Futurtastic

2006-11-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

Quack - can I publish from Google Docs?

Update on Ian

2005-12-12T03:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quick refresher for anyone who may have subscribed to the rss feeds for this site.

www.tiltyhouse.com is not longer being redirected here. For anyone looking to find out about Ian, or the goings on of tiltyhouse, please point your browsers toward http://www.tiltyhouse.com and resubscribe from there.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled tomfoolery.

2005-08-31T21:55:00.000-06:00

zOMG!!!11

AJAX-sweetness applied to an online calendar, with a dollop of Ruby on Rails added on top.

You can drag and drop calendar items! It seems obvious, but you can't even do that in Mozilla Calendar. Plus the damn things is more responsive than iCal.

Still in beta, but if this is what two people can do in two months then Kiko has a mighty future.

However, you may have to eschew Safari for now - it works well in Firefox.

Coming Home To Shop

2005-07-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

In an interesting moment of syncronicity, the New York Times (registration required) has an article on practice of children coming home to their parents place to visit, and leaving with a good deal more than they came with. Says Metafilter,

A generation ago, adult children visiting their parents' homes might have left with a Tupperware container of lasagna. Today, many of them stealthily make off with toiletries, groceries, sometimes clothing and even furniture. It is an apparently widespread practice, born of a sense of entitlement among young adults - and usually amusedly tolerated by parents - that gives new meaning to the phrase 'home shopping.'

Interesting because it was one of the topics of discussion on the car ride back up from a family weekend barbecue. In some families, it seems almost expected that children will steal food and goodies. How about your family? Call your mother and say thank you.

thanks to Metafilter

japanoid - Your New Favorite Car Company

2005-07-19T18:20:00.000-06:00

Where else could you buy those crazy Japanese Keikars that you've only heard about from your friends? Why, Canada of course! For those of you who want cars smaller than Mini Coopers, with tiny ~50cc engines turbocharged up the wazoo, and gas mileage better than hybrids, this native Canadian company will sell you a low mileage, right hand drive import, for a reasonable $5000 - $7000. Let the crazyness ensue!

The Best Thing To Do With Jason's Computer

2005-07-03T20:10:00.000-06:00

ATX G4
Originally uploaded by jyunderwood.

For those of you that haven't heard my lamentations yet, Jason's computer has been involved in 3 out of the 4 hard drive crashes I've had in the past month. Interestingly enough, the case in this photo matches his exactly, but this case contains a 450 MGz G4. Since I'm no longer trusing Windows, perhaps this would be a nice project...

Attention whoring

2005-06-28T11:50:00.000-06:00

No links today, just some cheap attention-whoring entertainment that appeals to my simple mind; an amusing way to waste an hour or so. Check out my own blogspace for the idea...and also to get an idea of my hours now (thank you, Mr. Horner).

thanks to マイ・ウイフ

Waaaaah, Yokoso Yokosu, Domo Domo

2005-06-20T20:35:00.000-06:00

Gel TV

This has to be one of the most crazy Japanese things I have ever seen. From what I understand it a little internet TV show for you cell phone. Enjoy

Free iPod Shuffle -- No, Really

2005-05-30T12:44:00.000-06:00

Gone are the days of the free toaster with a bank account. TD Canada Trust has gone all "hip" and "cool" on us, offering a free iPod Shuffle with anynew or transfered chequing account, and a registered direct deposit, or two pre-authorized payment plan.

thanks to Red Flag Deals

A magical thing

2005-05-25T20:44:00.000-06:00

I don't really like the environment. I just pretend to.

But poverty convinced me to try out my local tailor. She agreed to repair four items of clothing for $7.00.

Buuuuhhhhh???!!! That's amazing!!

Why go clothes shopping ever again? Except perhaps for the sweet endorphin rush that accompanies rampant consumption.

Studio Execs Flabbergasted At How Filesharing Is Like Anything Else on the Internet

2005-05-21T16:42:00.000-06:00

In an article "Downloaders take revenge on 'Star Wars'" for the The Roanoke Times, Andrew Kantor explains just how easy it is to download a pirate movie over bittorrent.

Getting get a copy of "Sith" is fairly straightforward, and that's what has the entertainment industry in an uproar.

It requires downloading and installing free BitTorrent software, which is available at a number of Web sites. Once installed, finding content is as simple as going to other sites and entering the name of what you're looking for.

Entering "sith," for example, at one of them nets dozens of results, many of which are full-length, pirated copies of the film. A couple of mouse clicks later, you're downloading the flick.

There are caveats. The file might not be what it claims to be (although bad files tend to disappear quickly as users delete them)...

Now if we do a little find/replace here, BitTorrent for Web Browser, "other sites" for Google; it begins to sound a lot like he's describing the way the web, or most of the internet works in general.

Funny that...
thanks to Digg

Web Headline Zen - "Plant Closed Over Nuclear Booze"

2005-05-09T17:32:00.000-06:00

New Scientist has an article up on a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in England, recently shut down due to leaky pipes. The article quotes what I believe to be a quite possibly a moment of alcoholic Freudian slippage...

Nuclear fuel reprocessing at the UK's Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield in Cumbria has been halted indefinitely after a critical failure in the plant's pipe work. The leak led to 83 cubic metres of a highly radioactive liquor flooding the floor of a vast - but permanently unmanned - processing area.

Let me reiterate; 83 cubic metres of radioactive liquor. Is it just me, or is this conjuring up images of glowing green "moon booze"...

Telus Rock Out!

2005-04-18T23:51:00.000-06:00

So for those of you who may not have heard already, Telus is going to impose certain lockout measures this coming Monday. Being a Telus employee, it's times like these that I thank my Japanese pop culture obsession, as this give me an unprecidented chance to Rock Out!

Hayseed Dixie

2005-04-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

Hayseed Dixie is quite possibly the best internet band I've heard in a number of years, since Volume: The Spiderband. After actually listening for a couple of seconds to the background music at the Sidetrack tonight, we managed to pick out the lyrics to AC/DC's seminal "Big Balls". Originally thinking it was another track by the creator's of Rodeohead, Hard N Phirm; some internet searching revealed that it is actually a completely different cover band, and one with a good history of discs.

Hayseed Dixie has a good history of 4 discs, covering bands from AC/DC, to Kiss, to Queen. If they're all as earwormy as the tracks we heard tonight, I may be out some money, and up about three discs.

(Via Tonight at the Sidetrack..)

Louis Riel

2005-03-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Louis Riel - 3
Originally uploaded by Elijah.

Winnipeg's Louis Riel statue used to have an enormous schlong. Now he doesn't. Punk kids kept breaking it off. Now he has a ground-down Ken doll style lump.

The French complained about the disrespect implicit in a naked statue of Riel.

The French complained about the emasculation of the nationalist Riel figure.

This is a Canadian Story.

97th out of 100

2005-03-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Photo of Edmonton Skyline
Originally uploaded by mothra17.

Thank you Emporis for letting me know where my civic pride should stand on a world scale.

For those who have not already heard by other means, Emporis has ranked many (all?) of the major cities in the world by "the visual impact of their skylines."

While it is actually a pretty interesting review, providing you with vital statistics on each city along with a photo of the skyline; upon closer inspection, it seems that the rating is actually based on the floor count of the cities towers. One could then postulate that we are simply more of a 'down to earth' city, than the likes of Hong Kong, New York, and and Seoul (the top three).

At least we can take solace in the fact that we managed to beat out San Diego, Tulsa, and Mandaluyoung. Watch out Cleveland, we're coming for you next!!

Yo! Semite!

2005-03-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yo! Semite!
Originally uploaded by Elijah.

The International Zionist Conspiracy doesn't stop with Hollywood. Fashion is next.

Huey Lewis

2005-03-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Huey Lewis
Originally uploaded by Elijah.

We love Huey!

Huey Lewis is, perhaps, the greatest actor of his generation.
He is also undoubtedly the most virile man. Ever.

Those of you who have been around for a while may recall a time when I sung the praises of Kim Mitchell.

Now I love Mitchell. More than a sane man should, but Mitchell fans are not this obsessive. Observe:

Daily Accounts of all things Huey: http://www.hln.org/ Weird.

Nor, for that matter, did Mitchell ever have a full-fledged fan club: http://www.thenewsline.net/ Mitchell's fan club is puny and flaccid.

Now why is Huey Lewis so god-damned awesome?

1) He goes by the boyish "Huey," not the dour "Hugh." And it's a good thing too since his real name is "Hugh Anthony Cregg, III ." No lie. In 1971 changed his stage name to 'Huey Louie' after two of Donald Duck's nephews (and this eventually evolved into 'Huey Lewis')

2) "Huey Louie" reminds us of "Louie Louie," a song we love.

3) Huey scored the film "Back to the Future."

4) Huey reminded us that it is "Hip to be Square."

5) Huey is a nerd. He scored a perfect 800 on his Math SAT. Then went into Engineering.

6) Huey then left Engineering (a wise and sensible decision) to bring us the "Heart of Rock and Roll."

7a) Huey is a film and television star: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Lewis,+Huey
"Duets," in which he plays a "Karaoke Hustler" makes me break out in a boyish grin.

7b) Huey and the boys can be booked for corporate gigs: http://www.delafont.com/music_acts/Huey-Lewis.htm

8) Huey is litigious. He successfully sued Ray Parker Jr. for the song "Ghostbusters" claiming that the song plagiarized the band's hit song "I Want a New Drug."

9) Huey Lewis is dreamy (see attachments.)

10) Huey Lewis came to represent the simultaneous optimism and conservatism of everyday Americans during the Reagan era. WE WERE HUEY LEWIS. HE WAS US. More than just "the '80s band," Huey Lewis and the News defined a generation.

Canada Tag

2005-03-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Canada Tag
Originally uploaded by Elijah.

The Flickr Tag "Canada" brings up the terms:
"Lake, Sunset, Water, sky tree, trees, blue"

We are still defined by our natural environment, not our culture.

People don't inhabit Canada - utamed creation does.

Mitsou in The Globe and Mail

2005-03-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Mitsou in The Globe and Mail
Originally uploaded by Elijah.

From the The Globe and Mail:

Mitsou Gelinas

The pop star/model/actress/businesswoman/radio host formerly known simply as Mitsou has a new job. Her current affairs show, Au Courant, will make its debut this evening on CBC Newsworld; te program aims to help English Canada understand Quebec. While members of the French-language media have questioned whether the 34-year-old entertainer is up to the job (one critic suggested the Bonhomme might be just as qualified), only a viewing will tell whether the CBC's latest experiment is a good idea. Which brings up the question, just what is going on over there? First MustMusic's George Stroumboulopoulos gets a show, then Mitsou. What's next? That fired drummer from Nickelback hosting The National?

Thinking about friends

2005-01-31T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sally, a good friend of mine, sent me this great little article from The Age, an Australian news site. It really has me thinking about my friends. Who are they? What importance do I place them? What do I even define as a friend? These are all things I haven't even thought of until now. Check out the article for yourself and give it some thought.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Enduring
friendships/2005/01/31/1107020318683.
tml

Bugsy!

2004-12-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Bugsy
Originally uploaded by ihorner.

Just a little announcement to those of you who haven't heard yet. Over the holidays, Kristen and I made a small addition to our family; a healthy 3 or 4 ounce green cheek conure. We'd like to introduce to all of our futurtastic readers our new parrot Bugsy. More photos are available through Flickr.
So to all of you from Ian, Kristen and Bugsy, Season's Greetings!

The Truth About Soy Nog

2004-12-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Never before have I read such truth spring forth from the mouths (?) of the intarweb...

Giblets craves the rich creamy taste of delicious egg nog. He dispatches his monkey to fetch it for him!

"Monkey!" says Giblets. "Bring Giblets his nog and you shall be greatly rewarded!" The monkey leaps off with the ooking and the bananaing. Giblets restrains his enthusiasm for the monkey given its previous poor work performance but there it is a few moments later with a tall cool glass of fresh nog! Yes, excellent work monkey! You are indeed a worthy servant of Giblets! Mmmm tasty EYYAACH what treachery is THIS!

"This is not egg nog!" says Giblets. "This is some foul pseudo-nog!"
"We're outta egg nog," says Fafnir. "But we have lotsa nutritious soy nog."
"Bhahe! Nog does not come from soy!" says Giblets.
"Soy is good for you," says Fafnir. "It builds strong soy glands!"

Giblets is dissatisfied.

thanks to Fafblog

Christmas Letters to Walken

2004-12-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Not been good enough this year to warrant a present from Santa? Send a letter to Christopher Walken! A exhibit from one of my favorite artists Brandon Bird. Me, I'm asking for Skittles!

via Metafilter

Questions to ask yourself

2004-12-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Geof Stone, guesting on Lessig's blog, is ON FIRE!

Of special note is his latest, "The Good War", which is outstanding.

So, here's a question for you: Suppose the United States is hit with six terrorist attacks on the scale of 9/11 in the next three weeks. Suppose some of the terrorists are foreigners and some are American citizens who are Muslim. Suppose the Bush administration
orders the detention of all non-citizen Muslims in the United States and the temporary detention of all Muslims who are citizens of the United States, at least to determine which may pose a threat to the security of the nation. Would you support this? Can you distinguish it from the World War II internment?

So, what's it gonna be peaceniks?

Timid Canada ventures forth into the Future

2004-12-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

We're slowly catching up with our American cousins.

The CBC Reports that there are finally plans afoot for a Do Not Call registry.

"Paul Martin's government will introduce a bill Monday to protect homeowners against unwanted calls from telemarketers, according to a published report."

So, when do we get Cell Phone Number portability?

Harass the CRTC if you're at all frumpled about that situation.

Podcasting - Why It Matters

2004-12-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

The reason that podcasting matters can be summed up in one sentence. It will succeed where others have failed. The reason that podcasting will succeed is slightly longer in description, but boils down to the fact that it is playing to it's medium, and therefore provides a greater reward for less effort. I am a part of the mobile information movement. I've computed on the go with laptop, hiptop, PDA, cellphone, and iPod. None of these devices are going to do it all, but that doesn't stop people from trying.

Laptops are great at giving you the whole picture; large screens are great at displaying webpages and pictures, and they have more than enough horsepower to drive full screen video, and great sound. Unfortunately, you can look like quite the fool walking down the street with an open laptop. Plus, the sun doesn't seem to like us using alternative lighting sources; LCD manufacturers haven't figured out quite how to defeat it yet.

Hiptops & PDAs have reasonalbly sized screens that allow for good text readability, a bit at a time. They're not yet ready for prime time viewing of web pages, or documents formatted for the screen, but for short snippets of text, or RSS reading, they'll do just fine.

PDAs are the bane or information dissemination. When my cellular provided is even shortening its own notices with SMS speak, u no u r headed dwn a slppry slope. OMG!!1

iPods? Great for music, unsuitable for just about everything else. The less said about trying to read the latest Harry Potter in your iPod's memo section, the better...

So why do we insist on trying to shoehorn content meant to be viewed at a reasonable resolution, with more than 3 lines of text at a time, on our celphones or whatever else we might be carrying? We want information. Do you want to know why the iPod has taken off like a rocket, or why Ringtones and Cameraphones have done better than WAP ever did? It's the fact that these devices aren't trying to be more than what they are. Apple has never marketed their iPod as a PDA, it's a music player, and a damned good one, because it doesn't tempt you to do things that you shouldn't on it. (And to all of you out there who will email me about how much the iPod can do if you hit it with software enough, you don't count. You're going to do what you want to do with your toys, and you'll like it). Cameraphones may also generate some email from device purists, but until recently, they haven't been marketed as anything but what they are; phones that make it easy to take crappy pictures that will be used to send to your friends phone, to be viewed on their equally crappy screen. And it works!

As for internet on your phone? I know of one person who tried it. Once. Drunk. In a bar. Because he wanted to prove that he could. And even then, it took awhile. The reward simply isn't worth the effort put into it.

And that's what it's all about, the reward; that small piece of positive reinfocement, that little food pellet that keeps we of the lab rats of the rat race pushing that small metal bar of technology, in the big psychological experiment of life. Random phonecam pic of girlfriend holding melons -- mmm, tasty pellet. Trying to read latest war-on-terror headlines on 3 line screen -- not so tasty.

This is why podcasting will succeed. The iPod, and of that matter all portable music devices, are good for music. How could they not be? They hold a lot of it, they keep it organized and searchable; its better than FM radio, or carrying a backpack full of CDs. They're great for Audiobooks. Apple has acknowledged this with their partnership with Audbile, and judging by the amount of audiobooks showing up on the torrent sites, other player owners are getting interested too.

So why not talk radio. I already stated that listening to your iPod is better than anything FM, or even the new portables from XM/Sirius could offer. Why not extend this to AM radio. AM is the playground of talk radio. Any Canadian worth his salt has at least one favorite program on CBC, and for you American's reading, you've got an equivalent; NPR for the Blue's, anything else for the Red's. And if your remember my last rant, most of what makes this so appealing is control. The control of consuming what I want, when I want. This makes these players perfect for listening to things.

This is why podcasting will succeed. Until now, these "things" you listen to have just been music and books. But there is a whole world of information out there in audio form, just waiting to be gobbled up by those people with an iPod, and an internet connection. Griffin has already seen the light with their RadioShark, what they describe as a TiVo for your radio. But even this will fall by the wayside when popular blogs like Wonkette, and BoingBoing jump on the bandwagon. Both sites report heavily on people, and real world events; topics that scream out for interviews, speeches and sound bytes. Cory Doctrow is already constantly posting his speeches, and those of others from the digital rights movement; why doesn't he give us a daily/weekly/monthly report on his work this way. And we will eat it up, because we can finally consume information in a format that is designed for the medium we will consume it in. Effort -- low. Reward -- high. Keep hitting that lever...

Don't Kill Your TV, What Did It Ever Do To You?

2004-12-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Video on Demand - A First Had View:
For the better part of my life, I have lived a life without cable television. Years of my life have been spent enriching my brain, and having a "life", savoring the few morsels of broadcast programs that made it through that infernal jamming device that most of you call the 'air'. Recently, I have been given the chance to take part in a trial of a new cable television service in my area, giving me the full spectrum of channels, for free, for the next six months. After only 2 weeks of this service, it could disappear tomorrow, and I'd notice that we are low on rum (we are?) before I'd notice the lack of our cable.

But I've got a dirty little secret...

For about a year now, I've been cheating a bit. I've been downloading those few programs I've wanted to watch off of broadcast television through a file sharing service known as BitTorrent. "John Stewart's the Daily Show", "Stargate Atlantis", "Pimp My Ride"; all programs available to me through the airwaves, but full of static, advertisements, and most importantly, not at the time I want to watch them. Enter the white knight of reception, cable TV. Now, I get wonderful reception, crystal clear audio, and even more selection than I had before! But I still don't use it.

Why do I not watch my TV? The answer is obvious to anyone who has a TiVo, and on the fringe edge of realization for those who know how to program their VCR. I like being able to choose when to watch my TV. First and foremost, I like not being bound by any arbitrary schedule as to when my particular demographic should be watching the programs we like. (20-something white Canadian national geek with a bent for Asian culture and 30's British fashion and cuisine... that's 2:15 - 3:00 am on Sundays?) I've almost forgotten when my favorite shows are broadcast, and for some of the one's I've only watched through BitTorrent, I don't even know when they're on the TV.

Second in my love of TV on the computer, the lack of commercials. This one is secondary, as I find it easy to tune commercials out. Moreover, if I decide to tape broadcast TV with a VCR, I can just fast-forward through then, or if I had a TiVo, skip them automatically. Either way, they are being skipped by those that have a command of 1980s technology, and result in wasted money for advertisers trying to reach an entire generation. With my BitTorrented programs, all commercials are happily edited out (now if only we could do something effective about those network bugs in the lower right corner). I'm now at the point where, like an elderly man who has forgotten who he married, I get confused and flustered when commercials play on those rare occasions of broadcast indulgence.

And one more thing... There was a time when searching for programs on BitTorrent was hard. This is very close to no longer being the case. In the past, hours a day were spent pouring over torrent tracker pages searching for the latest episode of a show. Recently, like so many other pages, I have been able to track new postings via RSS. Now, BitTorrent client programmers have been integrating RSS into their programs allowing me to simply state which shows I want to watch (including screening for episodes I've already seen!), and starts downloading them automatically. Working with torrents has suddenly become as easy as *gasp* turning on the TV!

Ladies and Gentlemen, forget listening to the promises of cable companies talking about their promises of the future; the future is here! Cable companies have had years and years to live up to their promises of video on demand, but nothing has come of it. Now, with a minimal delay, or no delay if I'm interested in watching a show after its already been broadcast. I have been handed free cable on a silver platter, and I don't want it; the internet already provides me with a better product that doesn't control my life. Kill your television? No, simply enslave it. Kill your cable box, and take back your life.

World's Third Oldest Profession?

2004-11-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

After prostitution and spying on prostitution, apparently came drawing what they saw. Obviously, austropithicles died out because its schlong wasn't gigantic enough...

"This Godless Communism"

2004-11-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

A crazy 60's era right wing christian anti-communist propoganda comic book. I especially like the gigantic sombrero wearing Mexican assasin stalking Trotsky.

via BoingBoing

I got a 17 incher packed in a Woody!

2004-11-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

This one is for Nathan, who is looking for a new laptop bag. Big enough for you to carry a 17" monstrosity.

Because of natural wood that have variety of thickness and hardness in every part, artists cannot use the sewing machine, so they sew carefully each bag by their hands.

Probably not quite as sturdy as the Urban Plumber bags, but definitely better smelling.

via MoCo LoCo

Superman is a Dick

2004-11-15T17:10:00.000-07:00
Superman is a Dick

This is quite possibly the most bizzare, and hilarious thing I've seen in weeks. 30 pages, well worth it, unedited silver age DC comic covers, proving that Superman, Lois Lane, Batman etc, are insane, lazy, dicks!

thanks to Me

EA runs a sweat shop!

2004-11-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of humanity, you will no longer purchase products from this company. Driving people to work 85 hours a week for little reward is tantamount to slavery. I thought we were behind all of this. EA, shame on you. If I were a major world leader, I would have your executives charged with crimes against humanity and have you all executed. This is inexcusable.

thanks%20to%20

British Bookies Give Odds on Bush Assassination

2004-11-10T23:35:00.000-07:00
Those wacky British, with their calculated odds for everything have calculated the odds surrounding the possible assassination of the newly elected president. Anyone care to lay down any money?

Odds offered by several British bookmaking companies: President Bush Will Be Assassinated: During his current term 80/1 Before the end of 2005 150/1 Following his presidency 50/1 The assassin: American citizen: 2/1 Foreign national 4/1 Lone assassin 2/1 Affiliated with group: 2/1 Location of assassination: U.S. 5/1 Overseas 10/1 While traveling: 4/1 In car: 2/1 In aeroplane: 4/1 Method Used: Gun (rifle or handgun): 2/1 Bomb: 5/1 Airstrike (rocket or bomb): 5/1
via The Regular

Turn out the lights...

2004-11-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

...the party's over.

Kerry concedes at 11 AM today.

Well, it was a good party at least, and the cleanup only took an hour. And John Stewart will ensure I completely fail to crush my EDPY midterm tomorrow!

My Vote Counted

2004-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

myvotecounted
Originally uploaded by Glenn Vanderburg.
It make me laugh
It makes you think
It makes you weep

Fan Fiction

2004-11-02T09:22:00.000-07:00
Sweet Jesus! Who will take up Nathan's challenge and turn this into fanfiction?

Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas take the Delorean back to last Sunday in an attempt to avert a Redskins loss, thus saving GWB's re-election chances. Because all the judiciary bias in the world cannot overcome the power of the Redskins...

I double dog dare ya!

The Most Apt Thing I've Read on Slashdot in Months

2004-10-30T13:51:00.000-06:00
From What Your Choice of Linux Distro Says about You:
What your choice REALLY means... (Score:5, Funny)
by bwoodring (101515) on Saturday October 30, @10:39AM (#10672954)
• Mandrake: You're a nerd
• Red Hat: You're a nerd
• Suse: You're a nerd
• Debian: You're a nerd
• Slackware: You're a nerd
• Knoppix: You're a nerd
• Gentoo: You're a nerd

BONUS!!!!
• FreeBSD: You're a nerd
• OpenBSD: You're a nerd
• Solaris: You're a nerd

Dan + FOOSH = :(

2004-10-29T21:18:00.000-06:00
Teaches me to get off the couch too quickly!

Damn, I broke my wrist last Saturday as a result of a fall on an outstretched hand (foosh). As a result, I have a cast on my right hand for 6-8 weeks. I get my right hand for Christmas! On the bright side, it's already wrapped...

And want to be better at Go? This site will help.

Onions makes my eyes tear up

2004-10-26T22:58:00.000-06:00
Before Jon Stewart and the Daily Show there was The Onion.

And such a sweet onion it is.

Behold: the Election Special. Updates will follow for the next week.

Cynicism

2004-10-26T16:34:00.000-06:00
Sometimes the endless US electoral process can make a person just a little bit cynical.

Witness these candid comments from Mark Goodwin, who managed Oliver North's run for the US Senate. He is, for the record, evil.

Quoted from the documentary A Perfect Candidate:

We're all caught up in the show, we're all caught up in the entertainment value of politics. We have to serve up something every day for the press. It's like feeding lions. If they're fed they don't turn on us. But the day they're not fed they're hungry and they turn on us. So we have to serve up the daily entertainment, the daily side show.

Getting people elected, whether we like it or not, is not pretty, but getting people elected, unfortunately, has a lot to do with dividing. Setting up bases of support and fracturing off those that, you know... it's like busting a big rock. You try to chip off your piece and break the rest of it into so many smithereens that they don't matter.

But that is different from what it takes to govern, because what it takes to govern is all about finding concensus on contention issues and bringing together people who don't always agree under some sense of common purpose. And we are obsessed with getting people elected, and we are obsessed with the show.. and so are you or you wouldn't be here. So we provide daily entertainment. What we are not providing is serious solutions to what's going on in the country. Not us, not Clinton, not Bush. Not anybody.

Note 1: he's referring to Bush I.
Note 2: Jon Stewart could only say "amen."

More Jon Stewart goodness

2004-10-26T15:46:00.000-06:00
Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has been a busy man of late, whoring for his book.

Here's a quicktime video of Stewart on 60 Minutes last week.

November is pedo month!!

2004-10-26T07:35:00.000-06:00

No, it's not what you think! This month I want everyone to think about fitness, gadgets and crushing! You are to proceed to your nearest running store/Canadian Tire/Zellers and purchase a pedometer. Yes! This month you are going to record the steps you take in a day and post them to the comment section of this blog entry. Weekly totals only please. The person with the most steps in a month will win a Japanese doodad of my choosing. Be honest and give it your best. Try to keep a normal routine; however, if you feel like walking an extra 6-7 miles to win, I will not stop you! I will also be in the running, though I will not claim a prize.

Monster Mash-Up

2004-10-25T20:26:00.000-06:00

monstermashup-front
Originally uploaded by thorner.

This halloween I think we all could use some funk. Good stuff for your Halloween party. Halloween Mash-Ups.

Waffle House

2004-10-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

Waffle House
Originally uploaded by Snapatorium.
A post for the sole purpose of attracting Kristen to the blog. She's been demanding one for some time...

October Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

2004-10-23T19:55:00.000-06:00

Well shit! There he was, all along! Who woulda thunk it?

People...can't possibly be this stupid? Can they? Or am I just WAY too cynical?

thanks%20to%20
And holy sweet mercy crap, this blog thing confuses a Japanese superhero like me madly...

Flip-Floppery

2004-10-22T22:15:00.000-06:00

Flip Floppery
Originally uploaded by ihorner.
Bush knows nothing. THIS is Flip-Floppery

Come On! Come On!

2004-10-22T20:24:00.000-06:00

Who will win presidential erection, Cheeky Kerry or Shrubby Bush? Cheeky Kerry or Shrubby Bush? Who will it be? Prace Bets Now! Come On! Come On! Betting... I mean voting ends!
Banzai Man
Originally uploaded by ihorner.

Crazy Ass Japanese Poster of the Week 1.

2004-10-21T22:33:00.000-06:00

Sep 30 3.JPG
Originally uploaded by jasohill.
This is a poster for a Baby sumo contest that was held last month. Watch em go at it!

By the way. I am an Edmontonian, and I will be there soon enough. However for now, I just happen to be in Japan. How did I get there? I can't really remember, but I'm sure I'll get back to Edmonton with the power of SCIENCE!!!!

Graawwhhhhhh!

2004-10-21T21:45:00.000-06:00
Edmontonians! Win tickets to Ghost in the Shell 2!

Holy crap.

A friend of ours was depressed last night. When asked about why he is depressed, he says, "Check my LiveJournal!" EXCUSE ME?!?! You're right in front of me! Right In Front Of Me! Crikey! In fact, I gave up trying to find out what he was depressed about because (gasp) I needed to sign up for a livejournal account, get him to acknowledge my account, etc... yeesh.

Dan's Futurtastic Rule #1: If you see a person in real life, you shouldn't need to check their website to find out how they're feeling.

Anyways, since this is my first blog post, the best thing I can do is bitch about Blogs! Now back to your regularly scheduled fun.

ROCKET PUNCH!!!!!!!!

2004-10-21T15:05:00.000-06:00

Oh. My. God. The Japanese Are the Most amazing people on the planet!!!
ROCKET PUNCH!!!!!!!!:

Yeah right, as if you didn’t already know the Japanese are totally insane.

[Thanks, Susser]
(via Engadget)

Look Good, Feel Good

2004-10-21T00:50:00.000-06:00

A four part article on dressing well in today's society. The series covers suits, shirts, pants, and general dressing tips respectively. Being a person for whom it is out of character to be seen in anything but a button down shirt and jacket, I have to say that even I learned a few things from this series. But not only is it informative, but also witty, in the style of the Saturday Globe and Mail Fashion pages, only slightly more geeky:
Assuming you’re not an investment banker, you don’t need ten suits; you only need four. This means you can be a discerning shopper and spend time accumulating, then keeping your suits in good condition (dry clean once a year, then more for spills; don’t you dare iron it yourself). Think of the process in terms of collecting, spending years searching for that one original-packaged Chewbacca.
So read, and improve yourself. (viametafilter)

Haiku on Flickr: Wednesday

2004-10-21T00:20:00.000-06:00

haiku Originally uploaded by Elijah.
Here are the haiku posted so far to flickr:
From Eli:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepipes/973458/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/termie/973460/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dparko/961926/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52752028@N00/961105/
From Jason:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503091004@N01/962990/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28183076@N00/480159/
From ian:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28183076@N00/480159/

W.G. is in the hood

2004-10-20T23:26:00.000-06:00

William Gibson has returned to the world of blogging, and this time instead of writing about book tours and other uninteresting things, he's taken up politics.
Do I have a hundred thousand politically conservative fans, and if so, *can't they read*?.....

If I were to put together a truly essential thank-you list for the people who most made it possible for me to write my first six novels, I'd certainly owe as much to Ronald Reagan as to Bill Gates or Lou Reed. Reagan's presidency put the grit in my dystopia. His presidency was the fresh kitty litter I spread for utterly crucial traction on the icey driveway of uncharted futurity. His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.

Although I have to agree with Gibson that I too much prefer the work of his friend Jack Womack. Elvissey BLEW MY MIND.
Womack is a major talent, and thus naturally labours in obscurity.

Traktor vs. Ray Bradbury

2004-10-20T19:57:00.000-06:00

The 1950s radio play adaptations of Ray Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles" are spiffy.

They become more spiffy when an anonymous French-man remixes them with music created in the TRAKTOR program.

Traktor vs. Ray Bradbury

Hosted on Webjay, these tracks are hella good and can be found nowhere else on the intarweb. Google it, should ye doubt.

News Torrents For Canada, and the Rest of the World

2004-10-20T01:25:00.000-06:00

So here's the deal. For those of us who do want to kill our television, except for glorious Fox animated series, but most importantly, for politically base (and based!) daily shows, such as... the Daily Show (and to a lesser extent Rick Mercer's Monday Report), there has been little to do but wait with hope that the link will show up on supernova.org. Well wait no longer! Now, through the magic of ShunTV (the Daily Show, reg. required), and Digital Distractions (Monday Report), these shows can be yours, on a semi-regular, yet apparently reliable basis, despite your ability to accurately receive broadcasts over the air. Rejoice!

Breaking for the Challenger

2004-10-20T01:23:00.000-06:00

not Edmonton's Stephen Mandel, but one from Illinois
Stephen Mandel is Mayor of Edmonton. And I am pleased. How weird to be on the winning side in an election. This is the first time in nine (!!) years of voting that I've ever placed a vote for a winning candidate (Students' Union elections aside)
But what happened?
Mandel has consistently been in third place among decided voters throughout the campaign. How did he slip into the winning spot?
Here's the poll results Mandel himself commissioned a week before the election:
Noce - 24%
Mandel - 17%
Smith - 19%
Undecided - 29%
But of course the large number of undecided voters, the largest of any group in the survey, could swing the election for any of the candidates.
The final tally:
(percentage in brackets = change from initial poll)
Noce - 25% (+1%)
Mandel - 41% (+24%)
Smith - 33% (+14%)
The Mystery Pollster has highlighted what is called the "breaking for the challenger" effect, which suggests that because the incumbent is well known, very few voters are actual undecided about the challengers record. They have had a minimum of three (and in Smith's case, nine) years to get to know the candidate.
Which means that undecided voters tend to swing heavily towards the challengers on voting day.
The Incumbent Rule:
... voters find themselves conflicted -- dissatisfied with the incumbent yet also wary of the challenger -- and may carry that uncertainty through the final days of the campaign and sometimes right into the voting booth. Among the perpetually conflicted, the attitudes about the incumbent are usually more predictive of these conflicted voters' final decision than their lingering doubts about the challenger. Thus, in the campaign's last hours, we tend to see "undecided" voters "break" for the challenger.
If, of course, they bother to vote at all.
As for Noce's failure to pickup any of the undecided vote? It must be because he's a jerk.
From The Edmonton Journal:
Smith seemed pleased he was defeated by Mandel rather than Noce. "I think Mandel will make absolutely the best mayor. If I had to lose, then I'm glad it was Stephen Mandel."
Here's to City Council being (I hope) less retarded!

This week's art project

2004-10-20T01:14:00.000-06:00

Boys,
This week's project:
For the next seven days find one photo a day on Flickr and reply to it with a haiku.
Bonus points if the comment is replied to with another haiku.
Don't forget to post your forgotten haikus in the comments when you're done! --ian

Oh Condi, My Condi

2004-10-19T22:38:00.000-06:00

I came across this completely by surprise, after finding the page on "Republican Babes". While trying to figure out who I had to stop crushing on, when who butCondeliza Rice came staring back at me with those big, calculating eyes of hers. Ahh Condi, what have you gotten yourself into, parading yourself around like a tart.

thanks to Me

TV-B-Gone

2004-10-19T13:06:00.000-06:00
TV-B-Gone
If you're starting to look for christmas gifts, here is something for either the prakster, or sanctimonious "kill your television" prick in your life. Although it seems that the inventor intended it more for the latter.
...Altman wanders through a city, turning off other peoples' televisions, peppering his behavior with such gems as, "We just saved him several minutes of his life." Maybe after making his tens of dozens of dollars on the TV-B-Gone, Altman can invent a gadget that transports self-important cocks who think they're waging a subversive culture war to a log cabin coffee shop where they can reassure each other how awesome they are for hating television. Free berets for the first 100 pricks to use the word "Sheeple!"
via Gizmodo

2004-10-19T11:41:00.000-06:00
Urbanism

Hmmm... which parking lot location will suck the life out of a city more effectively?

Rice Spoon closeup: texture

2004-10-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Spoon closeup: texture
Originally uploaded by Elijah.
The spoon surface is knobbed.

Somehow it prevents rice from sticking.

Kristen, use your science words and explain!

Or is that the mythical "bump mapping"?

2004-10-18T23:51:00.000-06:00
This blog will be just like the old days of the BAKA-e mailing list. Except less lame.
Errrr... or rather, lame in a different way.

That's progress, isn't it?

I am no longer a wild party

2004-10-18T23:29:00.000-06:00
No one knows about Kim Mitchell anymore. Why is this? Kim is one of the most significant rockers of our time. This grave injustice must be rectified. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Buy his albums! Do it quickly, before it is too late!

Its Futurtastic

2004-10-18T22:52:00.000-06:00
It's Futurtastic!

Come join us all on Futurtastic, the Edmontonian group blog of cosmic awesomenss.

Yes, thats the message that I got from myself when I was invited to Futurtastic. And you should join, or read too!
thanks to Ian