random($foo)

7/29

I started a Suggestions list for OSCON yesterday on the wiki. I think there are definitely some good suggestions being put on.

7/27

Currently in Portland for OSCON

7/23

7/22

7/21

It's a good idea not to run kill -9 -1 as root.

7/20

Noise Ninja 2.0 has a Mac OS X version. That's great. Ironically, one of the things I still do primarily on my PC is my image handling and cataloguing, primarily because of tools like Noise Ninja, Neat Image, Qimage being PC only. And for cataloguing/browsing, ACDSee just beats the pants off of anything on the Mac.

7/18

I spent a couple hours today working out Google Labs Problem #3 (skip the bottom if you want to solve it for yourself). I don't need a job or anything, but it caught my interest. Sadly, I'm left with a feeling that there should be a much better way to do it if I were smarter, but hey, I kicked that snack machine's ass. That's the important thing.

Yes, this was incredibly nerdy. Yes, I should be doing other things with my time. And no, I haven't eaten yet today.

[update] I got this response back:

Dear Problem Solver,

Thanks for taking the time to play with our little brain-teaser and for sending us your solution. While you won't find a confirmation of the answer in this email, we did want to let you know that your message was received and that we'll be taking a look at it. If you submitted a resume, we'll be spending some time with that as well. If it seems like there might be a fit with a position we have open, we'll contact you within the next few days.

And as for the answer to the puzzle, we'll post the ads and the solution on our site within a couple of months, after those who are a little slower than you have had a chance to work on it a bit longer. Thanks again for your interest in Google.

The Google Labs Engineering Team

Which puts me in a bit of an ethical dilemma, right? Do I take this link down so the less scrupulous won't cheat their way to an (admittedly mediocre) solution? Of course, if they do find this, it'll be pretty much by using Google to search for it (ahh, delicious irony).

See also: Fog Creek Software: Mysterious billboard, Google is behind mystery geek trap

7/16

My new office desktop setup w/ Synergy putting my Mac and PC w/ joint clipboard and input. Using two Y-adapters and an extension cable and now my headphones and speakers are also both hooked up.

7/15

7/14

7/13

F9/11 (on its way to breaking $100 DBO) has been getting most of the press, but there are other documentaries a-hopping:

ma says:

Is there a medieval battle at Machine this Saturday night? Yes. Do you have to bring your own beer? Yes. Will there be men and women dressed in full plate armour hitting each other with pieces of metal? Yes. Can you safely watch the action projected next door at the film center? Yes. Is this the best idea ever? Yes. Will there also be monguls, vikings, and centurians? Maybe. Will I wear my chain mail suit? Unclear.

Looks frickin' cool.

Machine Project announces "Untitled War", a medieval battle staged inside the gallery space. On July 17 from 6 to 8pm, armored warriors will engage in gut wrenching, full-contact combat with assorted melee weapons.

"Untitled War" is the latest project by artist and uber-gamer Brody Condon. Working in the mystical confluence of contemporary art practice, 3D games, and historical combat reenactment, Mr. Condon's work is engaged in locating and fabricating situations and visual works where computer games and game culture leak outside of the gaming box and into lived experience. In "Untitled War". Condon's ongoing work on SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, www.sca.org) culminates in a full-contact battle royale staged inside of Machine Project, located in Echo Park Los Angeles.

"Untitled War" is a performative event combining fantasy role-playing, fabricated history, extreme sports, and computer games. Warriors from various historical periods from the SCA will endure an ongoing First Person Shooter Game style Deathmatch battle. Live camera views (similar to the spectator camera views found in online FPS games) will be streamed online and projected next door at the Echo Park Film Center, creating a game-like viewing experience for those outside the space.

"Untitled War" is the first one man staging of a Medieval battle in Los Angeles by Mr. Condon, a former member of the SCA. Mr. Condon's personal and collaborative work has recently been exhibited at the 2004 Whitney Biennial, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art.

Thanks to SCA and the Echo Park Film Center for their generous support.

More information about Brody Condon's art work can be found at his website, www.tmpspace.com

Brody Condon also recently created a 650 Polygon John Carmack sculpture piece.

7/9

7/7

7/6

Probably not a lot on the blog while I try to wrap up/do some coding before going to HOPE 5.

If you have a chance, check out In My Place (via), a journal of a person who discovers he's HIV positive.

7/4

7/2

Justice rejects data request - now this is reaching new levels of ridiculousness:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is offering a novel reason for denying a request seeking the Department of Justice's database on foreign lobbyists: Copying the information would bring down the computer system.

"Implementing such a request risks a crash that cannot be fixed and could result in a major loss of data, which would be devastating," wrote Thomas McIntyre, chief in the justice department.s office for information requests.

Advocates for open government said the government's assertion that it could not copy data was unprecedented but representative of generally negative responses to Freedom of Information Act requests.

"This was a new one on us. We weren't aware there were databases that could be destroyed just by copying them," Bob Williams of the Center for Public Integrity, or CPI, said yesterday. The watchdog group in Washington made the request in January. He said the group expects to appeal the justice department.s decision.

So, if this data can't be copied out without risking destruction, how do they access their own information? And shouldn't these people (Ashcroft down) in the Justice Department be dismissed or arrested already? I don't get how we can claim to be a nation of law when it seems like those in power are able to repeatedly break them with impunity.

(Well, this accurately reflects what our country is, I suppose.)

Meghan Newell's Flash Portfolio - a couple notes on Flash design/usability:

Most of this can happen in HTML... Flash just makes it easier/more egrarious. Also the general Flash problems (no bookmarking/URIs, visited link history, status bar, browser navigation).

7/1


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