New Years Sparklers
// December 31st, 2005
Fixing moblogging
// December 31st, 2005You may notice some testing messages on the feed over the next few minutes: I’m fixing my moblogging software. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Update: All fixed. Prepare for mobloggy goodness this New Years Eve!
Yahoo Pwns my Desktop
// December 28th, 2005Just now, Konfabulator popped up a window letting me know that a new version was out and would I like to download it. Nice little function, very politely willing to let me pass on this upgrade, or never be notified of such things again. I took it up on its offer.
If you don’t know from Konfabulator, it’s a formerly open-source program that puts little doodads (they call them widgets, but I prefer doodads) on your Windows desktop. Little things that DO stuff–like tell the weather forcast or give you live traffic photos from around town. Useful little toy.
I say “formerly” open-source because a couple months ago, Konfabulator became Yahoo! Widgets, having been snapped up by the Y-boys. But it looked like Yahoo! was going to let them stay true to their open roots and not do anything too evil with the Big K.
Until now. Along with the upgrade to Konfabulator, I have a new item in my Start->programs called “Yahoo! Central”. Worse, when I launched Firefox just now, guess what my home page was? And guess what engine my search bar was changed to search? Yep. No telling what other cruft they’ve installed for me.
Thanks, Yahoo!. Next time I’m looking for a third-rate search engine and portal, I’ll go straight to you. In the meantime, keep your mitts of my preferences, thank you very much.
Top Secret Tutorials
// December 28th, 2005Ever wondered how to tie every kind of knot? How to clean anything? How to be creative, become an early riser, prebuild a Li-Ion battery? Then this site is for you.
Scroll past the google-verts to the good stuff, btw…
Cat Typing
// December 20th, 2005This was in an active gmail window when I sat down at my computer this morning:
Calling willyray@gmail.com at 1:14 AM on Tuesday
willyray: hello?
do you have a micromaphone?
what’s the deal? cat jump on the keyboard?
Dan: qeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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willyray: bwahahaha!
Looks like the cat did jump on the keyboard!
Call ended with willyray at gmail dot com at 1:17 AM on Tuesday
Sigh.
Legend of the Green Dragon
// December 16th, 2005Back in the old BBS days, when I was in college and just after I graduated, I played a BBS “door game” called Legend of the Red Dragon (LORD) by Seth Able. Seth was 15 when he released the first version of LORD, and it sold 25,000 copies. Which kind of reminds me of what the online world was like back then…
It was a fun, challenging fantasy-adventure game that was designed to encourage daily login and play.
Now some crazy folks have re-created it under the name Legend of the Green Dragon (LOTGD). The new game is web-based, which changes the gameplay somewhat. They totally captured the spirit of the game—a huge, rich world, challenging battles, interaction between players including a player-vs-player system, lots (lots!) of paths for character development, etc.
To give you a sense of how creative and great this game is, right now it’s showing holiday-specific names for things. The Forest is called “The Winter Wonderland”. The “Boar’s Head Inn” is the “Boar’s Head Igloo”. The Gardens are “The Skating Rink”. It also knows about Talk Like a Pirate Day and April Fools day, AND it talks in l33t sp33k on the birthday of the main developer!
I’ve installed LOTGD at one of my servers here. Come play!
UPDATE: Willy pointed out a problem with email confirmation: it didn’t work. Don’t know why, but I turned email confirmation off. If you tried and failed to create a character, my apologies, and please try again.
A House full of insults
// December 11th, 2005Man, this is as funny as a 1st season episode of Are You Being Served! The Beeb has a great article up on the history of insults as used in British Parliament.
I’ve always loved watching film from Parliament. Somebody says something provacative and the whole house bursts into argument and yelling for a few seconds. Then their English gets the better of them and they calm down… Fun.
BBC NEWS | Politics | A House full of insults
OldeEnglish.org Photobooth
// December 10th, 2005
Olde Enlish is a HYSTERICAL online comedy troupe, doing really outrageous and surreal sketches.
OldeEnglish.org - Photobooth.mov
Ugly Christmas Lights
// December 7th, 2005
Good Old Patriotic Rednecks
// December 7th, 2005This new entry on Snopes.com describes a vicious rumor started against the Pakistani owner of a convenience store in Knoxville. Evidently a flyer and an email are circulating accusing the owner of refusing to serve a serviceman, and for cheering and celebrating on 9/11. None of which has been proven, and all of which is vehemently denied by the shop owner.
As a result, this man and his family—all naturalized or naturally born US citizens—fear for their safety and livelihoods.
This is what it comes to, friends, when patriotism turns to jingoism. It brings out the worst in us, and those most vulnerable get victimized. I’ve long suspected that the US is the Junior High School of the planet.
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Shell Game)
