9-11 Ommission.

I've never pegged myself as much of a conspiracy theorist but this is just too good to pass up. I know its an hour and 20 mins long, but its pretty well put together. Just take it with a grain of salt. For me its mostly upsetting because I find it so plausible that the government would do this.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8260059923762628848

Update
This link on Google Video is now dead. Only non-English translations are left.

Loose Change 2nd Edition Home
Wikipedia- Loose Change

I Watched A Commercial.

I rather enjoy this; I'm not sure I should. But I do like the rabbits with motley colored pannels.

Calvin's Dad Was Cool.

Hot Air.

The problem with the American military today is that it doesn't have a giant, robotic airship, two-and-a-half times the size of the Goodyear blimp, that can watch over an entire city at once.

I was just thinking that exact same thing...

All Seeing Blimp - Defense Tech

Getting My Hopes Up.

You may not have picked up on this but I'm a pretty staunch pessimist.  How can your hopes be dashed on the rocks if you never let them above ground?  But this constant leak of Google buying up fiber and testing networks it just too much.  I'm excited, I'm happy, I'm expectant, I'm bound to be disappointed.  But there's always a chance, right?  That almost seems like optimism.  But I can't blame me; especially not with the news that Google has purchased 79,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 IPv6 addresses.  Now that seems like someone who's thinking about providing Internet access on a semi-large scale.

» Google the ISP with 2^96 IPv6 addresses | George Ou | ZDNet.com

Be Careful Where You Got That Number

Just cause you're not on the Internet, doesn't mean people aren't going to screw you.  And not in the good way.  The newest Phishing scam is a message from  your "bank" that says to call a number which then prompts you for your account information.

Say Hello to voice phishing | The Register

Out Of Touch.

The impressions of Cable execs seem awful ego-centric. I spose the best way to run a company may be to continue the status quo instead of implementing massive changes to give people what they want. (As long as no one else does it behind your back.)

I'm willing to listen to an argument that there are only three types of Internet media industry: portals (Google, Yahoo, etc.), content providers (Time Warner, Disney, etc.) and distributors (telcos, cable cos, etc.) But I'm not really sure that lines can be drawn quite that rigidly any more; Google offers more services every day. So while this suit might not know it, Google isn't just a path any more, they're the destination. Add the rumors of metro-wifi in various areas and you'll start to see that they're bridging the gap to replace the "providers" and the "distributors." So the next lofty assertion that portals going to die out seems like a bit of a leap.

The second paragraph really hammers it home: "The fact is, right now, most people look to their broadband provider as nothing more than a pipe... People generally don't like their cable company or their phone company." Damn straight, I'm paying you for access to Google, not for an email address and a homepage filled with ads. I'm headed for steak and I don't want any in-flight meal that you might try to package and sever up on my way there. I don't want to be on your network, it just so happens that I need to go through it to get where I'm going.

Techdirt: Cable Guy Says Portals Are Toast

'He shot him on the run. It was an impossible shot.'

Whew, sorry it had to come to this guys. I'd been out bid and sniped four times trying to get these headphones and I was getting fed-up. So I decided to become the sniper. This is the first time I've taken it to such extremes, down to the second. I have to say, its quite the adrenaline rush. I'd opened my system time control panel and was watching the analog clock tick. Anyway, I've won and I'll get these things in a couple days. They're probably up on eBay because of all the consumer reviews saying that the rear band breaks too easily. But they're all reviewing a $120 set of headphones, not a $20 set. I'll let you know if they indeed snap as predicted.

Dj DP Lays It Down.

I can't believe this guy's career never took off. They're really backing his cred with the Programming Geek Squad testimonies. I'll never copy a floppy again, thanks Dj disk protection!

Don't Copy That Floppy - Google Video

I Feel Secure.

"On Tuesday morning, a retired Catholic priest and two veterans put on clown suits, busted into a nuclear missile launch facility, and began beating the silo cover with hammers, in an attempt to take the Minuteman III missile off-line. Seriously."

Guards responded within minutes. And when they arrived, the protesters "ate a lot of gravel"

You... ATE the gravel? Okay... I spose that's standard modern protester fare, doing something weird to yourself when the authorities show up. Don't you spose its getting harder to think of bizarre and unexpected things? Setting yourself on fire is so 1963.

Defense Tech: Clowns Sabotage Nuke Missile

Arrested Development Returns To TV!

After a long deserved hiatus, the comic genius behind Arrested development is ready to get back to work. On other projects. Sorry to jerk your emotions around like that, but you have to admit you were feeling pretty good for about 3 seconds there. I just got what I assume is the last Arrested Devlopment VIP Fan Club Email.

Well friends, I hate to say it, but I think it’s time to stick a fork in Arrested Development – it’s done. With series creator Mitch Hurwitz recently re-confirming that he will not return to the series – even if it is picked up by another network – and many members of the brilliant cast already lining up movie deals and new television series, the outlook for a fourth season is bleak at best. While I already miss the show, I’m one of those fans who would rather see it go out on top (at least creatively, if not in terms of ratings) than when it’s past its prime. And while there are far too many returning shows that never should have made it past concept stage, those of us who really “got” Arrested Development will simply have to be secure in the knowledge that we’re just a little bit smarter, have much better senses of humor and are at least 65 percent more attractive than the poor slobs who never gave one of the funniest shows on television a chance. Not that I’m bitter…

Not that any of us are bitter.

Daily Placebo:"Dreaming"
Daily Placebo: Death Warrant
Daily Placebo: Everyone needs a Goat

One Gallon Road Trip.

Wow, what if I told you that a team of students won a fuel efficiency contest by designing a car that got 1,600 miles per gallon of normal gas. You'd be impressed, right? Well what if I told you that was last year's contest and this year the team came back and crushed their previous effort. 3,145 mpg baby. Now that's efficient. I'm not suggesting that everyone should lie down in kidney bean shaped pods to travel. I know the acceleration and handling probably isn't great on that thing. But really, if students can get THREE THOUSAND MILES PER GALLON, don't you spose the multi-billion dollar automotive industry could crack the 100 mpg barrier?

UBC Engineers Create Vehicle that Travels from Vancouver to Halifax on a Gallon of Gas

Damn You Keith Urban.

Marrying Nicole Kidman. Not cool man. Along with Len Wiseman snatching up Kate Beckinsale, there's only so many hot actresses left for me. You fancy-boy celebrities are ruining all kinds of dreams.

Kate Beckinsale
Nicole Kidman
Rachel McAdams
Morena Baccarin
Charlize Theron
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Keira Knightley
Jessica Biel
Milla Jovovich

CNN.com - Kidman-Urban wedding expected Sunday - Jun 23, 2006

I've Always Been Lucky.

I've been winning things in drawings and contests since I can remember first having gleaned the concept of free swag. So its not so surprising that I've done it again:

FROM THE DIRECTORS DESK
INTERNATIONAL ASIA PROMOTION
31/1 RACHADA PISEK SATHOM KAPI,
BANGKOK THAILAND.
REF:EL0/574/070
BATCH:4/313/EL.

Att:Dear Sir/Madam,

CONGRATULATION

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners Thailand International programs held on the 21/11/005.
Your email address attached to ticket number :EL-40212 with serial number:EL- 241072, batch number: EL-75,lottery ref number:
EL-413 and drew luckynumbers 9-7-0-30-11 which consequently won in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved for a
lump sum pay out of US$550.000.00 ( FIVE Hundred And Fifty Thousand United States dollars).

Holy Crap! I've never even played the lottery in Thailand! How lucky is that?!?

To file for your claim, please contact our paying officer:

Contact Person:
Dr Perry More (Lottery Director)

Yeah dude, I'll get right on that.

You Dirty Sons Of Bitches.

You may not want to read all these articles about net neutrality, and I don't blame you. Its complicated and boring and I'd rather not have to deal with it. But then I start thinking about Comcast and how they've taken tax money to build fibre networks that aren't operational yet. And how they'll soon want us to pay more to use a limited portion of the bandwidth while they sell off the "extra" as premium services. And I start feeling pissed off. Now imagine how I feel when I see Astroturf efforts like "Hands off the Internet" and how simply and easily they explain away neutrality. Look at these videos to see what I mean.

• Internet Of The Future
• Don't Regulate

Makes sense if you ignore all the bullshit and greed. Of course my natural response is cynicism and extreme sarcasm, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. Check out this commentary from the register:

I had thought the reason we don't get HD movies on the internet had something to do with greedy control freaks within the entertainment cartels who have yet to figure out how to charge us for online content according to a pay-per-use scheme. But apparently, it's because there isn't a special pipe carrying movies, for which we can pay extra. Apparently, the movies will begin to flow as soon as the pipe is laid
and the valve opened.
Net neutrality has ruined the web | The Register

Compromising is for losers.
Don't believe Net neutrality hype - Los Angeles Times
I won't back net neutrality until someone tells me what it is.
Senate Committee Chairman Says 'No' to Net Neutrality

Dear Cal Tor,

I find cilantro to be the cowbell of hispanic-type food seasoning. This may be one of the reasons you so consistantly out perform Chipotle in the lunch battle. I respsectfully suggest that you hit that "Mexican Parsley" a pinch and a half harder to really kick it up a notch. Bam.

Coriander - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Best We Have To Offer.

Wow, this is nice. A SMART bill board in South Africa lists off the car's design inspiration. "German engineering, Swiss innovation, American Nothing." What a coincidence, that's exactly what I'm looking for in my next car.

SMART ass advert rips on American autos - UPDATE - Autoblog

Prepare To Tremble At The Might Of America's...

Special effects prowess. If there's one thing we do really well its using our excess in an ineffective fashion. Well the 'war on terror' (almost as potent an ineffective paradigm as the 'war on drugs') is following in its forbearer's footsteps. Public service announcements. But this ain't no low budget egg cracking flick; we're talking big sets and big explosions, with the end tagline reading something like "Don't Suicide Bomb." Mhmm. This'll work.

But hey, we're also really good at subversion (at least some of us are,
the others are really good at being subverted) so maybe that's part of
the new US strategy for subduing Iraq. Start giving away TVs and let
the malcontentedness simmer off as they suckle at the teat of mother
Hollywood.

Now it may just be me here, but somehow if a person is considering a suicide bombing, a 60 second afternoon TV commercial isn't going to change their mind. And not just because they don't own TV's. If a person is motivated enough to suddenly and violently kill themselves for a cause, they must really believe in it. So maybe we should start running ads that say "Your god sucks." Yeah, that'll stop 'em in their tracks.

I don't really think the problem is that they don't know that blowing people up is bad. Its that they think something in the world is worse and believe this is their only recourse. But if you movie guys want to try and sooth the problem this way, be my guest. I just wonder how far they could take it, suggesting things that, while true, don't really need to be on TV. "Don't assassinate people" or how about "Don't throw poop."

A Big Budget Anti-Suicide Bombing PSA - Newsweek The War on Iraq - MSNBC.com

In Soviet Russia, Holes Drill You!

Damn. I thought I was getting somewhere all those summers at the beach digging holes in the sand. Something about sand is just more fun than dirt; or rock. So check out the Russians, they may not have won the race to the moon, but they dug a big ass hole in the ground. I can't even imagine a hole 7.5 miles deep; but they wanted to go 1.7 miles further. Trouble is that it was hotter than they'd expected and the rock kept 'flowing' back in place. Go ahead and read the Damn Interesting article about how we really have no idea what's going on down there.

Damn Interesting » The Deepest Hole

Hybrid Tax Credits Drying Up.

Wow, I knew there was a credit for buying a hybrid. I didn't know there was a per company limit on how many hybrids they could sell before the credit was reduced. Super.

THE first thing to understand about the hybrid tax credit is that it was never really intended to reduce oil imports from the Middle East or slow the effects of global warming. The credit was created to prop up Detroit while giving conservation a nod.

Last summer, when Congress was completing an energy bill, Toyota's and Honda's hybrids were already winning people over in the marketplace, and it was clear that any tax credit would go overwhelmingly to buyers of Japanese cars. So members of Congress, with help from Detroit's lobbyists, came up with an ingenious solution. They created a cap, a maximum number of hybrids that any single manufacturer could sell — 60,000 — before a clock started ticking, causing the credits for that carmaker to begin disappearing two quarters later.

And the Big Three? Combined, they have sold fewer than 15,000 eligible vehicles so far, all by Ford,
largely because their hybrids have not impressed buyers. Rather than
building highly efficient hybrids like the Prius, Detroit has tinkered
with gas guzzlers like the Chevrolet Silverado, adding hybrid
technology to them so that they get slightly better mileage.

U.S. Hybrids Get More Miles Per Congress - New York Times

Can't... Stop... Evil...

I don't hate the Myspace because Newscorp owns it; that's just a bonus reason. And now they're set to spread the disease. Starting this summer they'll offer the Myspace in different flavors; good news I spose if you only speak one flavor and its not English. Not good news if you hate the Myspace and think everyone should learn English already.

TechCrunch » Blog Archive » MySpace in foreign languages due out this summer

I Like Batman.

But this is ridicuous.

Computer Choppers - Batman Begins Case

California Loopholes.

From Jalopnik:

Run, drunk drivers, run! Just make sure you crash into a state-owned inanimate object containing no occupants.

Yep, that's because pursuing police cars need to have conspicuous marking other than lights and sirens for a suspect to be charged with evasion. I'm all about getting rid of unmarked cars; the added stress of watching for unmarked speed traps is terrible. Seriously though if some joker wants to pull me over in a light blue Caviler, I'd rather be sure it was actually a cop and not the guy with a hookhand from those campfire stories. But that's just in California folks, so don't go doing anything stupid. We'll just have to stick with dirt bikes to make a clean getaway.

For another chuckle check out the filename of the picture.

Escape and Evade: Cali Police Cars Must Look Official - Jalopnik

Trixy Pandas.

You know how giant pandas are sposed to be all endangered and everything? Now I'm not saying they're not endangered, I just read this article and though that it'd be funny if pandas were really good at hiding. Maybe there's more pandas than squirrels and we're just can't find them. I spose that's where this new DNA test comes in. They're looking to better estimate giant panda populations using fecal DNA tests. Can I please sign up for that job?

New Scientist Breaking News - Wild panda population may be higher than expected

How Ever Shall We Spend It All?

I've been plotting in Google Earth the various places I've traveled. Sometimes its harder than you think to find locations from the air, especially with hazy memories. I recently found Greenfield Village, which if you've never been I would recommend. It is creepy Americana all rolled up into a nice little party sausage. Basically the jist of it is that Henry Ford was crazy. But also crazy rich, so he bought various pieces of America and moved them to Dearborn, Michigan. I'm not talking about George Washington's wooden teeth and Abraham Lincoln's top hat. Think bigger. There's the Wright brother's workshop, across the street from the Heinz family house. Tripp Sawmill locally from Michigan, The Hermitage slave quarters from Georgia, Edison's Homestead from Ontario are all part of the menagerie. And that's not to mention all the stuff that was fabricated on site like the Steam Train, the Swiss Chalet and the circular river for his paddle wheel steamboat. Cray-zee. Anyway its a good time but I had no idea we were literally meters away from the Dearborn Ford Proving Grounds test track. You see the track in the picture and greenfield Village is the lump of buildings on the bottom left of it. I should've walked over there and saw if that was the day they were giving out free rides in un-released supercars.

Greenfield Village - Wikipedia
Ford Proving Grounds - Wikipedia

175 Year-Old Tortoise Forced Lesbian

I was very impressed when I finally understood what they were talking about at the zoo when I saw "Harriet" the giant Galapagos land tortoise. The conversation went something like this:

Zoo worker: "And this is Harriet, as you can see she is a Galapagos Tortoise. She was collected by Darwin."
Me: "Mhmm. What?"
Zoo worker: "Darwin. In the Galapagos."
Me: "Like... Darwin, Darwin?"
Zoo worker: "Yeah."
Me: "..."
Zoo worker: "She was brought to Australia when she was about 12."
Me: "Darwin the scientist?"
Zoo worker: "Yes, Charles Darwin."
Me: "...so that would make her..."
Zoo worker: "Really old."

Here's a nice write-up with some more details I didn't have. Apparently they didn't really check to see if Harriet (then Harry) was a male or a female and tried to mate her with females her whole life.

Mirror.co.uk - News - EXCLUSIVE: THE OLDEST CREATURE ON EARTH

Can't Get Love From Everyone

While the Smithsonian may be bending over backwards (or forwards, if you get my meaning) for Stanley, the folks at Carnegie Mellon still seem to hold a bit of a grudge. Here's the set up for those of you out of the loop:

• DARPA held a grand challenge; an un-piloted robot race across the desert.
• No one make it more than 7.5 miles the first year.
• The second year Stanley a Toureg from Stanford ran the 132 mile off-road course in under 7 hours beating out all competition, including two entries from Carnegie Mellon.
• Carnegie Mellon created and honors notable robots in the "Robot Hall of Fame".
• Stanley, the most sophisticated self piloting land vehicle doesn't make the cut.

So who did make it this year, you ask? We've got Gort and Haley Joel Osment joining the ranks of revered robots like R2-D2 and C-3PO. And you can't find room for Stanley? Granted they've got Asimo, Aibo, and a few deserving industrial robots in the mix too, but come on. Fictional robots in the hall of fame? Why don't we just add Joe Hardy to the boys in Cooperstown while we're at it?

Carnegie Mellon Press Release: June 14, 2006

We're Not Changing History, Just Omitting Parts.

I'm all excited about this movie coming out about electric cars. Mostly I think it'll help people realize that the wool has been pulled over their eyes about alternative fuels. Strike that. Entire sheep have been pulled over their eyes. But check this out: The Smithsonian has an EV1. Its normally on display. This movie about how GM is a bunch of douche bags is coming out. GM is one of the Smithsonian's largest contributors. The electric car is pulled and replaced with an SUV. That doesn't reek of conspiracy at all.

Now granted, the SUV is Stanley, so I can understand the decision to include it in the museum. I just wonder if there was nothing else that could be removed to make room. I feel a Daily Placebo field trip coming on...

An Electric Car, Booted- the Post

Snatching Up Niches

I signed up for the new Picasa Web Albums, which is basically Flickr from Google. It seems nice on first impression, I don't really have many pictures or buddies in there yet. The interface is fairly smooth and I really like the way it preloads pictures in the album you're viewing to give the feel of a desktop app. There's also a more Beta Picasa install that lets you upload and keeps track of which pictures are online. Seems nice, if a bit buggy for Google's normal Beta offering. I wonder if there's a difference between "Test" and "Beta".

But you only get 250MB, which they estimate at 1,000 pictures. I get their logic in limiting space; people could use up colossal amounts of storage with this thing. You can pay for more if you'd like (say it ain't so Google) but I've got a better idea. How about I close some of those inactive gmail accounts I've got lying around and you round out my storage to an even Gig?

I am getting a little tired of Google taking what are basically existing services and reimplementing or buying them. I haven't gotten the Google browser sync yet because I've got foxmarks to sync my bookmarks and it does a fantastic job. But I never really bought into Flickr as hard as some people, so I imagine that Google will win me over on this front too.

Picasa Web Albums

Feeling Fenced In?

So I was looking to buying physical copies of music since the artists mostly get screwed on digital downloads and I noticed this "[CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]" tacked onto the titles of CDs on Amazon. After a little research I find that this label means that the CD contains a driver that will infect your computer and garble information that's ripped from CDs. Wow, its not rootkit, but I can't imagine why CD sales are down. This seems about as risky as downloading music from IRC, except that I'm paying for the privilege and waiting for them to ship the virus to me. Many of the items on Amazon have the following 1 star review at the top of their lists:

This CD is copy protected. If that is of concern to you, do not purchase. On the back cover is a warning that this CD may not play in some CD players, DVD players, and computers. It also states that if it doesn't play you're screwed as you won't be issued a refund. If that is of concern to you, do not purchase.

Now I can't imagine that the artist has that much to do with whatever rootkit, drm, or copy protection they sneak onto a CD. So its almost like the CD producer is herding me towards online downloads where they make a killing and the artist gets fractions of a penny. So what am I to do? I don't really want a physical copy of the CD, and especially not if its going to install malware and not let me load it to my iPod. Yet I still want to stick it to the Label. If only there were some free source where I could download music in a format that I wanted without hidden parasites. Then if I enjoyed the music and wanted to support the artist, I could donate however much I wanted. Ah that's just crazy talk, we obviously need a corporate firewall to separate us from the music. Who else would be able to produce and distribute such high quality material?

CD Copy Protection of the Stars - O'Reilly Digital Media Blog

If I'm Not Willing To Walk, Why Would I stand?

What's $750 more dollars when you've just blown 10 grand (or whatever it is now) on a Segway? I refuse live in a society where these are more than an amusement.

SegSeat- Engadget