Hello New World

hodgman: I will be drinking Malort in Chicago on...

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:42:29 +0100

I will be drinking Malort in Chicago on 6/13: http://bit.ly/laffsONLY

That is all.

Image courtesy Gina Mai

Best show you can see, Chicago.

Android As A Gateway To iOS

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:05:34 +0100

For many of these first time smartphone owners, Android becomes a “gateway OS” to Apple’s operating system. 91% of iPhone owners said they would stick with the iPhone when it’s time to upgrade. 24% of Android users, on the other hand are planning to switch.

"There have been massive declines in [Apple] share price in the last decade. Most of them rooted in..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:41:03 +0100

“There have been massive declines in [Apple] share price in the last decade. Most of them rooted in forgettable reasoning. … My rule of thumb is that investors should expect a 40% drop in Apple shares at any time and for no reason.
…
Anyone suggesting [Apple CEO] Tim Cook should be fired is a neophyte.
…
So, paradoxically, the opinion of those who are highly paid should be treated with suspicion while the opinion of those subject to peer review should be treated with respect.”

- Bad Habits of Apple Commentors — Horace Dediu

A Terrifying Search Engine

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:00:05 +0100

A Terrifying Search Engine:

In a talk given at last year’s Defcon cybersecurity conference, independent security penetration tester Dan Tentler demonstrated how he used Shodan to find control systems for evaporative coolers, pressurized water heaters, and garage doors.

He found a car wash that could be turned on and off and a hockey rink in Denmark that could be defrosted with a click of a button. A city’s entire traffic control system was connected to the Internet and could be put into “test mode” with a single command entry. And he also found a control system for a hydroelectric plant in France with two turbines generating 3 megawatts each.

If there was a short list of albums I revist more than others,...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:34:10 +0100

If there was a short list of albums I revist more than others, this would be on it.

"The truth is, you never had a fucking chance. I had Congress in my back pocket the entire time, and..."

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:33:25 +0100

“

The truth is, you never had a fucking chance. I had Congress in my back pocket the entire time, and so when that big gun control proposal reared its ugly head, we gradually chipped away at it, snipping away provisions for an assault rifle ban and restrictions on high-capacity magazines until all that was left was the idea of expanding background checks to keep military-grade killing implements from falling into the hands of criminals and the mentally unhinged, a relatively innocuous measure supported by 90 percent of Americans.

And, because I was winning by such a large margin at that point and was on my way to a blowout victory, even that tiny little provision didn’t stand a chance at being passed into law. In fact, it couldn’t even clear a minor procedural hurdle. Hell, legislators from both sides of the aisle came together yesterday and crushed it right out of the gate, making me, and the groups that finance me, very, very happy.

”

- http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-won,32106/

"The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an..."

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:16:18 +0100

“The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an object of reverence. Devotion to it precludes interruption with the sacrifices it entails. Like most gods, it does what it will, and cannot be questioned. Its acolytes think it is capable only of good things. It guarantees life and safety and freedom. It even guarantees law. Law grows from it. Then how can law question it?”

- Our Moloch (via hellofriend)

"Let me tell you a story. The day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program...."

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:14:38 +0100

“

Let me tell you a story. The day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program. The reporter had been assigned a theory and was seeking soundbites to support it. “Wouldn’t you say,” she asked, ‘that killings like this are influenced by violent movies?” No, I said, I wouldn’t say that. “But what about ‘The Basketball Diaries’?” she asked. “Doesn’t that have a scene of a boy walking into a school with a machinegun?”

The obscure 1995 Leonardo DiCaprio movie did indeed have a brief fantasy scene of that nature, I said, but the movie failed at the box office and it’s unlikely the Columbine killers saw it.

The reporter looked disappointed, so I offered her my theory. “Events like this,” I said, “if they are influenced by anything, are influenced by news programs like your own. When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The story is assigned a logo and a theme song; these two kids were packaged as the Trench Coat Mafia. The message is clear to other disturbed kids: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. Kids and teachers at school will see they shouldn’t have messed with me. I’ll go out in a blaze of glory.”

In short, I said, events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, “The NBC Nightly News” and other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of “explaining” them.

The reporter thanked me and turned off the camera. Of course the interview was never used. They found plenty of talking heads to condemn violent movies, and everybody was happy.

”

- Roger Ebert (via confusedtree)

Rip Roger.

(via bartsch)

Indiana

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:33:44 +0100

Indiana

Duh.

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:29:01 +0000

Duh.

"What would happen if a hair dryer with continuous power was turned on and put in an airtight 1x1x1 meter box?" is an insanely interesting question, it turns out.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:17:34 +0000

"What would happen if a hair dryer with continuous power was turned on and put in an airtight 1x1x1 meter box?" is an insanely interesting question, it turns out.:

The official record for fastest manmade object is the Helios 2 probe, which reached about 70 km/s in a close swing around the Sun. But it’s possible the actual holder of that title is a two-ton metal manhole cover.

The lengths Amazon has gone for you ...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:18:44 +0000

The lengths Amazon has gone for you ...:

Amazon solves moving your cursor from one menu to a submenu.

"The Wii was the first console to break that cycle, directing a large chunk of its innovation toward..."

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:00:05 +0000

“The Wii was the first console to break that cycle, directing a large chunk of its innovation toward a novel control scheme, sacrificing raw computing power to do so. It worked. The Wii became the best-selling console of its generation, and its competitors soon followed with non-traditional control schemes of their own.”

- John Siracusa in Annoyance Driven Development

I told you guys: The Wii was not a fad. Mr. Siracusa just said it a lot better. And with facts.

11 Wikipedia Lists

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:08:25 +0000

11 Wikipedia Lists:

“I will punch you in the mouth.”

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:00:26 +0000

“I will punch you in the mouth.”

Why doesn’t anybody copy Apple?

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:00:26 +0000

Why doesn’t anybody copy Apple?

The man who killed Bin Laden is broke

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:14:27 +0000

The man who killed Bin Laden is broke

On Marco.org on Nintendo

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:00:26 +0000

But the Wii was a fad, in retrospect.

WHAT.

The Wii pushed Microsoft and Sony into wedging new interaction models into their gaming systems. The Wii still appeals to millions of non-gamers. Just check out your local Craigslist for the Wii. Considering its low-powered hardware, low resistance to wear and poor title choice, the resale value for Wiis (Wii?) and peripherals is rather high.

What’s more is that this story should be familiar. That description one paragraph up describes Apple’s first iPhone — just change the competitors and replace ‘title’ with ‘app’. The problem isn’t the Wii’s viability, its the Wii U’s (apparently, anyway — I’ve not played one). If Nintendo can survive to the next system and innovate the way we can interact with machines, AGAIN — enormous, colossal, massive ’if’s — they’ll more than survive. (Whether or not they invent motion gaming is as relevant as whether Apple invented touchscreens.)

Which is all to say I think Marco Arment is absolutely wrong about the historical Wii. Non-joystick based platform gaming is not only viable, people clamor for it. Maybe just not us nerds. I’m not saying that platform won’t be iOS in the future. I’m not saying iOS doesn’t have inherent advantages. But many people want to move around, get healthy, blast things, etc. without mastering a controller with 8 buttons and two joysticks. And the Wii was killer at performing that task. (And they might see advantages in buying a separate device to perform that task.)

This one sentence really detracts from an otherwise solid position that Mr. Arment takes on Nintendo’s plight.

Turn your browser into a text-editing notepad with one bookmark

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:34:14 +0000

Turn your browser into a text-editing notepad with one bookmark:

Sometimes you just need to type something or store text copied from somewhere. Paste

data:text/html,

into your browser and you have a notepad. Bookmark it and forget the actual text. Note taking forever.

"[…] the Tibetans were all familiar with Groundhog Day, but they didn’t understand the Dalai Lama..."

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:10:20 +0000

“[…] the Tibetans were all familiar with Groundhog Day, but they didn’t understand the Dalai Lama speech in Caddyshack. They’re like, “The Dalai Lama does not play golf.” I said, “I know, I know. But if he did…””

- Harold Ramis (via merlin)