A Look Back at the Past Five Years

Since the 5-year anniversary of 9/11 is already here I thought it might be nice to take a positive look back on all the progress we have made since that tragic day in 2001. For starters, I would like to thank George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and all the other important contributors in this current administration for the work they have done in fighting terrorism and keeping our nation safe. Without your unrivaled intelligence, never-ending dedication and diplomatic grace, we would never have brought the terrorists behind 9/11 to justice. When on May 1st, 2003, Bush proudly displayed that glorious banner stating "Mission Accomplished ," he spoke the truth.

And as we have moved forward, riding on such waves of success as the immediate response of FEMA to Hurricane Katrina victims and, of course, capturing those responsible for bringing down the Twin Towers, we continue to provide our citizens with the freedoms that are their birthright. Freedoms such as free speech and privacy without being hindered by a spying government, the protection from unreasonable search and seizures in airports or on subways, and also the protection from cruel and unusual punishments in situations where they were never formerly charged with crimes. We should be proud of America and all that it now represents to the rest of the world. An infallible beacon of Democracy, whose formula should be applied to every nation in the world, Third World or otherwise.

The attacks on September 11th may have been devastating and emotionally shaking to many of us, but our government has certainly proven that it can stay focused when it has the appropriate motivation. In this respect, our nation's "leaders" have done everything its people have asked them to do. We brought Saddam Hussein to justice for his terrorist acts against this nation, we found the honest connections linking him to Al Qaeda, which is exactly why we justifiably invaded Iraq. And now, we want to bring the "miracle" of Iraq to other Middle Eastern nations like Lebanon and Syria.

In looking back at these last five years, it makes me glad to think of all that we have accomplished as a nation. Thank you George W. Bush for all the hope you have given us. If I could name but one flaw in our governmental system, it is that we do not have the power to re-elect you for a 3rd Presidential term. A pity that is.

Jesus Camp

http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/
(watch the videos on the website)

"I wanna see young people you are as committed to the cause of Jesus Christ as the young people are to the cause of Islam. I wanna see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine...because we have the truth!"

This documentary is amazing. It's only showing in a limited number of theatres, but it will be playing in a few theatres in CA on September 29th. The film investigates a summer camp that Christian parents send their born-again kids to, where they are brain-washed into believing all sorts of radical ideas, turning them into war-mongers who will die for their religion.

Theatre List and release dates:
http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/theatreList.html

Loose Change

With the 5-Year Anniversary of September 11th on its way, I thought I'd share an extremely controversial video regarding a conspiracy theory plot perpetrated by our own government. "Loose Change" is a mind bending argument that is definitely worth a look. Despite all the propaganda and Bush administration anti-sentimentality, the fact that no hard evidence of a Boeing 757 was found at the site of the Pentagon certainly makes you wonder what other lies were told concerning 9/11. However, when the video went into the details of doctored cell phone calls, my disbelief began to settle in. Naturally, everyone is entitled to their own opinion of what happened. The sad reality is that we may never have conclusive proof of what actually took place on the event many have called the "Pearl Harbor of Our Time".

My only suggestion is to never stop asking questions of our government or anyone else in a position of power or authority. I find it completely ridiculous for anyone to be labeled as "Unpatriotic", "Treasonous", or "Un-American" just because they don't agree with those currently in power. After all, the citizens of these United States need only be loyal to this country, not our President. Government is supposed to support its people, not the other way around.

The Emmys Were Lost On Me

At the start of the Emmys last night, the show opened with this skit about Lost:

http://www.lostlinks.net/videos/emmyskit.htm

My favorite line:

Conan: "I've gotta get to the Emmy's. You wanna come with me?"
Hurley: "Well.. we weren't exactly invited."
Conan: "But you won last year! Nothing makes sense anymore."

It's apparent, the process of Emmy nomination is in need of some serious tweaking. Unfortunatley, shows with a more serialized approach were penalized since the voters were only required to watch one hand-picked episode by each show's producers. As a result, programs like Lost were snubbed and ignored due to its inherently complex storyline.

Ironicly, this is one of the main reasons why I like this show so much. Since Lost has so many interweaving storythreads, one episode could never do it justice. So much depends on your understanding of the characters' past experiences and internal struggles. On top of that, the mythology of show adds even more layers to the convoluted puzzle that is Lost.

But then again... we don't watch it because it gets Emmy's. We watch because we appreciate it for what it is: One of TVs smartest dramas on television today. But I can't blame the Emmy nomination committee for not getting it. Their loss. Besides the ratings and online fan community speaks for itself.

Article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/4141476.html

Stay tuned for Wednesday, October 4th, 9pm.

The Ethics of Stem Cell Research

A new scientific study has found a way to extract stem cells from human embryos without destroying the embryo itself. This is obviously a notable breakthrough that will hopefully turn the tide of legislature concerning stem cell research in this country.

Link to article

However, the response from the White House indicates that they are ignoring its findings, stating:

Response in the New York Times

"Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical questions.
This technique does not resolve those concerns.”

How can they say this when the primary argument against this research conveyed by opponents of stem cell research is no longer an issue?!? This reaction reminds me of a child who covers their ears, and repeats the phrase "I'm not listening!" over and over so they can avoid providing a cognitive rebuttal.

Vote Now for the Stephen Colbert Bridge!

This is a funny story...

There's a contest to vote for the name of a bridge in Hungary. So Stephen Colbert of the "Colbert Report" urged his viewers to name it the Stephen Colbert hid (hid is bridge in Hungarian), after himself . The first phase of voting concluded with Stephen Colbert as the leader with over 17 million votes. In a distant 2nd place, the Nicholas Zrinski hid had 4 million votes. And the Chuck Norris hid was bumped from 1st to 5th. The funny thing is, Hungary only has a population of approximately 10 million.



Now they're asking people to vote in a second phase, for one of the 25 top choices so far. The Stephen Colbert hid currently leads the pack w/ 8000 votes, with the Jon Stewart hid trails in 2nd w/ 3000 votes. You can view the current tally here.

The truth is, this isn't the first time Colbert has rallied the blogosphere into a public prank. On the July 31st, 2006 episode concerning Wikipedia, Colbert made outrageous claims that "the population of elephants tripled in the last six months," causing many to alter elephant-related Wikipedia pages, which ultimately led to the temporary lockdown of all these pages.

Recently, Colbert provided a "Star Wars Kid"-like video of himself in front of a green screen. He proposed a contest to submit the best modimodified version of this video, complete w/ lightsaber effects and anything else the creator might like to include. Update: Here is a list of notable entries.

Honestly, I think this type of audience involvement creates a fun, inclusive form of entertainment. Just like how taking part in message boards, blogs and providing podcast feedback allow us to extend our voices further than tradional media outlets has allowed in the past, Tso too does this style of television. The fact that Stephen Colbert does a wonderful portrayal of Bill O'Reilly is also a plus.

So in order to join in on the action, use the link below to vote for the bridge, the Democratic way...

To vote, go here:
http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/

UPDATED! Phase II Voting instructions: Walk-through of the voting process

• Click on the "Regisztráció" link on the top left-hand corner of the page.
• Write in your email, and your password, and a repeat of the password (your password confirmation) in the three blank fields (IN THAT ORDER).
• In minutes, you get a mail with a confirmation link and your password. Click on the link included in the e-mail.
• When you click on the link in the e-mail, you will get redirected to the voting page.
• Type your e-mail in the E-mail cim field, and your password in the Jelsó field.
• Select the radial button by "Stephen Colbert híd" and click the Belépés button. You will be taken to a screen with the vote tallies. To vote again, click on the Kilépés button.
• "Belépések száma" means "Number of logins". It does appear that you can vote unlimited times, but you have to be registered to do so.
• "Összesen" on the bottom means "All votes", and the Toplista tally page seems to be working again if you would like to see the tally of all of the votes.
• And, in case you're wondering, yes the Colbert Nation has already found a way to cheat stuff the ballot box on this round of votes, too. But Colbert has requested (via the ColbertNation.com forums) that everyone play nice so that we don't block out all of the other people from around the world who might want to vote. In other words - don't cheat. Do it the long way.

We're Not Leaving...

Video: http://thinkprogress.org/2006/08/21/bush-not-leaving/



Well, you heard it straight from the horse's mouth: "We're not leaving So Long As I'm President". Up until at least January of 2009, we are literally screwed. It's time for the impeachment proceedings to begin! The NSA Spying Scandal, the unwarranted detainment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners; the constitutionality of these offenses needs to be examined much more closely and this administration must take responsibility for it's actions.

Cuz let's face it, do we really want these people running our government for the next two and a half years?

Now and Then

Just a word of warning, this is going to be less about Technology and more about Knowledge..


So, I was listening to The Best of the Left podcast this morning and this one overarching theme of the Bush Administration's policies hit me: "Terrorism is the new Communism". Just like how, in past decades, the US has taken a vicious stance against eradicating Communism from the face of the Earth, we now take that same stance against Terrorism today. The evils of Communism that forced us to orchestrate uprisings and quell political dictators have been given a modern face-lift, a new "Terrorist" branding, and a Middle Eastern spin. We are chasing the same ghosts today as we did during the Vietnam War. Terrorism is being used today as a scapegoat for nearly everything. It has clearly become the magic word used as political ammunition for obtaining anything our government desires. Are we still so blind with rage from an attack that happened 5 years ago that we should stumble into a conflict we have no business interfering with? The war mongering has got to stop.

...At least until we can deploy large mech armies to do the fighting for us. Okay, so I sprinkled a little technology in there. I couldn't help it. Come to think of it, here's what would be ideal... Instead of mounting our forces for that inevitable WWIII, what if, alternatively, all the world's superpower leaders join in a Battlefield 2 game. It can even be that one Middle Eastern map. See this way, at the end of the day, we can all go home to our respective houses/huts, watch a little tv, and remain breathing.

Problem solved!

Lego Star Wars II

Despite the fact that the first game was a little kiddie and also wasn't based on the greatest of movies, the nerd-friendly combination of Star Wars and Lego-everything was almost too good to be true. Now, they're applying the Lego Star Wars treatment to the original trilogy. I'll probably play this just for the wonderful memories of the Empire vs the Rebels. When The Force was still just The Force, not some midichlorian crap! When Darth Vader was the badass of the universe, not some whiny show-off who misses his mommy. Maybe they should really think about making those Indiana Jones and Rocky sequels...before they tarnish another perfectly good movie franchise. Matt Dameon as Captian Kirk, anyone?

Free Music from Google

Okay, so it's not really "from" Google. That was just a ploy to catch your attention. But the part about free music was correct. Bascially, just enter the following search into google (replacing "ARTIST SONG_NAME" with whatever search criteria you want), and viola...free mp3s!

intitle:index.of "mp3" +"ARTIST SONG_NAME" -htm -html -php -asp "Last Modified"


Recently, I got a song stuck in my head and I wanted to hear it, so I used the above search method with the string "be sedated" as in The Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated"... When I finally got to the mp3 link, this is what I heard: link to mp3.

Turns out there's a website that has a bunch of these songs, called Dictionaraoke. All the songs sound like horrible midi cell phone ring tones with added Microsoft Sam vocals. It's hilarious! Try listening to "Bohemian Rhapsody" without laughing out loud! I dare you!

For some reason the phrase "boom shakalakalaka" comes to mind right now...weird.

310 Area Code Woes

If you have a 310 area code, be prepared to dial it from now on. Effective today, July 26th, 2006, this new change will affect all those living in Westside, South Bay, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Compton and Inglewood. Here's an excerpt from the LA Times:

Residents of the 310, get your fingers ready. Starting today, everyone who lives within the boundaries of the 310 area code will have to dial 11 digits — 1 plus 310, then the seven-digit number — when making a local call.The new dialing procedure is another step toward implementation of the state's first area code overlay. Service providers are scheduled to begin distributing numbers with the new 424 code Aug. 26. Existing customers will keep their 310 numbers.
(taken from the LA Times article here)

This is just ridiculous! I feel sorry the people who didn't store their cell phone or phone directory numbers this way. Hopefully no one in that area has had to deal with blackouts too.

The Real News

Yesterday I left my iPod in my desk drawer at work, so I decided to listen to a little AM talk radio (my FM doesn't work) on the drive home. I was immediately overwhelmed by the various US and World news stories. Suddenly, the more superficial tech news stories from Digg and Twit seemed trivial and small. Don't get me wrong, I'm still interested in the next rumor about the new ipod or the next mud slinging critique on the console war, but those things have seemed less interesting recently.

These days, I find myself salivating more on tidbits concerning stem cell research, mapping the human genome, net neutrality, nano-technology, digital rights management, global warming, the energy crisis, and petroleum alternatives. Granted those last three are all linked together. But these are the issues much more likely to affect us in the future.

The Office: The Accountants

http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/nbc_off_web_101_20060712.shtml

The free, online-only webisodes of the NBC Comedy "The Office" are now available. These short (two-minute) episodes center around the accountants of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton office and their antics in discovering the plot behind some missing company money. So far the first two episodes are ready. The short story arc will come to an end on September 14th with the airing of the 10th webisode. If you don't want to sit through the ads, I'm sure these will hit YouTube soon enough.

Too bad there's no Mike, Pam, or Jim...but I hear Dwight will make an cameo appearance.

Even though it represents very little content, I think the whole webisode concept is a breath of fresh air. Just like The Office's previous PSA's (watch this one about friends not letting friends buy expensive beer), or to an extent, the online Lost experience, the change in format is a welcome addition to the tried-but-true tv delivery method. IPTV here we come!

FYI, they're showing the Pilot again tonight, Thurs (7/13) at 8:30pm PST.

Firefox 2.0 Beta

Despite my previous entry's disdain for desktop apps, I must hold up the latest beta release of Firefox (aptly labeled 2.0) for the update that it is... further improvement on what was already a good thing.

The 2.0 version of Firefox (you can download it here, btw. or here if you want a portable version, that won't interfere with your profiles folder) isn't a major overhaul, so much as a minor facelift. All the tab switching goodness is still here.

First off, a session restore feature was added. Now, after a crash or when some other abrupt action halts Firefox, you will be prompted at the next startup whether you would like to restore all the tabs you were browsing. Also, any recently closed tab can now be reopened using the History menu. Another tweak you may notice is that the integrated search bar is now much wider and boasts and Manage Search Engines feature in the drop down menu. In place of the separate "Extensions" and "Themes" dialogs, "Add-ons" now resides, each one with clearly visible options, disable, and uninstall buttons, and even provides a restart firefox button when updates are applied. The browser even has a new rss feed reader, but will still allow any external feed reader of your choosing.

On the security side of things, there are a number of important fixes. The biggest addition would have to be an anti-phishing protection.

The only downside I see to upgrading to the 2.0 beta now is that some of the Extensions will not work and most of the Themes will be incompatible. There is a way around most of this, by using the "Nightly Tester Tools" extension (download). This allows you to force all your add-ons to be compatible with all versions of Firefox.

Though most of these feature additions are popular extension ideas adopted by the Firefox team, it's nice to see the application evolving in little bits here and there. Even if you ignore the security advantages of using Firefox over IE, I don't think I could go back to using IE simply because of all the extra features extensions can bring. It's those interface updates that really make it feel old. Much like playing an ancient RTS will feel frustrating next to Warcraft III's many helpful automations and AI tweaks.

True, IE7 is coming. But we Firefox users have had an IE7-level browser for ages. IE7 is almost as funny a joke as Vista... almost.

Evolving Web Apps

Web applications have a distinct advantage over their desktop counterparts. Namely, the ability to unnoticeably evolve and grow much more seamlessly. Unlike desktop applications like MS Word or Mozilla's Firefox, web apps can have features added from day to the next, without your knowledge of these changes. Their developers can add a functionality or graphical improvement on the fly, and you can experience that change the next time you visit that website.

In the case of Google Maps, these improvements are a welcome addition. For example, today, I casually looked up some directions by querying my location and destination. When I attempted to refine my view by zooming in, I was pleasantly surprised by a more fluid animation. This was a new feature or at least a refine improvement. Did I have to download an update to the software? Did I need to restart my web browser, or god forbid, restart my computer? No. The update occurred behind the scenes at Google somewhere. And that's the beauty of the web environment.

Imagine, sometime in the not-too-distant future... Instead of those naggingly annoying Windows Update prompts, begging you to restart your computer, the whole thing will be web-driven. An entire OS maintained on the server-side. True, some future, insanely powerful web browser would need to run the OS, but any security update, code improvement, or added feature would infuse itself automatically. The need to restart due to a newly installed software component would be a thing of the past.

Granted this centralization of our OS might pose unforeseen security problems. However, new security holes undoubtedly arise whenever something new takes hold. The OS serving company better be damn secure is all.

One day, an update might only require a push of the F5 key and a refresh of the bits on your screen.

Guantanamo Bay Prisoners

Stephen Colbert argues with himself regarding the politics of holding Arab prisoners at Guantanamo Bay without fair trials. It's hilarious, just watch!



Link

DS Lite + M3 Lite > DS Lite

The M3 Adapter is a flash-based add-on card that fits into the Game Boy Advance cartidge slot of the Nintendo DS (Lite & Phat). When used in conjuncture with a passme device plugged into the DS cartridge slot, the M3 allows the DS to play movies & music, view pictures and e-books, and most importantly, run DS and GBA roms as well as any homebrew applications made for the DS.

This is actually a pic of the EZ4Lite, a different brand, but similar product

The M3 adapter accepts many different types of flash memory cards, including: Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), and MiniSD. But next month, the folks at M3 are releasing a special M3 Lite version, made specially for the DS Lite system, using the new MicroSD memory. Due to DS Lite's smaller design, the current M3 adapter would stick out the bottom by a good couple centimeters. However, the new M3 Lite will appear almost identical to the included, glossy-white dust cover that all DS Lites possess. And with its wi-fi capabilities, tons of available roms, and a slick, asthetically pleasing look, the add-on makes a great portable device a whole lot better.

The only drawback is the relative infancy of the new MicroSD flash memory format. Since the memory is so new, it will be significantly more expensive than more common CF or SD formats. So the question is...should I wait another month or so for a more expensive, but ultimately nicer looking solution, or do I buy a MiniSD M3 and go nuts right now?

Decisions, decisions...

Links:
M3 Website / G6 Website
M3 Forum
M3 Wiki

Spiro Dance

Check out the cool flash-based interactive spriograph at http://www.deviantart.com/view/14080073/. I made a little video of me playing around with it. All done in less than 20 mins. Enjoy!

Congress Debates Video Games Rating System

Jon Stewart keeps the Congressmen sounding like out-of-touch, old windbags, as the Daily Show critiques the recent Congressional hearings concerning the ESRB video games rating system.

"I'm a gamer myself...I was an expert in Pong. That was a great game..(makes beeping sound effects)." ~ said one Representative from Michigan



Hmm, seems YouTube was down Thursday night. Hopefully it will be back up soon! Use the following link if the YouTube video is unavailable..
http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=70892

Man Will Remember Unanswered Prayer

An area man will remember an unanswered prayer the next time God needs his help. Local account executive Scott Fields says, "The Lord should remember that devotion is a two-way street." Fields won't soon forget the time the Lord decided not to answer his prayer for a promotion at work.

"I felt pretty good with my relationship with the Lord. And now I feel like I'm being blown off, and I think it's bullshit."

Fields added that he can't wait for the Creator to ask him for his help so he can throw it in his face.

~taken from the Onion Radio News