, like my distance education forum, often override your browser's ability to save your password. With this bookmarklet, you can take the power back. Use with delicious recklessness!
Silence is Golden Monday, October 24, 2005 ...
Over on metafilter, they held a novel fundraiser for the Creative Commons. Two loud community members agreed to go away for a week if the community chipped in enough gold. The site raised the $1000 in less than a day.
LibraryThing Tuesday, October 18, 2005 ...
My friend the Reverend Henry might like this one: catalog your library online, tag them, sort them, and reorganize your shelves and show them off graphically (all fullface, sadly; no one scans spines I suppose).
LifeHacker Tuesday, October 18, 2005 ...
Simple tips to make your electronic life better. Many of LifeHacker's suggestions fall into the category of "Wuh? How could anyone not know that? How could anyone live without that?" But somewhere out there people are saying that very thing about tips you don't know. So catch up.
Sweeping the clouds away Tuesday, October 18, 2005 ...
Grum was trying to remember "a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter." In googling around for him, I found these 25 other Sesame Street memories.
EarthBound Light Tuesday, October 18, 2005 ...
Like British kings and paralyzing people with my fingertips, photo editing is one of those topics I keep promising to learn more about. EarthBound Light hosts a collection of essays that, two year from now, I'll berate myself for not having read. They also have a tool that adds curves to Photoshop Elements. As companion pieces, here are two long sets of retouching tips from a quirky professional: 1, 2. (Good caption for a perfume ad in that last article: "Montreal-based supermodel Daria Werbowy seen here as a shiny robot.")
Gmail Plus Addressing Monday, October 17, 2005 ...
Gmail lets you create subsets of your own e-mail by ignoring anything that follows a plus sign. For example myname+frogs_are_the_coolest_amphibians@gmail.com still goes to myname@gmail.com. Better yet, the part after the plus is still visible when you get the mail! Until the bad people catch on, this lets you create easily filtered e-mail addresses for sites that you don't entirely trust. For example, myname+I_know_youre_going_to_spam_me@gmail.com.
Free Software list Monday, October 17, 2005 ...
Searching Google for free software leads you to some pretty complicated definitions of free, many of them involving money and frustration. This is a well-maintained list of leading free-beer software in a variety of categories.
Five Games Shannon Appelcine Doesn't Like Tuesday, October 11, 2005 ...
Chess, Scrabble, Bridge, Texas Hold 'Em and Puerto Rico. I love Puerto Rico, but he's right that, as with Chess and Scrabble, you can kill the game if you gas it, dissect it and optimize play. I killed the real time strategy genre of computer games for myself this way, and came close to killing Diablo 2. What saved me was that I couldn't actually understand half the Blizzard forum posts, which had devolved into a private language of neologisms and acronyms.
Home fires burning Sunday, October 9, 2005 ...
The September Queen's alumni magazine was filled with crown and gown harrumphing about to keep rowdiness at Homecoming under control. "Ah me," I thought. "They've used that same headline ever since I first went to Queen's, 15 years ago." But maybe they still don't have it down. A 5000-person party in the ghetto with a flipped and burning car! Those roughhousing 80-year-old returning alums, stirring up the trouble.
Here's a good "before" pic of the Aberdeen party. I don't even remember Aberdeen being a tradition when I attended, but then I was very square.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company Tuesday, September 27, 2005 ...
I adore these wee houses.
How do I escape Azeroth? Tuesday, September 27, 2005 ...
I never started World of Warcraft, partly because I knew it would be a timesink, but really because I'm too cheap. Still, this Ask Metafilter discussion about escaping the game's pull has a there but for the grace of god shiver to it for me. The conversation moves from absurd to amusing to unsettling to sad. (I do laugh at all the people who suggest starting a band as a better way to use up your life.)
Harlan Ellison and Penny Arcade Monday, September 26, 2005 ...
Bwahahaha. The Penny Arcade lads, who draw video game comics for a living, have a run-in with Harlan Ellison, the science fiction curmudgeon who has long since exhausted whatever karma he's owed for City on the Edge of Forever. (Scroll down to "Foolscap" for the story.) "He's a ridiculous man, a little goblin who pokes his head out of dark holes and scowls at all the Earth."
It's not a ripping story to tell the truth, but the idea that Tycho, Gabe and Harlan Ellison share the same Earth amuses me.
I doubt that it's an accident Gabe misspells Ellison's name the whole way through.
His noodly accessory Monday, September 26, 2005 ...
Holy mighty moly, you can get a flying spaghetti monster for your bumper now.
Kevin Smith guest stars on Degrassi Monday, September 26, 2005 ...
Unexpected. Found through Kevin Smith's blog. Seriously.
I find your lack of faith disturbing, a weblog Monday, September 26, 2005 ...
I once thought I read screenwriting sites for writing and career advice. But I realize now I read them for the gossip. And scenester jokery. "The studio told me they thought I was 'burned out.' This happens when people set you on fire."
Dungeons of Loathing (PDF Link) Monday, September 26, 2005 ...
There's going to be a card game based on the popular stickfigure game Kingdom of Loathing. The publisher decided to release its PR material as a PDF file inside a message on a forum. Because otherwise you might accidentally find out about it.
Terry Fox's battle with cancer is over Thursday, September 15, 2005 ...
There was an item on the CBC today, a memory sent in by a listener. The woman recalled how she was in love with Terry Fox as an 8-year-old girl. As she watched his journey, she wondered if his parents were in the police car that followed him, or if the hotel that he stayed in at night had a pool.
One day, she woke to hear on the radio that Terry Fox's battle with cancer was over. She ran excited to her mother to tell her that Terry Fox didn't have cancer any more.
Her mother said, slow down slow down, tell me exactly what you heard. And when the mother understood and explained the truth, they cried together, in part because it was so unfair and unhappy, and in part because the girl would never grow up to marry Terry Fox.
72 Hours Tuesday, September 13, 2005 ...
I've been gathering ideas and links for emergency preparation that are sprouting everywhere after Katrina. I did the same thing after the tsunami, which shows my tendency to procrastinate is mightier than my tendency to worry, but perhaps the plan will stick this time.
Not so global Monday, September 12, 2005 ...
Ian Welsh argues that the oil market isn't as global as people say, because refineries are designed to work with specific sources oil -- especially those refineries that deal with the Canadian oil sands. He says this may give Canada a weapon in its trade disputes with the States. To my disappointment, I have no tools in my head to evaluate this argument, so I pass it along, bare and unexamined.
Crema 911 Wednesday, August 10, 2005 ...
Apparently, some BoingBoing readers have thoughts about coffee.
Previously on "Kung Fu Monkey" Tuesday, August 9, 2005 ...
How did I miss this site for so long? Screenwriting, U.S. politics, comic books, Joss Whedon, [stand-up] comedy, and even a few threads about Canada. Kung Fu Monkey wrote the Global Frequency pilot, the most popular piece of unaired television I know. He's writing the Transformers movie. My enemies must be using him for bait.
You poor thing Tuesday, August 9, 2005 ...
A newish Joss Whedon interview. If you're not already clicking the link, there's nothing else I can say. But here's a clip on writing comics for the first time. Whedon: "They sent me an Alan Moore script." Warren Ellis: "Oh my God, you poor thing!"
The Sunlight of a Public Trial Monday, August 8, 2005 ...
Old news, but I wanted to remember U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour's comments at the sentencing of Ahmed Ressam, the millennium bomb plotter.
Monkey Design Monday, August 8, 2005 ...
I didn't care that President Bush thought schools should teach intelligent design. He's set my outrage meter closer to smother-in-sleeping-bags these days. But Kung Fu Monkey, who reminds me a lot of A. Whitney Brown, reminds me why it matters. Where we stand on reason informs every other decision. "This is what determines whether societies live or die."
A KFM quote: If your doctor said "You know what, we're going to blow off all the currently available research and treat your child's cancer with a completely untested, never scientifically proven bit of guesswork which, however, reinforces my world-view. Because what does science really know?" you'd be pulling out of the parking lot before he finished the sentence.
See also I Miss Republicans.
How close was Japan to surrendering? Monday, August 8, 2005 ...
I've slipped into some debates lately about whether there were alternatives to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that would have ended World War II with fewer deaths. Most of the realistic debate hinges on how close you imagine the Japanese were to surrendering. Richard Frank looks at the unredacted Magic intercepts released in 1995 and concludes that there was little prospect of a surrender before the bombs, and even afterward, there was a deadlock.
The one thing I miss about this essay is Frank's analysis of the human cost of alternatives (such as invasion or blockade/famine), which he goes over in "No Bomb, No End," an essay that's not online. They all would have led to more deaths than the atomic bombs. It was a grim decision, one that I hope will never need to be made again, but I do think it saved lives.
Sighting on the Coast Trail Tuesday, August 2, 2005 ...
I went for a hike yesterday with Shannon, baby Anna and my wife's world-travelling aunt Glynis along the coastal trail in East Sooke Park. We only did a small loop, as the whole trail takes five hours to complete, even when you're not backpacking a baby.
Forty minutes into the walk, we stepped off the trail to let a large hiking group pass. (The hikers may have been a tour. Strange to think of people paying to be guided through my neighbourhood.) We teetered about looking at some petroglyphs while we waited to let the hikers get ahead. Anna pointed at shadows, rocks, birds and seaweed.
We had just turned to resume the hike, when Glynis pointed out to sea. "There! Killer whales!" And it was true. A pod of orcas, at least twelve of them, cresting. The towering fin of a male. Plumes of water as the whales spouted. They raced along the surface for a delightfully long time, chasing fish, we think, before slipping under again.
So, Anna's first whale sighting -- although the spectacle didn't excite quite as much as the three blonde dogs chasing balls at the trail's start.
(The linked photos are from a year-long collection by Victoria-based orca-watcher Chantelle Tucker.)
Kaaba Tuesday, August 2, 2005 ...
How otherworldly the Kaaba seems. The holiest place in Islam. Cubic, black and ancient, it reminds me of the monolith. Something I did not know: the deep black comes from a silk cloth draping the building. It is replaced once a year.
Flickr's 24 hours Tuesday, August 2, 2005 ...
Flickr uses a hodge-podge of criteria to flag photos as interesting. Their gallery of the past 24 hours highlights so many stunning creative photos and tags, I'm reminded again that Flickr is a rich labyrinthine city, and I've never left my own quaint alley on the edge.
Victoria craigslist Wednesday, July 27, 2005 ...
Whoa, there's a craigslist for Victoria. And it offers free bunnies! Perhaps it's existed for a hundred years and no one's told me. That would be just like you guys. (Craigslist is a free classifieds listing, which started in San Francisco and then took over the world. Check Accordion Guy for his Toronto Star versus craiglist comparison).
Moving Hippos Tuesday, July 26, 2005 ...
Either USPS or Customs has been absolutely shredding my packages from the States lately -- one envelope was actually torn in half and put in a baggie -- but I forgive USPS a little for keeping these instructions about how to move a hippo on their site.
Nikon D50 Monday, July 25, 2005 ...
I bought this camera seconds ago. They're mailing it from Toronto. The Nikon D50 is the slimmed down version of the Nikon D70 we took to Jasper, loved, and then decided we couldn't afford. This family-friendly model released a year later is about half the cost, but is close to being the same camera at heart. In a cheery coincidence, this SLR costs exactly the same as the first digital camera I ever bought: a 2.1 megapixel Canon S10 point-and-shoot over six years ago. That camera came with an 8 MB memory card. These days, 8 MB would be one photo.
Too Dumb to Train Tuesday, July 5, 2005 ...
Toyota turned down hundreds of millions in subsidies from U.S. states to pick Ontario for its new plant. An Ontario manufacturers' associations claims it's because their undereducated rivals are too expensive to train. CBC: "In Alabama, trainers had to use pictorials to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment." (The title comes from the Left Coaster's article, which pointed out this CBC piece to me.)
Apropos Comics Tuesday, July 5, 2005 ...
From the Our Friend the Computer textbook (1979): "Without the mind-boggling power of computers, advances in modern fields such as molecular biology, cryptography, and the humourous relettering of comics would be doomed."
Doom: The Board Game Sunday, June 26, 2005 ...
I picked up Doom: The Board Game on sale and have been playing it solo so I'll know how to teach it. The game is sprawling and overruns an entire room of your house with zombies, demon dogs and scuttling spiders. The play is a messy, unbalanced riot, but that's not why I wanted to post about thegame.
I've discovered Doom has some Darwinian advantages over other board games. After playing the game through twice, I felt I understood it and was ready to put away and try a new game. But here's the catch. The game doesn't fit back into the box. And if I decide that I want to play it again, why, I'd have to reassemble the jigsaw board and scrupulously place all the wee powerups and weapons again. Ah, the heck with it. It can have the family room. Those other games can wait.
Reflecting on the 21st century from 1996 Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
This 1996 article by Paul Krugman resurfaced in my web reading the other day. Krugman imagines looking back on the unforeseen changes of the 21st century, such as devaluation of higher education and the return of the Ivy League to "a place for children of the wealthy to refine their social graces and befriend others of their class."
Anne Lamott and the younger George Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
Back when my wife and I read Anne Lamott's book about her baby, Operating Instructions, we feared what poor Anne must be thinking these days. She hated George Bush Sr. so passionately that seeing his corrupt and dangerous son get re-elected must surely have caused her to crush distant universes with despair. But we need not wonder, for Anne Lamott has a political blog! And surprisingly, she seems hopeful.
Interview with Richard Garfield Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
A quick and delightful interview with Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, who has bittersweet memories of leaving math academia to become a Goblin King zillionaire. (I hope, anyway.) I was surprised to read that the Pokemon game vastly outsold Magic. This is like admiring a gleaming classic car, only to be told that the real money is in the plastic hula girl on the dash.
Bait Car Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
Cameras film would-be thieves as they try to escape in a booby-trapped bait car that can be switched off on command. Not a reality show... yet! (The video I've linked is my favourite. Surrey teenagers know it all, until reality leans in its head. Allegory for all teenagers.)
FatFingers Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
A clever tool for searching eBay for typos, such as digtal camera. I like window-shopping for board games in eBay, but the shipping costs always break the deal. Related observation: I see Yahoo Auctions is free now, which is tempting for me as an occasional seller, but their shelves are bare so far, so I can't imagine they attract a fraction of the audience that eBay does.
Hacking the flag-burning amendment Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
John Scalzi amusingly shows why a flag-burning amendment is not just against American ideals, but futile too.
Previously on Mooselessness Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...
Ah, the lazy days of May when I wondered if a fancy camera could make me keep my eyes open in photographs, or whether I'd have to keep wearing these glasses with eyes painted on them. I also let you know which type of Linux was the hippiest. Or you could visit the full archives.
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