September 2008
158 posts
August 2008
282 posts
The View from Everest →
This is a 360-degree view of Mount Everest, courtesy of NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
WatchSince NOLA is about to get smacked again, here’s a little Led Zeppelin: When the levee breaks
WWII diplomat proposed Britain, Germany split... →
First Chamberlain, then this. Jeez!
Next thing they’ll start talking about Eisenhower’s female driver-that-was-not-really-a-driver or whatever.
iPhone 3G speed tests - a set on Flickr
I did some testing in Fairfax on our way back from dinner.
Activate voice mail on your iPhone 3G
For some stupid reason, when I upgraded to my iPhone 3G, my voice mail was deleted. I knew there was something weird because I kept getting a phone icon with the number “1,” as if I had a new missed call or new voicemail.
And the voicemail button was dead.
Eventually I figured out that my voicemail was not setup. The nice thing is there was nothing in the paperwork on how to do this,...
IE8 Breaking Microsoft's Web Standards Promise? →
Nerds around the world went “WHY, MICROSOFT WHY?”
Well, not really, it was more of a “uhm, OK.” When Microsoft promises you that it is going to play well with others, do you?
a) Cheer
b) Non-committing nod
c) Smirk
d) Place one hand over your crotch, one over your ass.
e) Assume the position.
Pedro Vera's Web Log: iPhone 3G →
Last toy review of the day: my new iPhone 3G
Pedro Vera's Web Log: Flip Video Ultra →
… and here’s my review of the Flip Video Ultra
Pedro Vera's Web Log: Amazon Kindle →
I just posted a proper review of the Kindle.
Kaminsky DNS Bug Claimed Fixed By 1-Character... →
This is just too funny.
We have been putting up with this DNS drama for months, and now it seems that the fix involves changing one lousy character in Bind. It is almost poetic, that is, if it is even true.
“Beta. Software undergoes beta testing shortly before it’s released. Beta...”
– Author Unknown
What's the Best Broadband ISP? →
Too bad (at least here in Virginia) their pre-installation support sucks ass.
I have already had three failed attempts at having it installed. Why? Because the idiots know that their contractors never pulled the last few feet of fiber, yet keep fumbling when it is time to fix THAT so actual installs can go through.
Idiots.
Mazda Building a Volt of Its Own →
Comcast updates/clarifies their Terms Of Service -... →
The aftermath of the huge mess involving Comcrap’s tampering with bit torrent traffic is … a change in the small print.
Here’s how it works: you, as a Comcrap customer, are now allowed to use up to 250GB of bandwidth per service month, and you’ll have one freebie per service year. Once you use up your freebie, Comcrap will charge you overage fees. The restriction only...
Five Ways Amazon Can Improve the Kindle 2.0 →
Most of their five things prove that they haven’t used a Kindle for more than a few minutes. Here are five real world complaints:
1. The search sucks. There, I said it. It is SLOW.
2. The retention tab for the binder/cover thing sucks.
3. The rear cover slides off too easily.
4. It is too easy to push the wheel button when the cover is closed, which drains the battery if the Kindle is...
Black screens for pirate copies of Windows →
Glad to see that Microsoft still has its priorities straight.
Let’s not worry about the Vista flop, and instead keep on hounding people using illegal copies of XP. By the way, there is now no way to purchase a proper XP license to legalize these installs, the only way out right now is to upgrade to Vista.
Douchebags.
2 tags
iPhone Glitches May Be AT&T's Problem After All...... →
Pennsylvania Mandates Health Insurance Autism... →
Yeah baby.
Hey, Virginia, pssst. Take a hint. We are already paying an arm and a leg for healthcare, so we might as well get a little more coverage.
Google explains missing Android features →
Some geek elements went up in arms when Google announced that Android would ship without Gtalk and that Bluetooth would be limited to very basic functionality.
How dare Google give a product away, but only in their terms?
The reality is that this is a brilliant move. Avoiding the security issues now, before Android hits a wide deployment, at least keeps it from getting bad press. The only people...
I am not entirely crazy about the fact that I am up so early.
WOWIO: Free Ebooks, Comics and Graphic Novels |... →
This is a neat service that I had forgotten about: instead of you, the reader, paying to download an e-book, a sponsor does. The e-book is a PDF, built on-the-fly, with an ad on its first page, and your name in it.
I just downloaded Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and it shows a one-page ad to EA Sport’s Madden 2009:
The irony is that once converted to the Amazon Kindle, the ad goes...
Gas prices continue slide, according to daily... →
Great.
We are now expected to feel grateful that gas is averaging $3.67/gallon? Right.
Macworld | How Apple could make e-books work →
(via karlaakins)
The only flaw in his reasoning is that he thinks that Apple can project their might into the book world the way they have been doing it with music and movies. This is a problem, because Amazon is probably a bigger influence to the book industry than Apple is to the music and movie industries.
Another thing is that while Apple can claim that the Kindle is ugly, it has the right...
iPhone passwords not worth the paper they're... →
Very misleading title.
What they meant to say is “the password used to lock the iPhone is useless.” The vague headline makes it seem like anything you access through your iPhone and is password protected is at risk.
2 tags
LPGA to force players to learn English - Golf →
This is the dumbest thing I have heard all month.
These women are professional athletes, which is one hair away from being entertainers. Do we honestly need to force these women to learn English? What the hell is the damage here? Is the LPGA so starved for attention that they have to resort to this kind of bullshit stunt?
Has any other pro league in this country tried something like this? Has...
WatchKoi Pond for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
Sales of new homes rise, but miss forecasts →
I really feel sorry for the real “new” homebuyers that are not part of the current mortgage market blowup.
It is easy to blame experienced buyers for getting so god damn greedy (especially around here in North Virginia) as the home prices kept climbing. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the $100K house that jumped to $500K in just 3-5 years couldn’t keep...
GM receives Gulf Arab interest in Hummer →
just when the hippies were celebrating that Hummer is going under, GM actually gets lucky and gets not one, but two different groups interested in buying the brand.
It doesn’t matter where they come from, just the idea that there are at least two groups of investors interested in buying Hummer is just plain amazing.
“The only cure for writer’s block is insomnia.”
– Merit Antares
Human error causes most Predator crashes →
On the other hand, nobody is going to get killed or captured while flying a Predator.
Plus Predator pilots are cheaper to train and are in more supply. You don’t have to pick people that can withstand the physical rigors of jet fighter flight, instead you can get the out of shape guys that are otherwise qualified to do the job.
I am not awake.
U.S. navy arrives in Georgia with aid →
Dangerous.
Can’t we just charter planes from US Airlines that are hurting financially, and have them carry the “aid” under the American Red Cross flag? This way the aid would still be delivered, and it is less a chance for the Russians to shoot at the planes “by mistake.”
It costs less, it is less risky, and it frees up the US Navy to do whatever else they need to...