Entries Tagged 'webthings' ↓
February 6th, 2008 — webthings
So it turns out that Danny Rubin, the writer of one of my all-time favorite movies, Groundhog Day, has a blog. Perhaps he’s a little obsessed with the ‘hog, but all is forgiven, because in this post he answers the question that has plagued me for fifteen years:
How freakin’ long was Phil Connors stuck in Feb. 2, anyway?!!
The answer is quite satisfying. I won’t give it totally away, but I will tell you the backstory. There were rumors (which Rubin chose not to stop because they were so cool) that it was 10,000 years, but his original conception was merely “more than one lifetime.” The studio folks, predictably, thought audiences couldn’t grip that conception, so they wanted to make it no more than two weeks (!?wft?). In the end, the time frame Rubin settled on makes a comforting amount of sense.
An unexpectedly nifty thing in the blog post is a description of the device Rubin originally wrote to demonstrate the passage of time. I think it was quite clever. He couldn’t have the classic hash-marks-on-the-prison-wall thing, so he had a bookshelf in the b&b, filled with books. Every day, Phil Connors gets up and reads a single page of one book. The next day, he reads the next page, etc. This way, you get to see him moving through the entire bookcase. Kewl, no? And in the middle of the movie, you see his utter dejection as he reads the last page of the last book and starts over again.
Of course the studio axed that, too. &@$!@ #*$.
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February 1st, 2008 — memes, photos, webthings
OK, there’s a fail blog (and an awesome “you fail” website) that make me laugh so so much. Here are my favorite fail pics.
Continue reading →
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January 27th, 2008 — thoughts, webthings
Here’s an awesome graphic that I hope is OK to post here, noting that it was shamelessly ripped off from Irony-Chan’s website. The blog is worth a look, because she’s currently working on a project to estimate the terminal velocity of a Balrog :D. She’s going all out, too. This drawing was a by-product of that pursuit:
Next item of business: Casino Royale [Spoiler Alert, not that anyone cares. It's James Bond!]. Despite its formulaic Bond-ness in so many areas, there were some interesting things about this installment:
- The director bent over backwards to violate certain Bond clichés. For instance, our hero does not escape the villain’s elaborate imprisonment/torture/death through a clever plan or gadget. In fact, the torture is brutally straightforward and our hero doesn’t escape at all. In another instance, Bond asks for a vodka martini. When the bartender asks, “Shaken or stirred?”007 replies, “Do I look like I give a damn?”
- In the beginning of the movie, you’ll find one of the best on-foot chases… EVAR. Seriously. The whole movie is worth that sequence.
- This was a guys’ film, for sure. All kinds of guys. Especially the gay ones. There seemed to be a whole lot more beefcake than cheesecake. There were a few pretty women in scanty attire, but virtually no loving, lingering pans up/down their half-naked bodies. Daniel Craig, on the other hand, received the treatment every other scene. Also, the opening credits included exactly *zero* silhouetted naked ladies on trampolines or underwater. Wha….?
- In keeping with classic Bond tradition, sexuality/romance is advanced partially through female suffering (and partially through painfully predictable war-of-the-sexes banter). They go for both psychological and physical, here. It’s an improvement over past Bond flicks, but a largely superficial one. On the other hand, it’s Bond. I think he would cease to exist if women ceased to be sex objects.
- This movie was a little nuts with the trendy image-dropping. Big VAIO notebook logos. Car emblems right in the screen. And an entire sequence was filmed in a Body Worlds exhibit. Whatever.
- I’m sure it seems so original to the under-20 crowd, but the rest of us saw The Spy Who Loved Me, and we know exactly what’s coming when James has a *gasp* relationship, instead of the standard wham-bam-witty-quip at what should have been the end of the movie. It’s kind of painful to keep watching, after that.
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January 23rd, 2008 — thoughts, updates, webthings
So I just wrote a few letters of recommendations for graduate school. Traditionally, this involves writing an actual letter, maybe checking items on a form, etc., and mailing (or emailing) these materials to an admissions committee. Increasingly, however, it often involves working through an outsourced third-party company that manages the admission application process. In some ways it makes sense.
But you also hitch your free & open University wagon to a Business, with any attendant stupidity.
So, in order to help my students have a decent shot at grad school, I had to agree to certain somewhat insane and (in my mind) questionably legal terms & conditions (quotations from T&C in footnotes, emphasis mine):
- You agree never to hold them responsible for anything, even if it’s obviously and legally their fault
- If you live somewhere that terms like these are illegal, then you can’t ever claim more than $100
- but if YOU violate any of these terms, there is no limitation on what damages you might pay
- and you have to agree if you want your student to have a chance at grad school
I’m with Leo Lessig and others who would like to see some backlash against companies denying (or pretending to deny) citizens of their rights in legally-questionable, morally-stupid ways. Stuff like this is part of the poopy sediment settling over the landscape of our societies.
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January 19th, 2008 — webthings
Since I haven’t done enough work today, I might as well share the fruits of my goofing off:
1. Video of Rick Nash making a freaking amazing goal
2. Now Amanda and I can finally be videogame friends
3. Interesting map of the U.S. by dominant religion
The last bit of webbiness is a page of fun words that allow statements such as the following to be made:
My darling, when I tell you I was overcome by mammaquatian melolagnia watching you at the the Fly Girl auditions, dancing to M.C. Hammer, clad in the most bifurcated of spandex unmentionables, please do not think I consider you a colpocoquettish slattern, nor that I am some sort of eunoterpsian brassirothesauriast. Your dancing jolted me from my inveterate noeclexism and left helpless in the grip of cingulomanic, basorexic typhlobasian fantasies. Your firm handshake afterward awoke in me the most acute hirsutophilic tripsolagnophilia, with none of my former terror of amychesis. Nay, this timotrudian demon is now a mere shadow from my youthful tartarology — much like those lost years of imparlibidinous ozoamblyrosis — with no power to dim the horripilating thoughts I dare to dream of our future together. Alas, these desires hinge on the slim possibility that you might find in this polylogistic erotographomania some counterintuitive cacocallia.
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January 17th, 2008 — photos, webthings
(me, smiling from the news)
I have two words for you. Or two words and a letter. And a number. And a hyphen. And an octothorp. And a Now I’m confused, but I don’t care, because…
x-files movie #2!!!
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January 10th, 2008 — updates, webthings
There are multiple online news sources, from obscure to heavyweight, reporting the possibility of voter fraud in the New Hamster Hampshire primaries this past Tuesday. But let’s keep our shirts on (especially you; yes, you), and think rationally about this. I’m going to be teaching my intro stats class next week, so bear with me while I warm up the stats brain.
First, what are the data that suggest the possibility of voting irregularity? I’ve seen 2 items:
- Clinton beat Obama in the NH precincts where votes were cast using Diebold TM voting machines, but nearly the exact opposite happened in precincts where votes were hand-cast.
- In the GOP primary, at least a couple dozen Ron Paul votes were uncounted in DieboldTM precincts, as well (after announcements that he received zero votes, several individuals said they had voted for him, after which the voting-management types said, “Whoops! So you did!”).
Let’s focus on #1. The allegations of irregularities are fueled into the flame of near-accusation by longtime knowledge that the DieboldTM machines are easily hacked, and by the fact that the hand-voting results are much, much closer to the exit poll. Let’s look at those numbers:
|
Hand-Counted |
Computer-Counted |
| Clinton |
47.095% (20.9K) |
52.95% (91.7K) |
| Obama |
52.95% (23.5K) |
47.095% (81.5K) |
By itself, this is nothing more than a coincidence. However, it’s the kind of coincidence Columbo would have jumped on with both feet. The differences are like 5%, but with an N of more than 200,000, numbers like these are extremely unlikely to have happened purely by chance. As long as there’s no difference in the distribution of hand-voting vs. computer-voting precincts in NH.
But there’s the double rub. “Extremely unlikely” is not “impossible.” Even more important is the distribution question. If the hardcopy votes are somehow not a representative sample of all NH votes, then it’s quite plausible that no irregularity occurred.
What if affluent, suburban precincts had computer voting machines, while poorer, urban precincts had paper ballots? Maybe all the White Soccer Moms voted with computers, and all the ethnic minorities and disaffected humanities majors and computer scientists voted by hand. I’m not saying this actually happened; but things like this have happened regularly in the history of American politics.
In fact, I think I’ll copy this post to my stats-teaching files. It will make lovely fodder for an introductory discussion of sampling. :D
Statistical sleuthing aside, I think the larger issue involves the use of the electronic voting machines. The paper votes are the only ones available for a recount. Cause if the computer voting machines were hacked, then re-counting the hacked votes doesn’t really do much good. The “paper trail” is as compromised as the final result.
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December 14th, 2007 — photos, webthings
Do you know this bug?
Funny Things:
- Craigslist - To the Drunk Hottie who Fell off my Motorcycle
- Very brief story of a girlfriend who is a little… well, just read it. (warning: there’s a swear)
Not Funny Things:
- Armed Forces Journal (a fairly conservative venue): “…waterboarding is a torture technique that has its history rooted in the Spanish Inquisition…”
- Former Chief Prosecutor (for Guantánamo and similar trials) explains his resignation “it’s time to take the politics out of military commissions… and make the proceedings open and transparent.”
- Interesting Newsweek article about how being poor and living far from grocery stores is really bad for your health (something I saw quite a lot of in rural Indiana).
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December 13th, 2007 — webthings
The gender war is sometimes very entertaining. This spoof site (definitely safe for work) kills two cultural birds with one stone by both mocking male-centered porn and reinforcing gender stereotypes.
My favorite parts?
1 - description of a video clip depicting “20 minute clip of a single button on a bursting wedding dress being slowly unpicked on a windy moor. At dawn. Near some trees.”
2 - another video clip apparently about “…extreme close-ups of floorboads and skirting being stripped by your boyfriend while you lie on the sofa drinking hot chocolate.
3 - three of the six navigation tabs at the top of the page are labeled “FOREPLAY.”
Heh.
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December 12th, 2007 — webthings
If you do nothing else today (and I really hope that’s not true), you should check out a weird, hilarious form of emergent internet art. Or vandalism. Or something. It’s awesome. Where? Reviews for certain Amazon products, like this Bic ballpoint pen and This gallon of milk.
Excerpts from particularly fun pen reviews:
1 - As far as writing goes, this pen is serviceable… As a weapon, however, it is seriously lacking. When confronted with a sword, the sword was, once again, the clear winner… the Proverb Evaluation Committee will have no other choice than to look elsewhere for its pens.
2 - …But, when that quality carbide ball touched the surface of the paper, it was not ink that came out. From a distance I heard the screams of men and the cackling of innumerable ravens. I stopped, cold and sweating profusely. I looked down at the Bic Crystal black medium ballpoint pen which I held in my hand, only to see darkness. I dashed it against the wall, recoiling in horror. I saw in the corner of my eye my faithful notebook, which now lay on the ground. Once unmarred, I saw now the small mark which I had made with the devil’s own pen. It spread across the page like a plague, and looking at it I gazed upon true horrors. For, what I thought had been ink was in fact a portal to a dark, unforgiving dimension. A portal whose maw was now widening to engulf all hope and joy in the world.
And the milk:
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately dairy-house decree: [etc. ]
Or:
…He was a good man, a wonderful husband who always brought the milk on Friday, Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz…
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December 11th, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
In response to my friend Amanda’s recent post about how insane it was to find Dirty Dancing
labeled as “classic,” I present this secret marketing chart. Seriously. it’s secret. I didn’t just make it up. Would I do a thing like that? Seriously.
| YEARS SINCE ISSUE |
MARKETING CATEGORY |
RETAIL
VALUE |
EXAMPLE |
| 0-2 |
New! |
73% of MSRP |
50 Cent: I Will Eat Your Babies (CD) - $15.85 |
| 3-5 |
Discount Bin! |
25% of MSRP |
Britney’s last album (CD) - $2.37 |
| 6-8 |
Retro! |
115% of MSRP |
Britney’s first album (CD) - $18.95 |
| 9-25 |
Classic! |
150% of MSRP |
Meatballs: Truly Obsessive Geek Edition (DVD) - $39.95 |
| 26-40 |
Timeless Classic! |
500% of MSRP |
Tom Jones: My Career Will Never Die (8-track) - $64.95 |
| 40-75 |
Antique! |
1000% of MSRP |
Casablanca II: Sam’s Revenge (35mm)- $109.25 |
| 76-150 |
Historically Significant! |
(Bids Accepted) |
Susan B. Anthony’s solo album (wax cylinder) - $85,000 starting bid |
| 151 - 100,000,000 |
Paleological! |
(Bids from Rich People Accepted) |
Buckshot from Antietam, Osysseus’ Dentures,
Dinosaur Poo… Priceless. |
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December 10th, 2007 — photos, webthings
Â
Hi. This is what I saw when I looked out my window, Saturday morning. But that’s not the point. The point is that I read the sweetest Instructables ever. No, not the one about the lady who made a molded silicon replica of her right breast as a squishy stress reliever toy for her boyfriend. No, this one was much cooler. It’s supposed to be just about harvesting bananas, but I felt seriously touched when I read it. To me, it was a story of a girl and her mother. I’m serious. [how to harvest bananas]
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December 7th, 2007 — webthings
Yes, the work ethic simply radiates from me today. You can tell by the fact that I’m going to post funny (or in one case kind of freakishly indicative of unfortunate elements of our world) pics from photobucket.
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December 4th, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
So… Yeah. Mitt Romney, hoping to deflect the anti-Mormon concerns of evangelical Republicans, is going to give a big ol’ Faith and Values speech, owning his LDS identity.
As a fellow Latter-day Saint, I Really. Wish. He. Wouldn’t.
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December 1st, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
I guess I’ve been in a wastey-my-own-timey mood this morning, because I have had time to find this recent reply by Facebook’s Chamath Palihapitiya to the guy who discovered that Facebook is spying on its loyal users, having its corporate partners send gobs of your personal information, whether you like it or not, with no clear way for you to stop it, in ways that it has pointedly avoided telling you about.
Palihapitiya says that Facebook only collects the information, but it doesn’t keep it (well, ah nevah!), and it would never use it (not even for making…. money?). Whatever. This is almost a mantra of corporate sellouts. We’ve all heard it so many times before that our lips almost automatically form the inevitable apology and admission that yes, they’ve sold all our information to people who do not uphold their lofty ideals. And all for a few billion measly dollars. Information is money, and information has legs.
(found via digg)
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December 1st, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
According to an independent test, the Facebook Beacon program is spying on you in more ways than previously imagined, and you may not be able to do anything about it. Even if you opt out, even if you log out, site affiliates (online retailers you visit) are reporting back to Facebook. In response to massive protests by facebook users, Facebook has backed down on displaying some of this information to your friends without asking you. However, it is still collecting the information, although so far Facebook refuses to admit this. And it is collecting more information than was previously thought. And it is collecting it even if you have opted out of the program. And it is collecting it even if you are not logged in to Facebook while browsing.
Conceivably, some people might have a hard time understanding why I’m so upset about this. Perhaps an analogy to organic dairy farms would help you get my point. Okay, what if Facebook were surreptitiously collecting the personal information of organic dairy farm cows? See!!!??? Wait… let’s try again. This program is exactly the same as if Facebook were one of those non-organic dairy farms, with the cruel, uncomfortable milking machines and the cows were locked in tiny pens, and pumped full of hormones, and also they chopped the cows into tiny bits with unsanitized chainsaws for no reason. And posted all the bloody, nasty bits to the cows’ friends’ Facebook news feeds without their permission.
It’s exactly like that.
Srsly. If Facebook doesn’t stop, I’m out. No more Facebook.
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November 28th, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
Okay, I my previous parody of a news story about the U.S. gov’t targeting anyone with non-mainstream religious belief was supposed to be over-the-top and dystopian.
However, Cnet news today had a piece on directions the government is taking to combat terror by policing the potential hotbeds of terror. It seems there are those in the government of this fair country who get together in secret little meetings and make guidelines (rules come later?) about stopping homegrown terror. We should all, apparently, be concerned about the following dangerous things:
- anyone with an “extremist belief system”
- anyone who believes that “the U.S. government is infringing on their individual rights”
- anyone who believes that “the government’s policies are criminal and immoral”
- the internet (because it facilitates violent ideologies and because it “allows anyone to set himself or herself up as an authority figure.”)
I guess that last one chaps the hides of the folks who are annoyed that they already have too much competition for the title of “authority figure.”
I have got to get my dual Canadian citizenship going. You Canadians seem to be losing your civil rights at a slightly slower pace. I’m tellin’ ya, sometimes I think we’re about 3 friggin’ baby steps away from totalitarian rule disguised as homeland security.
Say, I think I’ve figured out the problem. It’s all because the government is infringing on my individual rights. Why, it’s not too much to say that some of the current governmental policies are downright criminal and immoral. I invite all like-minded individuals to use this here internet to facilitate a discussion of these radical ideals. After we have a few meetings, we’ll set one of us up as an authority figure. Doesn’t matter who. Pretty much anyone.
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November 28th, 2007 — thoughts, webthings
The (American) media industry is apparently pushing a law that would leave Canada’s consumers among those with the fewest media use rights on the planet.
Michael Geist reports that Industry Minister Jim Prentice is preparing to fast-track a Canadian carbon copy (except worse) of the horrendously terrible DMCA that has caused lots of problems in the U.S.
Mr. Geist (linked on boingboing) suggests the new law will hand unprecedented power to media companies to restrict the way you use their media, even if you have legally purchased it. For instance, no sharing your music or video, no matter what (in some bills such as these, it is technically illegal even to loan a CD to a friend). No shifting your media between devices (even if you own them). There will be DRM protection on most everything, and you will be legally in trouble if you break the DRM if, for instance, you want to rip a copy of BSG Season 1 from DVDs to your laptop’s HD so you can watch it on the plane; or if the company that produced your crappy DRM-disabled music goes out of business and no longer offers support.
In addition, this law is likely to remove traditional legal protections such as fair dealing, satire and parody. Make a silly remake of a Wal-Mart commercial: you broke a law. Show 3 minutes of The Simpsons to your class at school: you broke a law. Rip your CDs to your MP3 player: You broke a law.
Geist says, “Once the bill is introduced, look for the government to put it on the fast track with limited opportunity for Canadians to appear before committees considering the bill.”
So, if it comes up, kill it fast, much like a horrible dragon, or a zombie dragon, or something else that’s horrible and should be killed fast.
Otherwise, welcome to the corporate fiefdom. We Americans, having more experience in this area, will help you adjust to the reduced levels of liberty and justice.
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November 27th, 2007 — webthings
Click the following links and then press play on the page that pops up. You won’t be sorry :)
1. Rucksack
2. Smile
3. American Tourist Friends
4. Red Shirt
5. Voiceover Artists
Emma Clarke, the lady who has (recently) been the voice of the public announcements on the London Tube apparently recorded a few of her own messages and put them on a blog (now offline). There’s a discussion about whether she should have done this, and whether the London Transit folks should have killed her freelancing contract with them, but I don’t care. I think the messages are Extremely Delicious :)
….aaaaaand maybe this is (one of) the reason(s) she got canned: Pinstripe Suit
(link to boingboing story where I found this)
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November 22nd, 2007 — webthings
