The Xiphoidian

I've Moved!

2009-03-25T02:14:00.004-05:00

Hi there. I've moved to www.darinpantley.com

Please update your bookmarks.

This site remains online for the time being for the purpose of using it as a stylistic and functional reference for the new site. My intent is to make the new site better than this site, but I've got a long way to go before that happens (and this isn't even that great).

Dude, Someone Broke SSL

2008-12-31T03:43:00.002-06:00

You can read all about forging SSL certificates using PlayStation 3 consoles on CNET.

Adobe AIR Platform

2008-12-30T05:47:00.001-06:00

I ran into my first Adobe AIR program today: Klok. I'm a little confused how to use it, but this AIR business seems pretty slick.

Stuff To Keep You Busy

2008-12-29T18:18:00.003-06:00

Looking for a place to start your wanders on Wikipedia? Start with the American and British English spelling differences.

Then read up on the Chinese Room argument against machines ever being intelligent with 'minds'.

Keeping you up to date on the latest conspiracies

2008-12-29T18:16:00.001-06:00

Have you heard about the rainbow conspiracy theory?

BBC Garners Viewers, Bad Press

2008-12-29T17:45:00.002-06:00

"...nasty little war of words between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and company co-founder and Roadster designer Martin Eberhard – Newsweek is reporting that Musk said 'Martin is the worst individual I've ever had the displeasure of working with' after Eberhard had referred to him as a 'terrible CEO'" -- Register Hardware

From the company that knows how to generate press, "Tesla takes Top Gear test to task."

The Taste of Dimetapp

2008-12-29T17:41:00.002-06:00

When I first saw Grape, like most people, I thought it looked fairly useful. The commenters weren't all so optimistic, citing concerns about the efficiency of the user interface. If there were a way to automate the tagging of pictures based on a database of known objects, and off of your own pictures so that it would recognize family members and friends, it would be great. I noticed some of the Windows 7 previews have implemented some Grape features to a limited degree.

Genetic Programming: Evolution of Mona Lisa

2008-12-29T17:39:00.002-06:00

What do you get when you breed 904,314 generations of semitransparent polygons? The Mona Lisa. As one commenter pointed out, this approach would make for an interesting new compression algorithm. If only it didn't take so long to generate the polygons...

Things That Aren't Known

2008-12-22T23:57:00.001-06:00

Mark is getting a degree in mechanical engineering
Kirk lives in Burbank and works at The Smell

Best Computer for $500

2008-12-22T01:59:00.003-06:00

Goal: To build the cheapest computer that can handle basic emailing, word processing, and CD burning for people who want to stick with a Microsoft Windows environment. I'm also assuming that an old monitor, keyboard, and mouse are available to plug into this once it's constructed.

Parts: I started with a Cooler Master Centurion case, since it's decent looking, but not too costly. It doesn't come with a power supply, so I selected the Thermaltake TR2 to power the innards. A computer this meager doesn't need 430 watts, but you'll be hard-pressed to find another PSU outputting this much for so little. As for the motherboard, I went with a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L -- nothing special, but it'll do. I'm an AMD guy, but you'll want to stick a Core 2 Duo in there for the best bang-per-buck. The cheapest one is fine: the 7300. I wanted to put Microsoft Windows Vista on the 160GB Western Digital hard drive, for future-proofing's sake, so I paired it up with 4GB of Crucial memory. I could've gone with a slightly cheaper 80GB hard drive and 2GB of memory (don't go with 1GB, Vista will crawl), but the price difference isn't worth the value difference. Then I realized, sheepishly, that I forgot to add an optical drive. The Samsung DVD burner finishes off the hardware quite nicely. Last but not least, it wouldn't be very useful without Microsoft Office.

Here's the damage:

$359.93 Hardware Total
$179.94 Software Total
$539.87 Total Cost
$39.09 Shipping
$578.96 Grand Total

But wait, you say. That's not $500! You are quite right, observant one. I chose not to consider using technology that I deemed obsolete (Pentium processors, anyone?). Apparently modern computers cost more than $500 these days. Sure, you can save money using Linux, free software, and the like, but if you're trying to build a computer for someone who needs a seamless transition from their office to home without a learning curve (like I am), this is about what you'll end up with.

If you look at the dollar tally, it would be about a $400 computer with Ubuntu and Open Office installed. Or perhaps you could reach the magic $500 number by substituting in an inferior processor (be it Intel or AMD).

Personally, I think the sweet spot is always located at $650, and if you can't afford this price range, saving up is a smarter idea than getting a worse computer for cheaper -- it will be obsolete the minute you buy it.

Now Tired Enough to Sleep

2008-12-19T01:49:00.000-06:00

You're undergoing triple-redirection to experience this, but I think it will be worth it: the dual-screen laptop. As if incorporating a Wacom digitizer pad in the laptop wasn't enough, now they've added a secondary LCD screen on as well.

The Dollar Appreciates

2008-12-18T23:10:00.002-06:00

I was surprised to discover tonight that the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 community is alive and kicking. There's even a list of currently active servers.

Cold Competition

2008-12-16T20:06:00.001-06:00

Chinese police play Counter-Strike to hone their counter-terrorism skills.

How do you fast forward through Red Alert 3 replays?

2008-12-16T17:11:00.001-06:00

Press the period key: .

221 for the collection

2008-12-15T23:26:00.002-06:00

Linux successfully installed on a potato.

I sat there for a minute or two trying to decide if it was real. Stranger things have happened.

JCS finishes at the start

2008-12-15T20:35:00.002-06:00

Containerized data centers? It sounds like an interesting idea, until you realize their mobility is something that will never be used after they arrive in your company parking lot. I liken the idea to receiving a product and never taking it out of its packaging. On the other hand, it was smart of Dell to refrain from mass producing the containers. Now we just need to watch the charts and wait for the container bump.

Xbox 720

2008-12-14T02:26:00.002-06:00

2011 is crawling closer. Are you ready for "Next Gen"?

Ford MyKey

2008-12-12T23:04:00.002-06:00

Planning to buy a 2010 model of the Ford Focus? Assuming the company doesn't implode by then, you may be interested to know about the Ford MyKey. It seems Ford has been focusing on technological improvements with increasing frequency lately.

Enn Bee Ess Pea Colon

2008-12-12T20:56:00.004-06:00

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Interestingly, those with the least exposure to computer keyboards would consider it the most normal.

55 points possible

2008-12-12T20:42:00.001-06:00

National Everything Card? Surely there must be a better way to enhance efficiency and government revenue without single-point-of-failure consolidation.

Nikhil got Rock Band 2 today

2008-12-12T20:26:00.002-06:00

Did I ever post the link about the blind pilot who landed his aircraft? I don't think I did.

Also, here's a brand new link. It takes you to a gallery of terrorists.

News Alert: Google Chrome is out of beta.

What did you think of the new Keanu Reeves movie? Mark decided it "wasn't terible".

Elizabeth

2008-12-09T05:29:00.002-06:00

From time to time I think about the inefficiencies of The Xiphoidian. For example, just the other day it struck me that the title area of this site takes up half of the screen -- a very poor styling choice. Not to mention, Blogger is a bit limiting.

I wonder which language would be the most fun to write a redesign in. Ruby? PHP? Perl? Python? Good old C? One language per page? Oh, right, I was doing homework. Back to work!

Your photobucket is about to be disabled

2008-12-05T15:39:00.003-06:00

Current Tally: 17,576

Category Pet Hurricane

2008-12-04T14:06:00.002-06:00

The bugs on my screen are never this intelligent.

One of my favorite biased news sources

2008-12-04T13:38:00.002-06:00

"A series of lawsuits have been brought against major US companies by staff claiming unpaid overtime based on the time it takes Windows Vista to start up and shut down."

-- The Register

Also, Steve is on the "main page" (a term currently in debate) of the UNL website right now.

Bags and Sets

2008-12-01T20:37:00.003-06:00

Difference between bags and sets:

Professor Zhiyong Xu of Suffolk University has published some excellent notes on the subject.

Do not Use with Ice

2008-11-30T13:33:00.002-06:00

Hey, look at that. I'm one post short of having two months in a row of one-post-per-day. That was my original intention for this blog, although you'd never know it looking at the post counts.

It's the last day of Thanksgiving break, so I'm driving back to school in a couple hours. Hopefully I get back with plenty of time to spare so I have time to finish (read: start) preparing for my presentation tomorrow, not to mention question 4.b.

Previously this week: Steve maintains a Steveular trajectory. Matt remains busy being Matt. Kyle didn't lose a bit of Kyle in Iraq. Laura's changed, but also completely the same. Mike and Billy went at it again like old times, albeit with different tactics, still as blind as ever. Jeremy flipped his car to "avoid hitting a deer." Both he and Dave managed to whomp (defined HERE: take that Google/Firefox spellcheckers!) me in some Red Alert 3. If I forgot you it's because I left to check on my laundry.

I saw Quantum of Solace with Mark and Jeff. It felt like a mediocre knockoff of the Bourne series (which is getting another movie, by the way). Call of Duty 5 at what's-his-name's was pretty cool on the 50+ inch with surround sound. I had to be revived an awful lot in the co-op campaign, until we played free-for-all, which I somehow won twice in a row.

I know you like links, so here you go. Posting something from LifeHacker seems like a bit of a cop-out, but it's something. Enjoy.

Terrorist Arrested

2008-11-27T14:15:00.001-06:00

Full story here.

Viernes Negro

2008-11-27T13:21:00.002-06:00

PC Magazine has declared the 5 Best Online Electronics Retailers are:

Looks like a pretty good list to me.

Escalator Movement

2008-11-26T23:59:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Nikhil! Unfortunately, it probably wasn't too happy.

The Taj Mahal Hotel caught fire today when terrorists went on a rampage looking for Britons and Americans. CBS has video and CNN has some bloody pictures of the railway station.

Nikhil knew two who died and six of the people currently being held hostage.

But happy birthday all the same. You only grow older once per year.

The Corpus Clock

2008-11-25T03:09:00.002-06:00

I didn't mean to post anything about an expensive clock, but the Wikipedia article on it is so very interesting.

Here are some words to mull over:
Interest Aptitude Knowledge Talent Passion Wisdom

Now, as I originally intended to mention:
Did you notice the changes Google has made lately? Search results have little buttons next to them that you can use to vote with, like Digg or Reddit. YouTube has changed too. Now the videos are all displayed in a widescreen viewing area.

Useless Information Problem

2008-11-25T02:51:00.002-06:00

This reminds me of the hype that built up prior to the Segway's release. It looks very bulky and heavy, so I can't imagine it will catch on very quickly, but it is an interesting idea. I would definitely "ride" one if given the chance.

Twelve Hours Late

2008-11-25T02:26:00.001-06:00

New memory technology created at Rice University.

AMD vs AMD

2008-11-25T01:19:00.003-06:00

If you follow the semiconductor industry, or perhaps if you follow some of the more detailed tech news, I'm sure you've heard about AMD splitting their company into two to try to return to profitability within our lifetime. Beyond3D posted an article about it back in October. What I found more interesting than the article itself was the comments posted below it. Most of them are longer than the article itself, thanks to thoughtful replies by 3dilettante and WaltC.

Recessionary Tactics

2008-11-20T22:37:00.001-06:00

Are you between ages K and 12 and looking for a job? Start here.

Security Precaution

2008-11-18T13:20:00.002-06:00

-- musical instrument made from a vegetable

It's That Beetle

2008-11-17T18:32:00.002-06:00

I've seen a picture of the rocket-powered VW Bug before, but I don't think I've ever seen it in quite this much detail. Mark especially liked the scooter.

YASM is not an acronym

2008-11-15T21:36:00.001-06:00

Let's Keep It Down To One

2008-11-14T13:17:00.000-06:00

I'm all registered for classes next semester now. Not having classes on Monday will be nice.

Archery Terms

2008-11-11T23:39:00.002-06:00

This was posted a year ago, but I hadn't seen it before. Very cool. Maybe I should just have the program I'm writing for CS242 run Photoshop commands to solve my maze...

It Smells In Here

2008-11-11T11:15:00.001-06:00

This is layoff season. Mike has the unfortunate inside-scoop.

Doesn't Even Try

2008-11-10T22:40:00.002-06:00

Try this in your Firefox address bar:

about:cache?device=memory

It works. No, I don't expect you'll find it very useful.

Cardboard Panic

2008-11-09T15:45:00.000-06:00

I'm one of the co-chairs of SIGART at the University of Illinois, so I've been updating our web-presence recently. Our website isn't anything special, but it'll do the job. We've got a meeting in 15 minutes. Hopefully Nikhil wills himself out of bed soon, so I won't have to do this solo.

PS: Why doesn't my copy of Firefox understand that contractions aren't a violation of English spelling rules? It suggested that instead of the text aren't I may have meant Daren. Foolish computer.

Speedy Green Snakes

2008-11-06T17:45:00.002-06:00

Our president-elect has wasted no time in making himself at home in Washington. It's only two days after the election and he already has a .gov website dedicated to himself: www.change.gov

Impressive.

Tiling Window Managers vs Zorgitron

2008-11-05T18:05:00.000-06:00

How to Warm Up: Looks like my aversion to the activity has its pros as well as cons.

Health Alert

2008-11-05T13:08:00.000-06:00

"The Feminine Touch Carries More Germs"

Congratulations Obama

2008-11-05T00:08:00.003-06:00

If you watched the election coverage on CNN, you couldn't have missed their technological marvels. The extra-large screen that responded to touch input was sophisticated, but they didn't stop there. They "beamed" a person onto the set via an array of high-def cameras and displayed a 3D model virtually in the room as a backdrop for statistics. The source behind CNN's wise marketing move? Perceptive Pixel: Jeff Han and friends. Start saving.

The Battlegrounds

2008-11-04T11:10:00.002-06:00

Today is election day. Karl vote is predicting 338-200 results.

Introduced by Trac

2008-11-03T14:35:00.001-06:00

I didn't realize example.org was a reserved domain name.

Scene 1 of 2

2008-11-02T02:32:00.003-06:00

Four hundred seventy five days in total I have been collecting spam emails that promise to give me money. I didn't bother saving the ones that requested my life history ("full names", age, occupation, etc) before they'd give me the money. Nor did I save the ones that promised "40%" of "the funds" without specifying any hard numbers. I got some emails that offered large loans, but I didn't consider those either. With a loan you have to return the money eventually. The other emails were promising free money from nowhere. I amassed a grand total of one thousand six hundred fifteen emails between 7/17/07 and today. I think that's quite enough.

Now, what to do with them all...

Here's the first one I ever saved:

The National lottery
P O Box 1010
Liverpool, L70 1NL
UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Dear Winner,
We happily announce you that you have emerged winner of £250.000
(twohundred and fifty thousand pound sterling)Pounds from the UK
ONLINE
LOTTERYdraw held on 3th May 2007.
To file your claims please contact our claims processing department
forclearance procedures.
Name:Jamal Hilton
E-mail:agentjamalhilton_08@yahoo.co.uk
Tell+447024078026
Tell+447045726188

And the most recent one:

FROM:Mohamme.d M. Abacha
NO.16.Queen's Drive Victoria Island,
Lagos-Nigeria.

Dear Friend, I heartily solicit for your honest/Godly assistance to safe our soul. Following the sudden death of my father General Sani Abacha the late former Nigeria head of state, in August 1998, I have been thrown into a state of utter confusion,frustration and hopelessness by the present civilian administration, I have been subjected to physical and psychological torture by the security agents in the country. As a child that is so traumatised,I have lost confidence with anybody within the country. You must have heard over the media reports and the Internet on the recovery of various huge sums of money deposited by my father (General Sani Abacha) indifferent security firms abroad, some companies willingly give up their secrets and disclosed our money confidently lodged there or many out right blackmail. In fact the total sum discovered by the Government so far is in the tune of US$700.Million dollars. And they are not relenting to damage my family. Further info.Website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/564586.stm
http://www.dawodu.com/ekwueme1.htm
http://www.afrol.com/articles/13746

I got your contacts through my personal research on SBA which i was a member because i co-own a company before this whole issue came up, and out of desperation decided to reach you. I will give you more information as to this regard as soon as you reply. I repose great confidence in you hence my approach to you due to security network placed on my day affairs I cannot afford to visit the embassy so that is why I decided to contact you and i know not knoing me before you will betray my confidence which is normal with anybody in your shoes but i hope you will not betray my confidence in you because i really need your help. My father deposited the sum of US$350.000.00 million dollars with a security firm in abroad in which I want you to clear at least US$50 million first so that you will use part of the fund to clear the remaining fund and the security deposit company have affiliate collecting centre all over the global. whose name is withheld for now until we open communication. I shall be grateful if you could accept to conclude this transaction and keep this fund for safekeeping.This arrangement is known to you , my mum Zainab and our Attorney alone,so our Attorney will deal directly with you as security is up my whole being.I am seriously considering to settle down abroad in a friendly atmosphere like yours as soon as this fund get into your custody.

I will require your telephone and fax numbers so that i can forward them to me to enable you and me to communicate immediately.Listen carefully, I am not in doubt of what my late father did, but I want you to understand that previous president (Gen. (Rtd) President Olusegun Obasanjo ) and the present President Musa Ya'radua intentionally dealing with my family based on the political mis understanding they had with my late father of the past.Nigeria is a wealthy country and no Government since 1977 to this day that is not dubious, President (Gen. (Rtd))Olusegun Obasanjo and his family today has syphoned the ecomony (fund) of this nation. I hereby take you back to the history of this nation (Nigeria) from 1977to this day and you will understand my point.President (Gen. (Rtd)) Olusegun Obasanjo made up his mind to damage my family out of his share wickedness.

I am once in Nigeria Government and hereby giving you assurance that Nigerian
are corrupt from the top to it's base. Please don't disclose the
telephone number to the third part for the good interest of my family and the safety of this
business.

Please reply strictly via E.mail: m.mba@inmail24.com

Sincerely yours,
Mohammed M. Abacha.

They Don't Approve of Ugly Foreigners

2008-11-02T02:12:00.003-06:00

John spent all day on his latest drawing. Take a look. I like how there's so many different looking people in it. Many of the people pictured in the drawing were inspired by actual people he saw in Japan.

Perfect Game

2008-11-02T01:18:00.002-05:00

Bowler Dies After Rolling Perfect Game

Leo Rosten

2008-11-02T00:39:00.002-05:00

Hamilton's had a bumpy ride on the F1 circuits this season, but he still managed to come out on top. With one race remaining in Sao Paolo at the Brazilian Grand Prix it looks like he's going to walk away a winner.

An Empty Fox

2008-11-01T20:16:00.001-05:00

Looking for a Flash game to distract yourself with? Try this one. Jeremy plays on Earth-2.

Rankmaniac

2008-11-01T19:48:00.003-05:00

jvdomino is a rankmaniac

Both U.S. presidential candidates have been mentioning taxes in every other sentence, but which plan would actually work? The Forbes Plan? Obama's? John McCain's? The FairTax? Something more regressive? Progressive?

Political Bananas

2008-10-31T16:11:00.002-05:00

Ever wish you were Barack Obama armed with a rocket launcher? Or maybe Sarah Palin clawing her way into a helicopter as it takes off? Pandemic understands.

Dogs vs Empire

2008-10-29T23:07:00.002-05:00

For some reason dogs do not like the Empire Flooring commercials.

It's like programming in Ruby

2008-10-26T17:48:00.002-05:00

Jurand suggested that our next programming assignment for class be written in Malbolge. Let's hope no one listens to him.

"Malbolge was so difficult to understand when it arrived that it took two years for the first Malbolge program to appear. The program was not even written by a human being: it was generated by a beam search algorithm designed by Andrew Cooke and implemented in Lisp."

Last Won

2008-10-25T01:43:00.002-05:00

Barack Obama is superstitious. John McCain is superstitious. Goodnight.

World Vote

2008-10-24T05:28:00.002-05:00

What would happen if the whole world could vote on the next U.S. president? Obama would win and India couldn't care less. America seems to slowly be falling into agreement, but we'll have to wait for election day to find out.

And if you're wondering why I have more references to Obama than McCain on this site, it's mostly because Obama is much better at promoting himself online. Computer-illiterate people don't tend to have a lot of website activity.

The Value of Homes is Down

2008-10-23T22:27:00.002-05:00

Woman Kills Husband: 5 year sentence
(Yet another product of our advancing digital age)

Prolific Day

2008-10-23T17:08:00.001-05:00

Dutch court rules stolen virtual goods constitute theft.

Vote for the man from Chicago

2008-10-23T16:25:00.001-05:00

"I may have found who to vote for," says Steve.

One Week Package

2008-10-23T15:35:00.002-05:00

BREAKING NEWS:

PIGEONS DETAINED ON ESPIONAGE CHARGES!

Source: Ynet

Right Shift Register

2008-10-23T13:44:00.003-05:00

Steve thinks we should buy World of Goo. It was created by Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler. I like their office. It sounds pretty snazzy.

OSM: Sorting Algorithms

2008-10-23T00:04:00.003-05:00

"I was doing my run and I was on the sidewalk with my hat on. It started coming off so I instantly stopped, thinking it was a branch, even though I knew there wasn't going to be one there cuz I didn't see any. My hat comes completely off and I don't see the branch so I start looking around for a person and there's NOBODY -- anywhere. So I'm like this did not just happen. I look straight UP and there's an OWL RIGHT ABOVE my face!"

-- Mark's Cousin

Congressional Hearing

2008-10-22T21:35:00.002-05:00

This latest addition to my video posting spree is brought to you by Bo. He interviews with Google on Monday.

The Great Tickets Paradox

2008-10-22T13:40:00.003-05:00

I was just reading Paul Graham's Great Hackers and thought you might like to too. It's full of opinions, but I find that I agree with him on most of his points. Even his mention of the Python Paradox rings true, although I'm sure it probably upsets a great many programmers. Finding computer-literate people who know how to write well is always a pleasant surprise. Sorry I couldn't surprise you today. Maybe it was for the best.

Casino ATM

2008-10-22T12:32:00.003-05:00

...

Generation Gap

...

Poking SVN

2008-10-21T17:56:00.003-05:00

Andre found this and I think the guy does an excellent impression. If you just happened to hear it without seeing the video I think you might even mistake him for the real deal. I know I would.

Being Interrogated

2008-10-21T13:19:00.005-05:00

I'd like to have a way to sync files between my computers.

It appears I have these Web 2.0 options at my disposal:

I don't really care about automatic backups or the ability to share files via public URLs (although these are very cool features). I just want two folders on separate computers to always look identical, even if I throw a 700MB ISO onto one of the computers.

I could use rysnc, but as far as I know it's based on scheduling and I want the syncing to be automatic.

Nikhil's back from class now. He's trying to convince me that we need to license parents, ban guns, and expose small children to a lot more sex for the betterment of society. Furthermore, children never think for themselves. They either continue their parents philosophies or completely rebel and set off in the opposite direction.

Hopefully Charith wakes up soon so we can start working on accessing databases via Ruby.

Download Details: Utilities and SDK ...

2008-10-21T12:04:00.002-05:00

Next time you meet someone, say www.cnc.com. They'll (definitely not) understand.

Dark Eiki Typo

2008-10-20T15:11:00.002-05:00

To the security buffs among us, Swiss researchers have successfully sniffed passwords wirelessly from wired keyboards. It reminds me of the researchers who tried to determine passwords by listening to the sound of the keys as they were pressed, but this latest finding seems to be more reliable.

Resume Season

2008-10-19T12:44:00.002-05:00

Writing and revising your resume? Your dull and boring resume? The resume that looks so drab that you almost deleted it because you thought it was spam? Maybe it needs some pizazz. Okay, maybe not that much, but at least your creative juices are flowing now.

Why Do People Play Computer Games?

2008-10-19T12:23:00.003-05:00

Game Career Guide's Lewis Pulsipher posted an article titled "Why We Play." It reads more like a research piece than an opinionated blog entry, so I thought it was pretty interesting.

My Inbox Mourns

2008-10-17T00:05:00.002-05:00

It's nice to see someone is sticking up for our inboxes.

Commander Keen 2008

2008-10-16T05:28:00.002-05:00

Hubble's 486 back-up computer is alive and kicking. It's amazing how much staying power old things have.

TTPD

2008-10-15T10:53:00.002-05:00

I was sitting here in my room reading an article about EA when Nikhil walked in with a bowl of cereal. Apparently my bed looks like a kitchen set.

He hasn't said a word yet. Wait, I hear a grunt. Let's see if this develops into a word... still nothing... ah, there we go. The obligatory conversation about the weather. It must've been okay outside, because I don't remember much of it. There was some rain. "I figured we'd spend some quality time together. Bye bye," he announced, and off he goes.

That cereal he was eating is making me hungry.

Three Down Two To Go

2008-10-15T10:21:00.002-05:00

It's all over the Internet, but you may not have heard: A man has secretly named his baby Sarah McCain Palin. Bizarre.

Pinging the Former Terror State of North Korea

2008-10-11T13:28:00.005-05:00

I'm currently browsing the following URLs:

And downloading Firebug while I ping www.google.com.

Mike is visiting this weekend. He just left to meet up with Dustin at Cafe Paradiso. I would've gone, but I have things to do (as evidenced by my list above).

10 minutes after training

2008-10-06T00:10:00.001-05:00

Conspiracy?

Simple Physics

2008-10-05T21:52:00.003-05:00

With the Dubai Tower nearing completion, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to top it. Apparently that someone is Prince al-Walid bin Talal. If you want to send him a letter, use the following address:

Kingdom Holding Company
c/o HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Chairman
Saudi Arabia Kingdom Tower
P.O. Box 1
Riyadh, 11321
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

See also: Al Burj

Ritnalap Technologies

2008-10-05T21:45:00.002-05:00

Andrei, Samarth, Chris, and company were recently discussing the space elevator idea. Apparently they're not the only ones. Its completion date, 2030 at the earliest, matches their estimate.

Cruncy Noodles

2008-10-05T01:35:00.001-05:00

Andre found this interesting little web applet that lets you draw things. After you 'submit' your drawing, it shows you dozens of hand-picked favorites. They put my feeble attempt to shame.

In other news, I saw pictures of Jeremy's and Jake's babies today. Best of luck to the fathers... it's going to take a lot of work raising those little ones.

Edward McSweegan

2008-10-01T17:26:00.003-05:00

Have you heard of Edward McSweegan? He angered his superiors, but they couldn't think of a good reason to fire him, so they relegated him to intern-level duties. Not bad, for the pay level, even if it did get a tad boring after awhile.

Mark got his license

2008-10-01T13:44:00.003-05:00

The author of Gpcode has been "tracked down." As criminal as the creation of Gpcode was, it's still admittedly very clever.

Share Variables Between Classes in C++

2008-09-30T10:35:00.002-05:00

Steve introduced me to the singleton class last week. It's essentially a static class. Only one instance of it ever exists at a time, so you can store values in it and retrieve them later without fear of multiplicity. I used it to store command-line flags in a global fashion so they can be looked up anywhere in the program, without passing variables around everywhere.

Bernanke pets small turtle LIVE

2008-09-30T10:32:00.002-05:00

The first presidential debate has come and gone. One professor thought it could be interesting to turn it into tag clouds, one per candidate. I see it more as entertainment than hard science, but interesting nonetheless.

Precisely the Reason

2008-09-18T23:57:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Zorgitron

2008-09-16T13:02:00.002-05:00

Mark was without power for the last two days due to Hurricane Ike.

Nikhil just ran away because John's (pretty cool) Game Boy music started playing on my computer.

One of Many and More to Come

2008-09-14T16:25:00.001-05:00

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

It never occurred to me that this should exist, but luckily someone else thought of it.

Now They're Both Lost

2008-09-13T21:01:00.003-05:00

PlanetCNC has an article up about Red Alert 3. It's a bit long, but there's some interesting tidbits in there. I hope the "draw on the mini-map" feature actually makes it into the game.

She's Still Here

2008-09-13T20:23:00.001-05:00

Need a 12 pack of Ron Paul soda? Get it here.

It's also available in Hilary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama varieties.

Why did they choose an 'e'?

2008-09-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

Andre tells me that he's in this news clip.

The video could be about anything for all I know. I hope it actually is a news clip and not something bizarre or offensive. As soon as I install Flash support for Firefox I'll check it out. Sadly, the Firefox download manager requires the entirety of Firefox to run, so I can't restart Firefox and install Flash until this giant download finishes.

A New Small

2008-09-12T13:35:00.002-05:00

ManBabies.com, the site I happened upon this morning via a comment a few pages down on a Reddit.com story, was created by Kris, a friend of John's. Kris is from Greenville and met John on DeviantArt.com roughly five years ago. They've hung out a few times. What are the chances?

Three Copies Please

2008-09-12T10:15:00.002-05:00

I find it interesting that websites on the Internet today are so diverse in terms of site quality. You can still find professional websites stuck back in 90's styling. Other sites sport a more 2000esque look. Then there's the classic sites that don't have enough styling to go out of style. How long will it be before this look goes out of favor?

EA has a new Red Alert 3 video up. Seems to be their biggest-budget C&C game to date.
Winston Huang, thanks for updating my TMobile Minutes Used Firefox Extension!

CERN is Ready

2008-09-10T11:52:00.001-05:00

The world's largest particle accelerator has officially been welcomed into existence.

Spore DRM limits installs to three copies

2008-09-08T21:16:00.003-05:00

After the third (re)installation, you have to contact Electronic Arts for a new authentication. The Internet is lighting up in protest of the new protection mechanism, which allows you to play the game without a disc in your optical drive. [link]

Should've gone to Walmart

2008-09-08T00:20:00.003-05:00

By now you're probably sick of the whole election process with its conventions, campaigns, and candidates that you would never vote for in a million years (half of them). If you're like me, though, you're probably still curious who's actually winning right now with the American people. The latest Gallup Daily Poll shows McCain in the lead (I'm as surprised as you are). Judging from the graph and how close they've been in the polls, I'm sure it will swing back soon. Tight race. It's almost like we're flipping a coin for president.

Pirates of the Caribbean in a Box

2008-09-07T21:37:00.007-05:00

Only six hours and thirty minutes to go...