2005-12-27
偶然のトッケン
ヤフーの検索に「特研」を入れたらこのサイトが出てきた。偶然なことに、鳥取県米子市にある会社です。なんだか、俺が探していた特研とまったく違って、しかし俺が行ったことある、遠い街のことが現れたらびっくりした。ちょっと不思議。
2005-12-26
Unicode BOM
The Unicode Consortium site has a FAQ regarding byte-order marks. I found out some very useful info, such as about surrogate pairs (D800-DBFF for prefix, DC00-DFFF for suffix), and the invalid values in UTF-16 (FDD0-FDEF, as well as unpaired surrogates).
2005-12-21
More Random News
Japan may create its own search engine - Cool! But I'd find it hard to believe that it would be able to compete with Google.
Linux screensaver for Windows - Why ask why?
The Internet Is Broken Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 - No kidding.
New Standard Keyboard - It's not just ugly, it's fugly! Apparently, this is old news. NSK website currently out of service.
The Men Who Came To Dinner, and What They Said About Email - Quirky. Is that anything like a Naked Lunch?
Linux screensaver for Windows - Why ask why?
The Internet Is Broken Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 - No kidding.
New Standard Keyboard - It's not just ugly, it's fugly! Apparently, this is old news. NSK website currently out of service.
The Men Who Came To Dinner, and What They Said About Email - Quirky. Is that anything like a Naked Lunch?
Seagate to buy Maxtor
Coverage from:
New York Times via c|net
Reuters via Yahoo!
Mercury News
With "Quaxtor" gone, the HDD industry is left with Seagate, HGST, WD, and Samsung in Desktop 3.5" and Seagate, HGST, Toshiba, Fujitsu, WD, and Samsung in Mobile 2.5".
New York Times via c|net
Reuters via Yahoo!
Mercury News
With "Quaxtor" gone, the HDD industry is left with Seagate, HGST, WD, and Samsung in Desktop 3.5" and Seagate, HGST, Toshiba, Fujitsu, WD, and Samsung in Mobile 2.5".
IP Prior Art
Lately at work I've been tangentially involved with a patent discussion. Apparently one of our competitors has a patent on something and our IP guys are trying to invalidate it. Unfortunately I know fairly little about understanding patents other than "said" means "the", "comprised of" means "including but not limited to", and "consisting of" means "limited to". So I started reading up on what constitutes "prior art".
When is something prior art against a patent?
Considering What Constitutes Prior Art in the United States
I/P Updates
Wikipedia - prior art
Fight the Patent
Of course, the USPTO's patent search is where the heavy junk is at.
When is something prior art against a patent?
Considering What Constitutes Prior Art in the United States
I/P Updates
Wikipedia - prior art
Fight the Patent
Of course, the USPTO's patent search is where the heavy junk is at.
2005-12-20
Japanese Business
Other than JETRO and ACCJ, a few sites scattered about have notes on how to start a company in Japan:
Japan Reference (good info)
CCCJ (albeit Canadian)
Japan Today (by the infamous Terrie Lloyd)
JETRO's info is the most reliable.
It looks like a yugen kaisha is the way to go. One executive must be a Japanese resident. Minimum paid-in capital 3 million yen, or 1 yen with a bunch of paperwork and the minimum within 5 years.
Japan Reference (good info)
CCCJ (albeit Canadian)
Japan Today (by the infamous Terrie Lloyd)
JETRO's info is the most reliable.
It looks like a yugen kaisha is the way to go. One executive must be a Japanese resident. Minimum paid-in capital 3 million yen, or 1 yen with a bunch of paperwork and the minimum within 5 years.
2005-12-16
MogileFS
Reading about the setup at the Internet Archive which uses petaboxes for storage, there was mention of MogileFS. I'm very interested in filesystems, so I had to investigate. This is kind of what I've been looking for; I thought about writing a similar client, but it figures that it already exists. Perhaps not all the features I want are there, yet it's easier to use existing software than to build from scratch.
petabox info: manufacturer, specs, and block diagram
petabox info: manufacturer, specs, and block diagram
2005-12-15
Taxes
Frequently Asked Tax Questions And Answers - U.S. tax FAQs from the IRS.
U.S.-Japan Income Tax Convention - Rules on treatment of income taxes between the U.S. and Japan.
Offshore Avoidance of U.S. Income Taxation - A dated (1996) but interesting background.
U.S.-Japan Income Tax Convention - Rules on treatment of income taxes between the U.S. and Japan.
Offshore Avoidance of U.S. Income Taxation - A dated (1996) but interesting background.
"Katamari Damacy" T-Shirts
Wired's Game|Life linked to Panic Goods', which feature t-shirts of the celebrated J-game, "Katamari Damacy" (in English). The shirts are cool. Moreover, the shopping cart interface is pretty fly....
2005-12-14
Serial ATA and Microsoft's OSes
Because it's relevant to me at the moment:
Serial ATA in the Microsoft Operating System Environment
Whew -- the HDD I thought I'd killed actually only had a mangled pin (caused by a connector with a blocked pin for the key pin, but no tab for the recepticle key). A bit of soldering and it's as good as new.
Serial ATA in the Microsoft Operating System Environment
Whew -- the HDD I thought I'd killed actually only had a mangled pin (caused by a connector with a blocked pin for the key pin, but no tab for the recepticle key). A bit of soldering and it's as good as new.
2005-12-12
石井とも杞のイラスト
When I got back from vacation, I found a business card on my desk. Apparently there was a supply of them in the cafeteria, and MRG had picked one up and left it.（俺のオフィスはゴミ箱じゃねー！）Anyway, there was a website link and I checked it out. Interesting style; might make good t-shirt prints. ちなみに、日立ＧＳＴのmentionはここ（２００５年１２月９日）。
New Hitachi Company Store
In case you really want to buy Hitachi goods, there's a new place to do it. Really, the only thing worth having is the "sumo stress man". I have one on my desk.
Buckeye Recipes
A couple recipes for those tasty little buckeye chocolates:
About.com
RecipeLand.com (also at RecipeSource.com
About.com
RecipeLand.com (also at RecipeSource.com
2005-12-08
Young's Jersey Dairy
Young's has a website. Talk about advanced farmers, hehe. Some of the best milkshakes around. Their BBQ sandwich and fish sandwich are excellent also. I haven't actually been to the separate sit-down restaurant yet.
PGP Desktop & Forum Support Rant
This past week I bought PGP Desktop Professional 9.0 for Macintosh. I had some problems, so I posted a note on the support forum.
I'm kinda pissed that I shelled out $150 for the software and have had problems with it. I've wasted at least a couple hours tinkering with the thing trying to get it to run as it should. Granted, my setup is more complicated than most end users'. Still, most people that use Macs probably have more money than time -- which is the main reason I use them, other than that Microsoft overcharges for their software -- which means that problems like this are especially bad for the user. Strange how many software companies think they can just charge more for the Mac version without added functionality or even the same stability as the Windows version (that comment wasn't directed at PGP specifically).
What really pisses me off about the software industry is that there's this trend toward forums rather than real support. I have to read a bunch of other people's issues first, and I don't have that kind of time to spend. Forum admins should be responsible for putting together FAQs of previously answered questions. And why should I have to pay more for support when I already shelled out several hours' wages for a product that's not working as it should?
I'm kinda pissed that I shelled out $150 for the software and have had problems with it. I've wasted at least a couple hours tinkering with the thing trying to get it to run as it should. Granted, my setup is more complicated than most end users'. Still, most people that use Macs probably have more money than time -- which is the main reason I use them, other than that Microsoft overcharges for their software -- which means that problems like this are especially bad for the user. Strange how many software companies think they can just charge more for the Mac version without added functionality or even the same stability as the Windows version (that comment wasn't directed at PGP specifically).
What really pisses me off about the software industry is that there's this trend toward forums rather than real support. I have to read a bunch of other people's issues first, and I don't have that kind of time to spend. Forum admins should be responsible for putting together FAQs of previously answered questions. And why should I have to pay more for support when I already shelled out several hours' wages for a product that's not working as it should?
Gold Prices
An article on CNN describes the gold high and possible causal factors. Looks like it'll be best to hold off on buying until after the holidays are over.
For unfathomable reasons, people tend to buy after the price has already gone up. I suppose that's because they think it's an upward trend and want to ride it up. Still, the point is that the market usually corrects upward for undervalued securities and downward for overvalued securities, so it only really makes sense to take action if you were one of the people who discovered the true value ahead of time. With these kind of things, the market will overshoot and stabilize, so latecomers buy too high and get stuck paying too much. It's thanks to them that others can make a profit. Ah, the perils of the stock market.
For unfathomable reasons, people tend to buy after the price has already gone up. I suppose that's because they think it's an upward trend and want to ride it up. Still, the point is that the market usually corrects upward for undervalued securities and downward for overvalued securities, so it only really makes sense to take action if you were one of the people who discovered the true value ahead of time. With these kind of things, the market will overshoot and stabilize, so latecomers buy too high and get stuck paying too much. It's thanks to them that others can make a profit. Ah, the perils of the stock market.
2005-12-07
link dump before reboot...
Fuel Up With Banana Peels - "I need fuel!" Mr. Fusion may become a reality after all.
The Quintessential Japanese Game - Like one of the commenters said, it would've been better had it been the DoA girls. Still, some people are too hardline about their prejudices and short-circuit judgements of other people. Like that this game represents the "quintessential Japanese" mentality. If so, one might characterize American society by the tired antics of Eminem, which is FAR more disturbing than this little video game.
The Quintessential Japanese Game - Like one of the commenters said, it would've been better had it been the DoA girls. Still, some people are too hardline about their prejudices and short-circuit judgements of other people. Like that this game represents the "quintessential Japanese" mentality. If so, one might characterize American society by the tired antics of Eminem, which is FAR more disturbing than this little video game.
2005-12-06
More Tech News
From Wired's Gear Factor:
Search With Your Camphone - Not terribly impressive...just OCR wired to one's cellphone and pulling results from a search engine.
Japanese Segway Goes Extreme - Hmm, maybe I need one of these.
Flexi-Displays Get Bigger, Better - Now this is cool. I want.
Search With Your Camphone - Not terribly impressive...just OCR wired to one's cellphone and pulling results from a search engine.
Japanese Segway Goes Extreme - Hmm, maybe I need one of these.
Flexi-Displays Get Bigger, Better - Now this is cool. I want.
Random Apple News
Predominantly from Wired's Cult of Mac:
Fun Shirts Blend Anime and Apple - Hmm, I smell copyright infringement....
Beautiful Papercraft Mac and iPod - I need to print these out and put them on my desk at work.
Airport Express Mod - Extending the range of the APX using various household items.
Sony "rootkit" CD had designs on iPod - Reports that the Sony rootkit copy protection had the capability to convert tunes to Apple's FairPlay. Sony is so screwed on this one.
Fun Shirts Blend Anime and Apple - Hmm, I smell copyright infringement....
Beautiful Papercraft Mac and iPod - I need to print these out and put them on my desk at work.
Airport Express Mod - Extending the range of the APX using various household items.
Sony "rootkit" CD had designs on iPod - Reports that the Sony rootkit copy protection had the capability to convert tunes to Apple's FairPlay. Sony is so screwed on this one.
2005-11-29
Interesting Blogs
Linked from Blogger:
Abandon the Web! Seems like a good idea. With solutions to the Web's problems.
Talking Taxes
Abandon the Web! Seems like a good idea. With solutions to the Web's problems.
Talking Taxes
2005-11-28
Input Devices
I was looking for alternate input devices again because I really didn't feel like working (you might say I have a "case of the Mondays"). Previously I'd toyed with the idea of buying a Datahand, but even at half price ($500) it seems a bit questionable. A 90-day warranty is too short, and in order to get Dvorak one has to buy the more expensive model and pay for the extra key mapping, for a total of about $800. Ouch.
So I found an old review on this device called the TouchStream ST, which is another funky keyboard/mouse combo, but when I wandered over to the company website (FingerWorks), they've apparently gone out of business.
If I ever become independently wealthy and get a lot of time on my hands, I'd love to make some input device review site. Even today, there's a lack of decent input devices. I've had to relegate myself to Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, which makes me feel dirty somehow. (I really shouldn't talk, because I own Microsoft stock....)
So I found an old review on this device called the TouchStream ST, which is another funky keyboard/mouse combo, but when I wandered over to the company website (FingerWorks), they've apparently gone out of business.
If I ever become independently wealthy and get a lot of time on my hands, I'd love to make some input device review site. Even today, there's a lack of decent input devices. I've had to relegate myself to Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, which makes me feel dirty somehow. (I really shouldn't talk, because I own Microsoft stock....)
2005-11-27
Mac mini Hardware Info
Lately I disassembled my Mac mini (using an OXO flexible scraper and okonomiyaki spatula) so I've seen the guts of the mini. However, this site about PowerLinux on the Mac mini has a good description of the hardware.
Maybe it's possible to attach 2 3.5" HDDs using an external case and an extra power supply.... Unfortunately, the Mac mini's power brick supplies 18.5V so it wouldn't be possible to adapt a standard 12V ATX supply to the mini. Eventually I may have to get an Xserve after all.
Maybe it's possible to attach 2 3.5" HDDs using an external case and an extra power supply.... Unfortunately, the Mac mini's power brick supplies 18.5V so it wouldn't be possible to adapt a standard 12V ATX supply to the mini. Eventually I may have to get an Xserve after all.
2005-11-22
Second Amendment Memorandum
From an Amazon.com book review, I found a link to a Department of Justice website entitled WHETHER THE SECOND AMENDMENT SECURES AN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT, which is summarized as:
The Second Amendment secures a right of individuals generally, not a right of States or a right restricted to persons serving in militias.A beautiful thing, that. Too bad it's just a memorandum.
2005-11-21
2005-11-18
2005-11-16
Section 1031
So apparently IRC Section 1031 only applies to investments and business properties. And according to a dude from KPMG, capital gains from primary residences aren't taxed...?!
Field Guide to 1031 Exchanges
Like-Kind Exchanges
Field Guide to 1031 Exchanges
Like-Kind Exchanges
2005-11-15
2005-11-14
2005-11-13
2005-11-12
Load-Balancing Routers
A few dual-port load-balancing routers have popped up. For the past five years I've wanted one, but only expensive business ones existed. It was either that or try configuring Linux's lackluster support, and well, since college, I have more money than time. A lot more. Which is not to say I'm rich, just that I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands!
Anyway, with a bit of research I found that both Netgear's and Linksys's load-balancing routers have serious problems. Unfortunately, the Netgear FVS124G has the most problems, it seems. I say unfortunately because it has all the features I wanted: load-balanced dual WAN ports, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and VPN support. However, the Netgear forums have a long topic on the lockup issues. Linksys has several load-balancing routers on their site, the RT042 (QoS feature) and RV0041 (with GbE), but of course there's a catch. The former has functional problems like the FVS124G, whereas the latter doesn't seem to be available, and it's over $300. Linksys's other RV series products, FV016 and FV082, seem to also have firmware troubles. The FV016 is interesting because it allows for up to 7 balanced ports, but if one needs that kind of capability, one would probably buy a higher-end device!
One just can't win.
The reason I'm looking is because I need a new router, and Japanese routers aren't in general so great. Turns out that we still make better equipment in the U.S. Well, routers are hardware-assisted software, so that figures. I gave my Netgear FVS318 to my dad because I couldn't tunnel into HGST's network with it...but last time I was home I was able to get in. The VPN software we use is way unreliable, so that was probably the real issue. Good products are so hard to find these days.
Anyway, with a bit of research I found that both Netgear's and Linksys's load-balancing routers have serious problems. Unfortunately, the Netgear FVS124G has the most problems, it seems. I say unfortunately because it has all the features I wanted: load-balanced dual WAN ports, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and VPN support. However, the Netgear forums have a long topic on the lockup issues. Linksys has several load-balancing routers on their site, the RT042 (QoS feature) and RV0041 (with GbE), but of course there's a catch. The former has functional problems like the FVS124G, whereas the latter doesn't seem to be available, and it's over $300. Linksys's other RV series products, FV016 and FV082, seem to also have firmware troubles. The FV016 is interesting because it allows for up to 7 balanced ports, but if one needs that kind of capability, one would probably buy a higher-end device!
One just can't win.
The reason I'm looking is because I need a new router, and Japanese routers aren't in general so great. Turns out that we still make better equipment in the U.S. Well, routers are hardware-assisted software, so that figures. I gave my Netgear FVS318 to my dad because I couldn't tunnel into HGST's network with it...but last time I was home I was able to get in. The VPN software we use is way unreliable, so that was probably the real issue. Good products are so hard to find these days.
2005-11-02
Indigo
愛染工房 - One of my favorite places to visit in Kyoto.
A few more links I found whilst searching for indigo:
Japanese Indigo (in Japanese) - This actually isn't indigo at all...it's baby items and stuff. How misleading.
The Japanese Connection - Various japanese goods.
ginkoya - A couple who runs a Japanese craft store. They also do eBay auctions.
Shokuninn (also in Japanese) - Nicely done website with a lot of nice designs. Seems to be a trading company.
Saber's Japanese Textiles
A few more links I found whilst searching for indigo:
Japanese Indigo (in Japanese) - This actually isn't indigo at all...it's baby items and stuff. How misleading.
The Japanese Connection - Various japanese goods.
ginkoya - A couple who runs a Japanese craft store. They also do eBay auctions.
Shokuninn (also in Japanese) - Nicely done website with a lot of nice designs. Seems to be a trading company.
Saber's Japanese Textiles
2005-11-01
Investopedia "University"
I've posted Investopedia's link here before, but specifically, their tutorials are helpful. I ran into this one while idly searching for information about the causes of inflation. (The Fed just increased the reserve rates to 4%.)
To me, inflation in general seems like a bad thing. Whether or not your wages increase to compensate, there doesn't seem to be a purpose for a change in the valuation of monetary units. I guess it's just that costs and demand change at different rates with different industries, typically rising, so as costs become equalized across the economy currency surreptitiously becomes devalued. This is especially true since we no longer have a gold standard to bind the currency to a reference point with practical material usage.
To me, inflation in general seems like a bad thing. Whether or not your wages increase to compensate, there doesn't seem to be a purpose for a change in the valuation of monetary units. I guess it's just that costs and demand change at different rates with different industries, typically rising, so as costs become equalized across the economy currency surreptitiously becomes devalued. This is especially true since we no longer have a gold standard to bind the currency to a reference point with practical material usage.
2005-10-29
Federal Firearms License
Ahh, wouldn't it be cool to have one of these? No more stupid fees to take possession of firearms. Of course, this is only useful if I intend to buy enough guns to cover the license fees. Maybe after I move back to the U.S. And buy a house. And a large safe.
ATF Firearms FAQs - Information and links about U.S. firearms law.
Firearms & Explosives Imports Branch - Information on weapons importing.
National Licensing Center - Get licensed.
ATF Distribution Center - Order Form F7!
ATF Firearms FAQs - Information and links about U.S. firearms law.
Firearms & Explosives Imports Branch - Information on weapons importing.
National Licensing Center - Get licensed.
ATF Distribution Center - Order Form F7!
2005-10-28
Brain Sex
That's not as funky as it sounds. Americans are so overly sensitized to the word "sex" that they erroneously substitute "gender" when they mean "sex". Sex, aside from the act of copulation, refers to the physical characteristic differences between males and females of a species (at least when a species has two sexes). Gender is the role that a particular sex plays, and is largely psychological, but is also cultural and invariably somewhat linked to the physiological sex.
So a homosexual male who is always the femme and has nurturing instincts could truthfully answer on a form that asks for "gender" that he is "female".
But that's beside the point. Gina Lynn's Wired blog has a link to this Brain sex test on the BBC. I haven't checked it out yet, but after hearing about one of my coworkers taking such a test and coming up 80% female (although he's male), I wonder how I stack up. That I don't like football counts against me, but that I like weapons makes me more masculine than the preponderance of wimpy Americans who don't like guns.
So a homosexual male who is always the femme and has nurturing instincts could truthfully answer on a form that asks for "gender" that he is "female".
But that's beside the point. Gina Lynn's Wired blog has a link to this Brain sex test on the BBC. I haven't checked it out yet, but after hearing about one of my coworkers taking such a test and coming up 80% female (although he's male), I wonder how I stack up. That I don't like football counts against me, but that I like weapons makes me more masculine than the preponderance of wimpy Americans who don't like guns.
これ、欲しい！
前から「ピュア・タブレット」みたいなノートパソコンが欲しいと思っていたけど、これがいい。富士通のFMV-STYLISTIC TB12/B。でかい電池を入れると１０時間ももつんだって。使ってみたい。
これも面白そうだけど、使い道あるのかな。
これも面白そうだけど、使い道あるのかな。
2005-10-27
MRJapanese
That's not "Mr. Japanese", it's Management Recruiters Japanese. Apparently Katie's trying to get a job through them. My Japanese isn't great, but perhaps I should look, too....
2005-10-24
2005-10-23
Reed-Solomon ECC
The ECC Page - Links, code, and such.
4i2i Reed-Solomon Codes - A nicely written overview of RS.
The Wikipedia entry on RS.
4i2i Reed-Solomon Codes - A nicely written overview of RS.
The Wikipedia entry on RS.
2005-10-21
2005-10-20
2005-10-19
M'Gold!
(Trying to emulate that weird gold-mad dog in Duck Tales.)
Kitco has some interesting precious metal resources, such as historical pricing and a bunch of stuff I can't really appreciate.
They also link to GoldMoney, which is an electronic payment system based on a gold standard. Sounds more interesting than the other e-payment schemes I've seen lately.
Kitco has some interesting precious metal resources, such as historical pricing and a bunch of stuff I can't really appreciate.
They also link to GoldMoney, which is an electronic payment system based on a gold standard. Sounds more interesting than the other e-payment schemes I've seen lately.
2005-10-17
Warthog
Cute. I'd rather have a firearm with larger magazine and longer barrel, though, since I don't have a concealed carry license anyway. (And currently living in Japan, I can't even use a gun here....)
2005-10-14
Lazy Stockpicking
It's interesting to see how other people's stock portfolios perform. Check out this article called Lazy Beats the Street on Motley Fool.
The article links to this older piece on Warren Buffet's thinking on investments. 20 stock picks, eh? I've already used up 10 or so. The problem is, only a few of them have been LTBH for me, like INTC and RGR. Getting the good stocks at good prices is a tough one. On the other hand, playing risks probably has me breaking even right now, largely because my errors made in learning wiped out my profits, c.f. shorting GOOG in the low $200s (it went up) and a currently sagging gamble on GTE.
Other interesting articles on the 'Fool:
Will Caribou's Shari'ah Affect Shares? - I didn't realize Caribou's primary investor was Islamic. It'd be a good idea to pay attention to who's holding the majority of the share pie.
A Super Sonic Stock - Sonic might be a good stock to study, as well as BW3's.
The Beef's at McDonald's - I figured "Supersize Me" would depress their stock price. Maybe I should get a piece.
McDonald's Burrito IPO - Hadn't even realized that Mickey D's had bought Chipotle. Maybe the IPO would be worth watching.
The article links to this older piece on Warren Buffet's thinking on investments. 20 stock picks, eh? I've already used up 10 or so. The problem is, only a few of them have been LTBH for me, like INTC and RGR. Getting the good stocks at good prices is a tough one. On the other hand, playing risks probably has me breaking even right now, largely because my errors made in learning wiped out my profits, c.f. shorting GOOG in the low $200s (it went up) and a currently sagging gamble on GTE.
Other interesting articles on the 'Fool:
Will Caribou's Shari'ah Affect Shares? - I didn't realize Caribou's primary investor was Islamic. It'd be a good idea to pay attention to who's holding the majority of the share pie.
A Super Sonic Stock - Sonic might be a good stock to study, as well as BW3's.
The Beef's at McDonald's - I figured "Supersize Me" would depress their stock price. Maybe I should get a piece.
McDonald's Burrito IPO - Hadn't even realized that Mickey D's had bought Chipotle. Maybe the IPO would be worth watching.
2005-10-13
2005-10-12
Clinton's war on Iraq?
Found this interesting link off of slashdot (here). Apparently before Bush got in office, Clinton was making preparations to go to war with Iraq. Doesn't mean that oil wasn't the main reason, though.
LCD Arms
Wintechno - The horizontal stand is something like out of the Matrix, and I may just have to buy the moving workstation rig....
LiveCreator - Lots of variety, but the arms just look cheap.
Forvice - Is it just me, or is that not a good name for a company? Their LCD arms look cool, though.
Eizo / Nanao
? - For Sharp LCDs. There's some stuff here but it looks like Forvice's stuff.
LiveCreator - Lots of variety, but the arms just look cheap.
Forvice - Is it just me, or is that not a good name for a company? Their LCD arms look cool, though.
Eizo / Nanao
? - For Sharp LCDs. There's some stuff here but it looks like Forvice's stuff.
2005-10-11
この切替器が欲しいな。
PKV-04PUA
PS/2の端子 もUSBの端子も付いていて、使用はいろいろありそうだ。USBの周辺機器をシェアできるのがいいけど、他の製品ではUSBを切り 替えるのが時間かかるから、キーボードとマウスはPS/2のままがいい。どうせマック意外まだPS/2端子が付いてる。本当はDVI対応のが欲しい。だけ ど、モニターとパソコン一台しかDVIじゃないから、あまり買う必要がないかも。
これは新しい製品だから、ほとんど見つからない。メジャーな店にまだ置いてないらしい。
PS/2の端子 もUSBの端子も付いていて、使用はいろいろありそうだ。USBの周辺機器をシェアできるのがいいけど、他の製品ではUSBを切り 替えるのが時間かかるから、キーボードとマウスはPS/2のままがいい。どうせマック意外まだPS/2端子が付いてる。本当はDVI対応のが欲しい。だけ ど、モニターとパソコン一台しかDVIじゃないから、あまり買う必要がないかも。
これは新しい製品だから、ほとんど見つからない。メジャーな店にまだ置いてないらしい。
2005-10-10
2005-10-06
2005-09-28
void main()
I ran into an issue when trying out Xcode where it would flag an error if main() were declared to return void. Since I knew that in C "void main()" is legal, I went looking on the Net and found this document. Apparently in C++ it's not legal...one of those tricky little differences between the two languages. I guess I missed that in my reading of the Stroustrup book; and although I have a copy of the C standard, I don't have the C++ standard. Nor would I want it...it's not one of my favorite languages.
2005-09-23
Interesting Mini-ITX Case
In this article, there's a rather interesting case. The article itself isn't anything special. In my opinion, though, making the PS external is cheating!
Goofy Hacks
Hack A Day has some weird links:
Some guy built a sentry BB gun....
How to build a generator.
An on/off box?! You've got to be kidding me. Some hack.
Some guy built a sentry BB gun....
How to build a generator.
An on/off box?! You've got to be kidding me. Some hack.
2005-09-14
Articles from 9/12
A couple interesting articles that I'd like to recall:
The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security - Very good security advice
What would you put in a Computer Science Curriculum? - A prime quote:
Whoa, that's hard-core! One has to have a lot of spare cash to buy Knuth's encyclopedic work, and a lot of perseverence to read the encyclopedia. But that's the spirit—those kinds of people are what we're missing now.
The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security - Very good security advice
What would you put in a Computer Science Curriculum? - A prime quote:
As for the author's distinction between "computer science" and "software engineering", well, I'm sorry but I really don't think someone who can whack and hack a server-side PHP application is a "software engineer". A software engineer, by my definition, is someone who owns and has read Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming", knows who Edsger Dijkstra was (and can pronounce his name correctly), can define the difference between a binary and counting semaphore, and can tell me why Java and C++ are generally bad ideas for use in high-reliability, hard real-time systems. A real software engineer, in my opinion, should also know the difference between a waterfall and a spiral, and what IEEE 12207 is (DO-178B is a bonus, but I don't hold out much hope for ever seeing that on the resumes I get).
Whoa, that's hard-core! One has to have a lot of spare cash to buy Knuth's encyclopedic work, and a lot of perseverence to read the encyclopedia. But that's the spirit—those kinds of people are what we're missing now.
2005-09-08
The squatter's right
I was looking for a Japanese translation of "cybersquatter", then I realized I didn't know what a "squatter" was in Japanese, so I looked it up on Yahoo!辞書. It says:
squatter
〔名〕 1 うずくまる人［動物］ the ～'s right 《米》男性と同数のトイレを使う女性の権利. 2 《米》公有地［空ビル］の無断居住者.3 《豪》牧場公有地借地人，（大規模な）牧畜農場経営者. ..
Somehow, I don't think "the squatter's right" means the right of women to have the same number of toilets as men. I think someone at Yahoo dictionary has a strange sense of humor.
As far as I can recall, the squatter's right is if you live on an unowned or unclaimed piece of land for so long, then it becomes yours. Actually I couldn't find a clarification on the Web after a cursory search. Ah well.
squatter
〔名〕 1 うずくまる人［動物］ the ～'s right 《米》男性と同数のトイレを使う女性の権利. 2 《米》公有地［空ビル］の無断居住者.3 《豪》牧場公有地借地人，（大規模な）牧畜農場経営者. ..
Somehow, I don't think "the squatter's right" means the right of women to have the same number of toilets as men. I think someone at Yahoo dictionary has a strange sense of humor.
As far as I can recall, the squatter's right is if you live on an unowned or unclaimed piece of land for so long, then it becomes yours. Actually I couldn't find a clarification on the Web after a cursory search. Ah well.
2005-09-07
International Freight
Since Tetsuo's friend Ken quit the shipping company he worked for, unfortunately I don't have an insider connection. Here are some links to freight companies:
American Baggage, Inc.
Air Sea Int'l Forwarding
Taurus Logistics - a New Zealand company with a lot of info on their website.
Air Parcel Express - looks interesting, but website's crowded.
American Freight Companies - a really cheesy website.
JHM Freight - for moving out of Japan.
This site has some interesting details about shipping, but it's only from Israel to the U.S.
Gallery of Transport Loss - this is wild!!
Perhaps DHL / Danzas is the most likely. They have an import page as well as an international shipment howto and a resource guide.
American Baggage, Inc.
Air Sea Int'l Forwarding
Taurus Logistics - a New Zealand company with a lot of info on their website.
Air Parcel Express - looks interesting, but website's crowded.
American Freight Companies - a really cheesy website.
JHM Freight - for moving out of Japan.
This site has some interesting details about shipping, but it's only from Israel to the U.S.
Gallery of Transport Loss - this is wild!!
Perhaps DHL / Danzas is the most likely. They have an import page as well as an international shipment howto and a resource guide.
2005-09-06
Baby Names?
Katie sent me this name generator link. The interface to the Java applet is kinda interesting.
2005-09-04
Crazy News, 2005.09.05
I'm a pretty callous guy in general, but this AP article has me ready to chip into the relief effort:
Here's an article reporting that dinosaurs may've had feathers, not reptilian-like scaly skin. Our unknown history keeps revising itself.
Even more important, apparently Shell has come up with a novel way to extract oil from shale. Maybe the Peak Oil theories missed something? Either way, I need to read up on this. Maybe I should buy some Shell stock....
Lastly, here are a bunch of articles on Blu-Ray, including some very unpleasant ones.
Playstation 3 Blu Ray drive will cost Sony $100+
Blu-ray players to "punish" users who hack their gear?
DVD format war looms as Blu-ray backers plan launch
"The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home, and every day she called him and said, `Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?' And he said, `And yeah, Momma, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday' _ and she drowned Friday night. She drowned on Friday night," Broussard said.And then more intellectual property stupidity, where by opening a "single-use item" you agree to not reuse it, and if you do, you're liable for patent infringement. Capitalism has its good points, but the dark side is that its political hooks bend the law so that perfectly legitimate things become criminal.
"Nobody's coming to get her, nobody's coming to get her. The secretary's promise, everybody's promise. They've had press conferences _ I'm sick of the press conferences. For God's sakes, shut up and send us somebody."
Here's an article reporting that dinosaurs may've had feathers, not reptilian-like scaly skin. Our unknown history keeps revising itself.
Even more important, apparently Shell has come up with a novel way to extract oil from shale. Maybe the Peak Oil theories missed something? Either way, I need to read up on this. Maybe I should buy some Shell stock....
Lastly, here are a bunch of articles on Blu-Ray, including some very unpleasant ones.
Playstation 3 Blu Ray drive will cost Sony $100+
Blu-ray players to "punish" users who hack their gear?
DVD format war looms as Blu-ray backers plan launch
2005-08-28
Slashdot News 2005.08.29
Boot loader showdown - LILO vs. GRUB
Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet. - An article from Business 2.0 on Google's purchases of "dark fiber".
Xtreme Defense - Lightning guns?
Plasma Displays: An Overview
How Much Does iTunes Like My Five-Star Songs? - The statistics behind iTunes playlist randomization.
Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet. - An article from Business 2.0 on Google's purchases of "dark fiber".
Xtreme Defense - Lightning guns?
Plasma Displays: An Overview
How Much Does iTunes Like My Five-Star Songs? - The statistics behind iTunes playlist randomization.
2005-08-25
An article on Slashdot on Uneducated IT Managers, and How to Deal? Ah yes, that is the question. Some good quotes:
So the question is, is it better to have a manager who knows more about your job than you do (or did at one point), or less about tech and more about managing?
Engineers:Well, by GPA I was an A student, but by my core classes alone, I was more like a B student. But now I'm thinking of going into business for myself, so things are getting progressively worse! Then there's this:
The A students go into teaching/academia
The B students get most of the jobs.
The C students go into / switch to management.
I was self-employed for two years, and boy was my boss a turkey! :-)That's what I'm afraid of :-D
He had it easy. He was sleeping with the boss....Unfortunately, in that situation, that won't really get you anywhere ;-)
The Peter Principle would have a competent tech promoted to management, and being unable to manage his department because he's only good at being a tech. This is more like the Dilbert Principle, wherein incompetent workers are promoted to management because the competent ones are needed at the bottom to do the actual work.That's deep work philosophy.
So the question is, is it better to have a manager who knows more about your job than you do (or did at one point), or less about tech and more about managing?
2005-08-24
飲ま飲まイェーイ
さっちゃんが今日テレビ見たらある番組に出たPV。本当はデンマーク語の歌だけど、日本語で空耳性がすごくて誰かが勝手にアニメーションを作ったらしい！超おかしいんだよ！！
「マイアヒ、マイアフ、マイアホ、マイアハッハ！」
「マイアヒ、マイアフ、マイアホ、マイアハッハ！」
2005-08-22
iSuppli dissects the Mac mini
Schliff, one better
Gizmodo has an article on a sliding door that conforms to the shape of the person passing through the doorway. Pretty sweet, but it seems like there'll be issues, like how does the system react if you turn suddenly while walking through the door? Crunch. I'd like to see someone going through the door walking on their hands.
Japanese wood planes
I stumbled on the Higa Tool site when looking for tips on how to use a Japanese wood plane.
This is what I was looking for (カンナの使い方). A good reference from the pictures alone, and even better when one can read the text.
This is what I was looking for (カンナの使い方). A good reference from the pictures alone, and even better when one can read the text.
2005-08-20
Yamato Toys
I know Yamato Toys for their PVC figure collections. They typically are of higher quality than some of the other manufacturers (although their stuff is still made in China). Here's their Japanese site and the English version. Turns out they sell some of this stuff in the U.S. too—at how much of a markup, I wonder.
2005-08-18
Geothermal Energy Links
Lately, I've had an interest.
Geothermal Education Office Geothermal Energy Facts: Introductory, Advanced, Glossary.
The World Bank's page on geothermal energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program, GeoPowering the West, geothermal information.
Geothermal Energy Association
National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL)'s page on geothermal energy.
Lastly, the Idaho National Laboratory's Geothermal Program.
Geothermal Education Office Geothermal Energy Facts: Introductory, Advanced, Glossary.
The World Bank's page on geothermal energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program, GeoPowering the West, geothermal information.
Geothermal Energy Association
National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL)'s page on geothermal energy.
Lastly, the Idaho National Laboratory's Geothermal Program.
2005-08-14
WebDAV
Apparently OS X's Calendar application can publish one's calendar using .Mac or WebDAV. So I did a search, and found the spec, RFC 2518. Further, I found a list of resources and a tool to view WebDAV servers.
2005-08-12
Toonopedia & BCBD
While discussing Apple's Mighty Mouse, my latest object of desire, with Nakao-san, he mentioned the cartoon series. Thus, I googled it and came up with a link to Toonpedia. There are other historical entries, including He-Man—and the Masters of the Universe!! On a cursory check of cartoons I know, Toonopedia doesn't list The Mighty Orbots or Robotix, but Big Cartoon Database does. Sort of.
2005-08-08
Buy silver?
After reading about Peak Oil, I started contemplating buying more precious metals for survival purposes. Never mind that I'm in Japan and thousands of miles away from my hedge (which is under lock and key and guarded under arms).
CMI has an article on gold and silver for survival purposes.
Another article (which I linked to from Border Gold) claims that silver is in short supply relative to gold, and is a prime investment. The biggest thing that this has for it is that Warren Buffet has in the past 10 years bought 25% of the world's silver stock. Here's an article about Buffet's opinions about the U.S. Dollar, mentioning silver, and here's another piece bullish on silver.
MSN has a column describing how foreign investors are starting to own more and more of the U.S. debt. The scary thing is that Japan is one of the biggest buyers, and so if the oil apocalypse happens, their economy will be just as trashed as ours! (Although their transportation systems are better, the fact that they import so many essentials means that Japan will likely fare much, much worse than the U.S. Unless, perhaps, they can convince China and Korea to ship them goods—note the hint of sarcasm.)
Hmm, CMI sells American Silver Eagles for $1.75 over spot in quantities of 500 or more....
CMI has an article on gold and silver for survival purposes.
Another article (which I linked to from Border Gold) claims that silver is in short supply relative to gold, and is a prime investment. The biggest thing that this has for it is that Warren Buffet has in the past 10 years bought 25% of the world's silver stock. Here's an article about Buffet's opinions about the U.S. Dollar, mentioning silver, and here's another piece bullish on silver.
MSN has a column describing how foreign investors are starting to own more and more of the U.S. debt. The scary thing is that Japan is one of the biggest buyers, and so if the oil apocalypse happens, their economy will be just as trashed as ours! (Although their transportation systems are better, the fact that they import so many essentials means that Japan will likely fare much, much worse than the U.S. Unless, perhaps, they can convince China and Korea to ship them goods—note the hint of sarcasm.)
Hmm, CMI sells American Silver Eagles for $1.75 over spot in quantities of 500 or more....
Link Flow: Make to Peak Oil
So I was checking out Make (eventually ended up subscribing), which has a blog. On this blog, there was a link to Extreme Craft, which has an article that mentions Peak Oil. The site linked to was Life After the Oil Crash, which is seriously depressing, which is how I got here.
This was actually last Friday, but I put my machine to suspend mode and was only blogging it now....
This was actually last Friday, but I put my machine to suspend mode and was only blogging it now....
2005-08-07
Wired News and other, 2005.08.08
The Reality Behind Reality TV is that "In [David's] admittedly limited experience, people who look for love online "either have 'junk in the trunk,' or they're a little crazy, socially inept or intensely frustrated with the opposite sex." Now there's a bit of wisdom.
Rivers of Coke - Those Italians seem to like their cocaine, "runnin' all 'round my brain".
An Insider's View of 'Ciscogate' - This is actually a great article. This lawyer seems to have a head on her shoulders, and from face value, the text of her blog, seems to be decent. For a lawyer. I may have to check out her blog.
Bridging the Google Ad Gap - Google's search results seem to have gotten a lot worse these days: too many sites selling crap come up in the top results.
Waiting for the "Eye"-Pod - I'm waiting for my video iPod, ok?
Why flying is safer now - Well, it sure as hell isn't because we're using Airbuses....
Hiroshima survivors: 'never forget' - Never forget. But there will always be wars—it's human nature—and when the technology exists, it will be used. Nuclear weapons will be used again, someday, and there's not a damn thing anyone in the world can do to stop it.
Rivers of Coke - Those Italians seem to like their cocaine, "runnin' all 'round my brain".
An Insider's View of 'Ciscogate' - This is actually a great article. This lawyer seems to have a head on her shoulders, and from face value, the text of her blog, seems to be decent. For a lawyer. I may have to check out her blog.
Bridging the Google Ad Gap - Google's search results seem to have gotten a lot worse these days: too many sites selling crap come up in the top results.
Waiting for the "Eye"-Pod - I'm waiting for my video iPod, ok?
Why flying is safer now - Well, it sure as hell isn't because we're using Airbuses....
Hiroshima survivors: 'never forget' - Never forget. But there will always be wars—it's human nature—and when the technology exists, it will be used. Nuclear weapons will be used again, someday, and there's not a damn thing anyone in the world can do to stop it.
Painting Models
And I don't mean applying makeup to hot chicks.
How to Paint
rec.models.scale FAQ, part 17
Another painting models guide.
A couple of interesting detailed descriptions:
Syreen Exo-Armor
Various high-level detailing
How to Paint
rec.models.scale FAQ, part 17
Another painting models guide.
A couple of interesting detailed descriptions:
Syreen Exo-Armor
Various high-level detailing
2005-08-05
Life After the Oil Crash
I think sensible people should at least take notice of this. Running out of oil to sustain the economy is a certainty; the uncertainty is when. With this in mind, it's a matter of getting in a position to weather the coming changes.
Weird cases from Slashdot
Someone's "parabolic heat sink case mod", which is actually a half-pipe-like mini ramp for skateboarding....
And some guy who built a Mac mini into his parents' kitchen: iKitchen....
And some guy who built a Mac mini into his parents' kitchen: iKitchen....
2005-08-04
Random Ham
From this Slashdot article:
I've been watching the shuttle mission on the K6BEN [qrz.com] amateur TV repeater near San Jose, which is on 421.25Mhz, the same as cable (not broadcast) channel 57, through my VCR and with a Yagi I made [wa5znu.org] from a magazine article. The NASA Ames Amateur Radio Club is providing the feed [nasa.gov] with a 1.2GHz uplink to the repeater. They also have shuttle audio [nasa.gov] on two meters, and I can receive that with my VX-2R HT [universal-radio.com].
2005-08-03
Wired News, slightly dated (7/27)
Mars Plan Envisions Comfy Colony - Where do I sign up?
In Japan, Summer Is for Games - Hmm...Katamari Damashii is on my buy list....
And from Furthermore: "Did a dehydrated art thief drink a watery artistic statement about global warming? That's one theory behind the mystifying disappearance of Weapon of Mass Destruction, a 2-liter clear plastic bottle filled with melted Antarctic ice and valued at $74,137, according to Scotsman.com." What the hell? Sounds like a nice racket. Somebody tell me how that's a work of art. Moreover, where's the idiot who would pay $74k for a bottle of water? I have a few things to sell him....
In Japan, Summer Is for Games - Hmm...Katamari Damashii is on my buy list....
And from Furthermore: "Did a dehydrated art thief drink a watery artistic statement about global warming? That's one theory behind the mystifying disappearance of Weapon of Mass Destruction, a 2-liter clear plastic bottle filled with melted Antarctic ice and valued at $74,137, according to Scotsman.com." What the hell? Sounds like a nice racket. Somebody tell me how that's a work of art. Moreover, where's the idiot who would pay $74k for a bottle of water? I have a few things to sell him....
2005-07-23
Warhammer 40k Painting & Modeling Tips
Useful, I thought, for general modeling, although there's not a lot of info. Where are the maniac tips that I need?
2005-07-20
Crazy chess guy
There was an article on Wired News about Chess960. The modification to traditional chess is that the back row is randomized, subject to certain rules. Apparently the game was invented by Bobby Fischer, which he calls "Fischer Random Chess".
I had no idea that Bobby Fischer was such a nut. It seems he likes to shoot off at the mouth about various subjects, not the least of which is his anti-Semitic views and wild theories, and about how evil the U.S. is. (Let me clue you, Bobby boy, plenty of other countries are worse, namely China and North Korea. You wouldn't get a trial in those countries, you'd just quietly disappear, never to be seen again...the U.S. let you off easy.) Here's a bit about Fischer's "Yoko Ono", and the Wikipedia entry for Fischer.
I had no idea that Bobby Fischer was such a nut. It seems he likes to shoot off at the mouth about various subjects, not the least of which is his anti-Semitic views and wild theories, and about how evil the U.S. is. (Let me clue you, Bobby boy, plenty of other countries are worse, namely China and North Korea. You wouldn't get a trial in those countries, you'd just quietly disappear, never to be seen again...the U.S. let you off easy.) Here's a bit about Fischer's "Yoko Ono", and the Wikipedia entry for Fischer.
Sandpaper 101
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about sandpaper but were afraid to ask. Or so they say. It's pretty interesting and useful information. But what about grits > 1000? I found some 4000 grit paper at Tokyu Hands. What do you use that for?!
2005-07-08
Frank Sinatra called it "music for cretins"
An article on CNN describes the first hit rock 'n' roll single, "Rock Around the Clock" by Haley & the Comets, on its 50-year anniversary. Sinatra was being harsh, but hey, he was no longer the hottest act around, and getting kicked off the hill hurts. Coolness, is of course, a steady thing.
2005-07-05
Audio-Related Electronics
Found this site while looking for information on voltage supply ripple rejection....
Cryptainer
Found a link to a free Blowfish-based encryption program. I'm not mindlessly surfing—honest! I was looking for single-ended Vpp for SATA (which is apparently 500mV). This link happened to be in an ad on the article page.
2.5" SATA JBOD
There's a company called Rancho Technology selling a 5-port SATA-2 enclosure for 2.5" HDDs that fits in a 5.25" drive bay. That's crazy!! I mean, it's cool, but that'd generate an awful lot of heat in a tiny space. Especially if you were to use 7200 RPM drives. Seems like a couple 250GB drives would be cheaper, faster, and generate less heat. To each his own, I suppose....
2005-06-27
Eminent Domain
There's news that the Supreme Court has ruled that eminent domain can apply to non-public uses. In the past, eminent domain was evoked to widen roads, etc., e.g. for the general public benefit. With this ruling, basically anyone can be evicted as long as someone high enough up in government thinks that it's a good idea. How one feels about notions of land ownership aside, this is bullshit. Better keep one eye on the proposals flowing through the city office, or you might wake up one morning to find your house being knocked down (to make room for a bypass).
The trend these days seems to be that even lawmakers and judges don't respect the law—so how can citizens be expected to behave any differently? The Bill of Rights is very clear on the point of not reapportioning land from one private party to another. But I suppose the same people who have trouble with the 2nd Amendment are now also having trouble with the 5th.
The trend these days seems to be that even lawmakers and judges don't respect the law—so how can citizens be expected to behave any differently? The Bill of Rights is very clear on the point of not reapportioning land from one private party to another. But I suppose the same people who have trouble with the 2nd Amendment are now also having trouble with the 5th.
2005-06-25
Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil
Apparently there's a piece of software called Airfoil that allows any software running on Mac OS X to stream audio to the AirPort Express. This is probably just an adapted version of Jon Johansen's JustePort. On the other hand, he's pulled JustePort off his site, and it only worked with Apple Lossless anyway. Fortunately I already saved the source code, but it's written in that bastardized Java called C#. Ugh.
Here's an interesting Apple wireless fan blog, AirPort Blog.
This guy Tatsuhiko Miyagawa (who apparently works for Six Apart) has a blog entry mentioning the RAOP protocol used by the AirPort Express. Apparently Apple Lossless is the only format the APX likes. And it looks like I need to start hacking Perl on OS X.
The implementation of the AirPort Express player is located here on SourceForge.
My AirPort Express doesn't want to play nice with my iodata WAP in WDS/WPA mode. I suppose it's not that big of a deal, since the only benefits would be the use of the Ethernet port and the ability to adjust the signal strength (also maybe the ability to playback tunes from the other segment of my network). Well, for now I suppose this will have to do.
Here's an interesting Apple wireless fan blog, AirPort Blog.
This guy Tatsuhiko Miyagawa (who apparently works for Six Apart) has a blog entry mentioning the RAOP protocol used by the AirPort Express. Apparently Apple Lossless is the only format the APX likes. And it looks like I need to start hacking Perl on OS X.
The implementation of the AirPort Express player is located here on SourceForge.
My AirPort Express doesn't want to play nice with my iodata WAP in WDS/WPA mode. I suppose it's not that big of a deal, since the only benefits would be the use of the Ethernet port and the ability to adjust the signal strength (also maybe the ability to playback tunes from the other segment of my network). Well, for now I suppose this will have to do.
Nerdcore is disturbing
An article on Wired News describes "nerdcore", aka "geeksta rap", which is a bunch of anti-cool people with a DJ/MC habit trying to make a buck. Nice. I prefer the guns-n-hos motif, myself.
Businesses for sale
This is a site that lists businesses like a realtor's website. Good for wannabe M&A (mergers & acquisitions) people, I suppose.
2005-06-20
Tokyo is the world's costliest city
Linguistic mysteries solved
The female equivalent of a 'misogynist' (misandrist)
Are there any other English words with three consecutive sets of double letters besides 'bookkeeper'? (not without a hyphen)
Is there a unisex word for cows/bulls? (bovine)
What does bimonthly really mean? (both every two months and twice a month: but really, semimonthly should be used to mean twice a month)
Is 'deliverables' a real word? (yes, although recent)
Once, twice, thrice, ...? (there're no words continuing this series)
Primary, secondary, tertiary, ...? (quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary!)
What's the difference between a 'street' and a 'road'? (road is general, street is has a more restricted meaning, typically an urban setting with buildings along it)
What's the opposite of 'exceed'? (there's none yet, but 'deceed' might be a candidate)
Is there a word with five vowels in a row? (yes, 'queueing', but this is often 'queuing' in American English)
Are there any other English words with three consecutive sets of double letters besides 'bookkeeper'? (not without a hyphen)
Is there a unisex word for cows/bulls? (bovine)
What does bimonthly really mean? (both every two months and twice a month: but really, semimonthly should be used to mean twice a month)
Is 'deliverables' a real word? (yes, although recent)
Once, twice, thrice, ...? (there're no words continuing this series)
Primary, secondary, tertiary, ...? (quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary!)
What's the difference between a 'street' and a 'road'? (road is general, street is has a more restricted meaning, typically an urban setting with buildings along it)
What's the opposite of 'exceed'? (there's none yet, but 'deceed' might be a candidate)
Is there a word with five vowels in a row? (yes, 'queueing', but this is often 'queuing' in American English)
2005-06-17
2005-06-06
2005-06-02
Buying Gold
Lately I've been looking into dealers of precious metals. So far, the most interesting site I've found is Certified Mint (they have an old website here). The minimum order for gold is 1oz, as opposed to 10oz for many other sites, which is good for first-time buyers. They also purport to have quick turnaround, something important on my time schedule. For consideration....
2005-06-01
Urban Legends - "Fucking, Austria"
This is great: Apparently there's a real town in Austria called Fucking. The picture at the bottom is hilarious.
Check out this big kitty, a "liger". Now I want to see what a "tigon" looks like....
"How'd ya get all the way up there?" (deer on an electric pole).
Supposedly all these things are legitimate. The world is a crazy place.
Check out this big kitty, a "liger". Now I want to see what a "tigon" looks like....
"How'd ya get all the way up there?" (deer on an electric pole).
Supposedly all these things are legitimate. The world is a crazy place.
Steve Jackson Games
Whoa, Steve Jackson Games is still around! I used to play a bunch of SJ Games when I was a kid, like Ogre and Car Wars. I had GURPS but no one I knew played it. Designing vehicles in Car Wars was fun, which was probably one of the reasons I ended up being an optimization biatch in hard disk drives: I would try to produce the most kick-ass car given the design constraints and fixed funds. Learning the rules in a game was my kick as a kid. Should've gotten into science/engineering earlier. All this sounds weird, but that's my life.
Apparently there's an SJG online sales shop called Warehouse 23. Looks interesting.
Steve Jackson sounds like a character: An otaku if there ever was one, but I can appreciate that! Ahh, echoes of my otaku past takes me back to the idle days of my childhood.... Well, it was kinda a waste, but it made me me, so I can't second-guess myself too much.
Apparently there's an SJG online sales shop called Warehouse 23. Looks interesting.
Steve Jackson sounds like a character: An otaku if there ever was one, but I can appreciate that! Ahh, echoes of my otaku past takes me back to the idle days of my childhood.... Well, it was kinda a waste, but it made me me, so I can't second-guess myself too much.
Random News, 2005.06.01
Is Rodi BitTorrent’s Replacement? - Sounds cool. "Bouncing" is one way to deal with being analyzed. I have an idea on how to prevent the problem LaryTet mentions in the article, but I'll save that for my own P2P soft—whenever it is I manage to get around to writing one.
Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be born? - Sure. He's done more good than bad. This is the concern with eugenics, judging people on factors unrelated to their contributions to society. The debates on eugenics are going to get more intense as the capabilities for genetic discrimination increase. Me? Well, I'd rather know if a girl I was going to marry would impart propensity for a genetic disease to my children, even baldness for that matter, but is that capability a good thing? Maybe we aren't supposed to know.
The Midas Formula - Was Star Wars really that good? I liked the first movie (Episode 4) ok, but the rest weren't so great. Of course Han Solo is the coolest character in the films!
Linux Powers Airborne Bots - This is way cool. Now I want one of those Bladerunner model helicopters. I always thought "co-axial counter-rotating blades" was a cool phrase. Inter-disciplinary research is what makes science and engineering interesting.
Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be born? - Sure. He's done more good than bad. This is the concern with eugenics, judging people on factors unrelated to their contributions to society. The debates on eugenics are going to get more intense as the capabilities for genetic discrimination increase. Me? Well, I'd rather know if a girl I was going to marry would impart propensity for a genetic disease to my children, even baldness for that matter, but is that capability a good thing? Maybe we aren't supposed to know.
The Midas Formula - Was Star Wars really that good? I liked the first movie (Episode 4) ok, but the rest weren't so great. Of course Han Solo is the coolest character in the films!
Linux Powers Airborne Bots - This is way cool. Now I want one of those Bladerunner model helicopters. I always thought "co-axial counter-rotating blades" was a cool phrase. Inter-disciplinary research is what makes science and engineering interesting.
2005-05-26
玄箱ハック
最近玄箱に手を出してないけど、思想の流れがまたNASの方向に行ってしまって、僅かある時間でいじってみようと思っているところ。中尾さんとも話をしてるが、あいつは買って一年ぶりにやっと動くようにするってことはおかしい！僕は買い次第ドライブいれて使ってみたけど、やっぱり省エネをするためにコード変更を入れなくちゃいけない。（別にいつもディスクを回す必要ない。）その点にひっかかる、俺は。
玄箱 Debianサーバ構築メモ
玄箱ＨＧハック
役に立つかな。HGを持ってないけど、多分同じワザが効くだろう。
玄箱 Debianサーバ構築メモ
玄箱ＨＧハック
役に立つかな。HGを持ってないけど、多分同じワザが効くだろう。
2005-05-23
Windows NT Kernel Mode Drivers
I found this site when searching for info on some specific undocumented NT kernel commands. (See previous references.) This tutorial is pretty cool. The weird thing is that the people who wrote this, who are Russian, do all their drivers in assembly language. I remember way back on Win16 (Windows 3.1), some people did asm drivers, but nowadays I thought everyone used high-level languages. Weird, but cool!
2005-05-19
Wired News, 2005.05.16
Belated....
Hey Google, Map This! - People with too much time on their hands, I guess.
Mario Takes New York - Pokemon Center in NYC?!
Microsoft Battles Halo 2 Holes - No surprises here.... Microsofties may be book-smart, but they don't know security. It's like the difference between being scholarly and being streetwise!
Out-of-State Wine Sales Upheld - Inter-state booze trafficking.
Super Water Kills Bugs Dead - Sweet! Let's hear it for super-oxygenated water!!
Hey Google, Map This! - People with too much time on their hands, I guess.
Mario Takes New York - Pokemon Center in NYC?!
Microsoft Battles Halo 2 Holes - No surprises here.... Microsofties may be book-smart, but they don't know security. It's like the difference between being scholarly and being streetwise!
Out-of-State Wine Sales Upheld - Inter-state booze trafficking.
Super Water Kills Bugs Dead - Sweet! Let's hear it for super-oxygenated water!!
CNN News, 2005.05.19
Closing the circle of 'Star Wars' - Episode III, the end to a trilogy that should've never begun. Star Wars was better without the prequel! Midichlorians my @$$. Well, that doesn't mean I'm not going to see it—it's closure after all. Like watching Matrix Revolutions....
Why you're always cold (or hot) at work - I prefer to be cold. And I hate sweaty and smelly coworkers, so I'd prefer they be cold too.
Trump pushes own Ground Zero plan - Trump is about ego. Although nothing would get done without ego, the WTC isn't about ego, it's about global capitalism. Global capitalism is highly dependent on oil, which is why Al Qaeda's strike of the WTC was so symbolic. Anyway, the WTC should be rebuilt bigger and better, but the design should also be more advanced and modern. How does one design twin skyscrapers, anyway?!
Console makers brace for war -- again - Mmmm, PlayStation 3....
Why you're always cold (or hot) at work - I prefer to be cold. And I hate sweaty and smelly coworkers, so I'd prefer they be cold too.
Trump pushes own Ground Zero plan - Trump is about ego. Although nothing would get done without ego, the WTC isn't about ego, it's about global capitalism. Global capitalism is highly dependent on oil, which is why Al Qaeda's strike of the WTC was so symbolic. Anyway, the WTC should be rebuilt bigger and better, but the design should also be more advanced and modern. How does one design twin skyscrapers, anyway?!
Console makers brace for war -- again - Mmmm, PlayStation 3....
2005-05-17
PC Mag: Building an XP-SP2 recovery disc
PC Magazine had an interesting article earlier this year on how to build a new recovery disc for use with Windows XP SP2 from an original XP disc and the SP2 upgrade distribution.
2005-05-15
Port access on Windows NT-based OSes
I've been needing this for work for a while. Originally I was going to figure this out on my own, but I'm glad I waited—someone else did the hard work for me!
PortTalk - An application library to access I/O ports on NT. Comes with source code, which is a plus. This driver works with a companion program which creates a process for the desired program and passes the PID to the driver. Interesting solution.
dpointer - A blog entry with an interesting bit about the I/O permissions map and a link to UserPort. The latter sounds like PortTalk, and does come with source code.
NI FAQ - A National Instruments article on direct port access. There's some software that allows port access, but it doesn't sounds like it comes with source, and I didn't check.
Kport - Refers mostly to the first link (BeyondLogic). This plus PortTalk and UserPort give three examples of Windows device driver implementations.
PortTalk - An application library to access I/O ports on NT. Comes with source code, which is a plus. This driver works with a companion program which creates a process for the desired program and passes the PID to the driver. Interesting solution.
dpointer - A blog entry with an interesting bit about the I/O permissions map and a link to UserPort. The latter sounds like PortTalk, and does come with source code.
NI FAQ - A National Instruments article on direct port access. There's some software that allows port access, but it doesn't sounds like it comes with source, and I didn't check.
Kport - Refers mostly to the first link (BeyondLogic). This plus PortTalk and UserPort give three examples of Windows device driver implementations.
Windows Product Activation Killer
Found some info on the Net about de-activating WPA so that SP1/SP2 can be installed on an OEM edition. The service packs disable upgrades on the original OEM keys, but by modifying the key, the service packs can be upgraded.
Since this stuff is pretty shady, I won't post any links here. Search for "Windows XP Key Viewer" and "Windows XP Service Pack 2 Keygen" by ORGix. In a way, it's amazing that someone figured out how to hack this stuff. One would think MS would have enough resources to develop something fairly uncrackable....
Since this stuff is pretty shady, I won't post any links here. Search for "Windows XP Key Viewer" and "Windows XP Service Pack 2 Keygen" by ORGix. In a way, it's amazing that someone figured out how to hack this stuff. One would think MS would have enough resources to develop something fairly uncrackable....
2005-05-13
PeerGuardian 2
This open source project that allows P2P users to block access from IP addresses of known "rogue connections", e.g. RIAA, MPAA, etc., trying to put the legal smack down on your ass.
I especially like the hostname of the group: Methlabs. That's a name worth holding onto.
I especially like the hostname of the group: Methlabs. That's a name worth holding onto.
Top 250 movies of all time?
IMDB has a list of registered user-voted top 250 movies of all time. I've seen a lot of movies on that list, but not 3.5 of the top 10 (Godfather, Godfather Pt 2, Schindler's List, and I only saw part of the Shawshank Redemption). Well, "the best" always depends on one's criteria. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more flicks that're on that list.
The changes that keep going down...
I was looking for the changes that keep going down and found a review of The President's Analyst DVD online. I still don't know if it has the original soundtrack or not. Maybe I'll just have to buy the thing. I hope the original version my Dad has on Beta tape is still intact, but the problem is he doesn't have a working Beta deck anymore! All because of the changes that go round and round....
2005-05-11
Steve Ballmer
Gee, there's some none too flattering stuff about Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer out there on the Net. One parody video of the iPod commercials depicts Ballmer's so-called "Monkey Boy" dance. The inspiration for this was some videos of Microsoft events where Ballmer does some pretty wacky stuff. Well, we can't all be rock stars.
Money @ How Stuff Works
Noel sent me a link to this How Stuff Works site on business. It may prove useful for later endeavors.
2005-05-09
Gaim, SILC, and Doxygen
I've been using Trillian as an IM client (mostly because of the name, from HHGTTG), but lately I've decided to switch over to Gaim. The decision wasn't because I'm a big fan of open source. Gaim has secure messaging (via SILC), supports Unicode, and there's a plug-in available for Sametime (what we use at Hitachi GST, because it's what we used at IBM).
Interestingly, Gaim's source has documentation in Doxygen format. This looks really cool in that it can generate a graph of source file relations as well as extract the structure from source files for rudimentary outlines of undocumented code. Back in college, a long, long time ago, I wrote an auto-documenter program in Perl for a software project. One of my teammates and I discussed making an improved version, but neither of us ever got around to it. I guess in the open source world, if it doesn't exist, someone will do it.
Interestingly, Gaim's source has documentation in Doxygen format. This looks really cool in that it can generate a graph of source file relations as well as extract the structure from source files for rudimentary outlines of undocumented code. Back in college, a long, long time ago, I wrote an auto-documenter program in Perl for a software project. One of my teammates and I discussed making an improved version, but neither of us ever got around to it. I guess in the open source world, if it doesn't exist, someone will do it.
Distributed Sender Blackhole List
Amusingly enough, HGST's mailservers were just blacklisted on DSBL....
CNN News, 2005.05.09
U.S. deaths in Iraq surpass 1,600 - Sounds like we need to use more area-effect weaponry in Iraq.
IAEA: N. Korea could have 5-6 nuclear weapons - And it sounds like we need to wipe the North Korean government off the face of the planet. Bush probably shouldn't go around calling Kim Jong Il "an evil man" on TV, because he's supposed to be diplomatic, but the guy is.
Gas prices continue to slide - Not in Japan: it's \124 per liter here, or about $4.30 per gallon!
Bush in Moscow to mark victory in Europe - According to Putin: "Democracy cannot be exported to some other place. Democracy must be a product of internal domestic development in a society." Sounds like he's reasonably intelligent; at least he puts a smart spin on things. It's not good that the number of people still around who actually lived through WWII is getting smaller. Eventually people will forget the lessons learned from that war.
Report: Mars lander wreckage found - How can you tell from that tiny picture?
Math student indicted in $43M scam - Sheesh, 21 and he had a Swiss bank account? I'm jealous. There's some indictment info at the DOJ. Not very smart, though: bank transfers leave an audit trail. He should've learned about money laundering.
New rule could open roadless forest areas - This is not a good thing. Leave nature alone! The flip side is population pressure to expand: Americans don't like living cramped like people do in Japan.
New dinosaur caught in the act - "It also showed some change toward the larger gut needed to digest plant material rather than meat, as well as a lengthened neck and smaller head associated with eating plants...." So if you become a vegetarian, your head will shrink, you'll get a pencil-neck, and develop a fat gut!!
IAEA: N. Korea could have 5-6 nuclear weapons - And it sounds like we need to wipe the North Korean government off the face of the planet. Bush probably shouldn't go around calling Kim Jong Il "an evil man" on TV, because he's supposed to be diplomatic, but the guy is.
Gas prices continue to slide - Not in Japan: it's \124 per liter here, or about $4.30 per gallon!
Bush in Moscow to mark victory in Europe - According to Putin: "Democracy cannot be exported to some other place. Democracy must be a product of internal domestic development in a society." Sounds like he's reasonably intelligent; at least he puts a smart spin on things. It's not good that the number of people still around who actually lived through WWII is getting smaller. Eventually people will forget the lessons learned from that war.
Report: Mars lander wreckage found - How can you tell from that tiny picture?
Math student indicted in $43M scam - Sheesh, 21 and he had a Swiss bank account? I'm jealous. There's some indictment info at the DOJ. Not very smart, though: bank transfers leave an audit trail. He should've learned about money laundering.
New rule could open roadless forest areas - This is not a good thing. Leave nature alone! The flip side is population pressure to expand: Americans don't like living cramped like people do in Japan.
New dinosaur caught in the act - "It also showed some change toward the larger gut needed to digest plant material rather than meat, as well as a lengthened neck and smaller head associated with eating plants...." So if you become a vegetarian, your head will shrink, you'll get a pencil-neck, and develop a fat gut!!
Laptop Madness
Nakao-san and I got in a discussion about notebook computers (as well as mini-notebooks and sub-notebooks) rather than doing real work. Well, I just wasted an hour and a half of my life in a stupid CI meeting, so I'm even worse for the wear. My worklist is pretty long, too.
Vaio 505 - This is the only PC notebook I really have any interest in. Thin, "single spindle" (no optical drive), usable keyboard, and decent specs (for a laptop). Unfortunately, the price tag is still a bit too hefty: it used to be about \250000, now it's more like \170000 (~$1600). The weird thing is that for heat dissipation, there's a large space between the keyboard and the screen rather than for usage as a wrist-rest.
OQO - The OQO's been out for a while, so where's model 2? What I really want is a Vaio 505 that's also a tablet. The thumbpad on the OQO is just not suitable for writing code or docs on the fly. Otherwise, I'd get a Zaurus. The Transmeta processor probably is none too fast, either.
Vaio Type T - Nakao-san's drooling over this one. Not bad. Still a little too thick, and the battery placement leaves something to be desired. Then there's the price tag.
Muramasa - Another oldie from about the same generation as the 505. This is closer to the OQO in that it uses a Transmeta Efficion. Nakao-san mentioned Toshiba released a newer machine, but I'm not a Toshiba fan. I'd rather go Sharp than Toshiba, at least until they put out something really cool that makes me look past the brand name.
Vaio 505 - This is the only PC notebook I really have any interest in. Thin, "single spindle" (no optical drive), usable keyboard, and decent specs (for a laptop). Unfortunately, the price tag is still a bit too hefty: it used to be about \250000, now it's more like \170000 (~$1600). The weird thing is that for heat dissipation, there's a large space between the keyboard and the screen rather than for usage as a wrist-rest.
OQO - The OQO's been out for a while, so where's model 2? What I really want is a Vaio 505 that's also a tablet. The thumbpad on the OQO is just not suitable for writing code or docs on the fly. Otherwise, I'd get a Zaurus. The Transmeta processor probably is none too fast, either.
Vaio Type T - Nakao-san's drooling over this one. Not bad. Still a little too thick, and the battery placement leaves something to be desired. Then there's the price tag.
Muramasa - Another oldie from about the same generation as the 505. This is closer to the OQO in that it uses a Transmeta Efficion. Nakao-san mentioned Toshiba released a newer machine, but I'm not a Toshiba fan. I'd rather go Sharp than Toshiba, at least until they put out something really cool that makes me look past the brand name.
2005-05-08
Step-down transformers for 120V to 100V
Nisshou Transformers (Japanese) - These are high-capacity step-down and step-up transformers. Another link.
Prices @ Sawada Denki - They don't have the one I want (NDF-1100U).
FamiNet - They do have the NDF-1100U, and for a reasonable price. I'll order from them.
User's Side - Here's a shop in the U.S. that sells the NDF-1100U—in Japanese, no less!—but they want 50% more than FamiNet. Since I'll be headed to the U.S. soon anyway, I may as well buy it in Japan.
Prices @ Sawada Denki - They don't have the one I want (NDF-1100U).
FamiNet - They do have the NDF-1100U, and for a reasonable price. I'll order from them.
User's Side - Here's a shop in the U.S. that sells the NDF-1100U—in Japanese, no less!—but they want 50% more than FamiNet. Since I'll be headed to the U.S. soon anyway, I may as well buy it in Japan.
Router Blah
In reading a BitTorrent FAQ to find out more about the protocol (specifically trackers) work, I needed clarification on how "modern" NAT routers do their thing. I referred to a couple online docs that were pretty helpful. The How Stuff Works article is widely quoted.
OpenBSD FAQ on NAT
How Network Address Translation Works
When I reasoned my way through NAT after reading the IP and TCP RFCs (in 1997, before I knew of its existence, which was 1994 according to RFC 1631), it made sense to rip out the original IP address and TCP port address. However, some protocols like FTP include the IP address, making NAT even more invasive and complex. BT's protocol is pretty simple, relatively speaking. The trouble with NAT is the lack of bidirectional protocol capability across multiple machines. Using port forwarding, it's possible to do this on a single designated host.
Now there's "UPnP", but it's unclear at this point if there are any security issues exploitable from the protocol itself. There are several sub-standards (pun?), such as Basic Device, Internet Gateway Device, Wireless LAN Access Point, and even for HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning).
OpenBSD FAQ on NAT
How Network Address Translation Works
When I reasoned my way through NAT after reading the IP and TCP RFCs (in 1997, before I knew of its existence, which was 1994 according to RFC 1631), it made sense to rip out the original IP address and TCP port address. However, some protocols like FTP include the IP address, making NAT even more invasive and complex. BT's protocol is pretty simple, relatively speaking. The trouble with NAT is the lack of bidirectional protocol capability across multiple machines. Using port forwarding, it's possible to do this on a single designated host.
Now there's "UPnP", but it's unclear at this point if there are any security issues exploitable from the protocol itself. There are several sub-standards (pun?), such as Basic Device, Internet Gateway Device, Wireless LAN Access Point, and even for HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning).
2005-05-07
Torrent Reactor
Quite the collection (music, movies, warez, pr0n). Just beware of the layer ad that pops up...it's not appropriate for work!!
2005-05-06
News (?), 2005.05.07
Judging a Book by Its Contents - Indexing "statistically improbable phrases" from books sounds like a good idea. In one of William Gibson's books, he uses the phrase "hepatic corona"—as improbable a phrase as any.
Wikipedia is a real-life Hitchhiker's Guide: huge, nerdy, and imprecise - Yeah. Objective documentation is difficult even when one has the pretense of being objective. Wikipedia is useful for a quick overview, but the factuality is questionable as well as the objectiveness. Especially with political content: that's always up for interpretation.
ファゴット(バスーン)フェスティバル - "Fagott Fest"?! Apparently "fagott" means "bassoon", and is indeed in some dictionaries.
Wikipedia is a real-life Hitchhiker's Guide: huge, nerdy, and imprecise - Yeah. Objective documentation is difficult even when one has the pretense of being objective. Wikipedia is useful for a quick overview, but the factuality is questionable as well as the objectiveness. Especially with political content: that's always up for interpretation.
ファゴット(バスーン)フェスティバル - "Fagott Fest"?! Apparently "fagott" means "bassoon", and is indeed in some dictionaries.
Knoppix & BitTorrent
The other day when I went to download the latest Knoppix distribution for my mini-ITX setup, they offered an option to get the distro via BitTorrent. I had downloaded BT in the past (mid-2003), but finding torrents was too much of a pain in the butt, so I never really used it. Now torrents are a lot easier to locate. Anyway, so I downloaded BT again, and snagged Knoppix 3.8. This site in the Netherlands has some "interesting" torrent links.
2005-05-03
Go Arnold!
Schwarzenegger praises Minuteman - Arnold kicks butt. Tell it like it is, Arnie!!
'Tiger' roars into stores - Maybe it's time to buy a Mac mini....
'Tiger' roars into stores - Maybe it's time to buy a Mac mini....
2005-04-27
MarketWatch Financial News, 2005.04.28
Hmm, I think my user ID is probably in the URL, but oh well.
Microsoft Criticized for Gay Rights Stance
Asia benchmarks mixed Thursday
Stocks get relief as oil prices retreat
Don't delay on passport renewals
nother brick in the wall of worry
Nonsmoker, yes; vegetable eater, no.
Fidelity loses No. 2 spot in fund ranks
Microsoft Criticized for Gay Rights Stance
Asia benchmarks mixed Thursday
Stocks get relief as oil prices retreat
Don't delay on passport renewals
nother brick in the wall of worry
Nonsmoker, yes; vegetable eater, no.
Fidelity loses No. 2 spot in fund ranks
2005-04-26
CNN News, 2005.04.27
Japan rail deaths 'may be crime' - CNN seems to be omitting some details from their report that were broadcast on Japanese news, such as that the train could only go up to 120 km/hr whereas calculations show it would've taken 130 km/hr to jump the rails, and that initially the statement was made that the driver overran the station by 7 meters when in fact it was more like 40. That there were rock fragments on and around the rails is most suspicious. Since trains come and go along those tracks, it's not like a rock could've been sitting there for a long time—it would've had to have been positioned there within the space of two trains, perhaps less than 30 min.
Publisher banned from Apple stores (CNN Money) - Books published by John Wiley & Sons are banned from Apple Stores due to publication of an unauthorized biography on Steve Jobs.
Bono bunks at Bill Gates's house - I hope Bill kept his hands to himself. Or vice versa?
Girls are abusing steroids, too - Get skinny at the expense of a deep voice and small boobs ....
Huffington invites celeb friends to join blog
Are lenders getting too lenient? (CNN Money) - Are lax lending rules following the Dot-Com Bust building up a real estate bust?
First National Bank of Mom & Dad (CNN Money) - Soaring real estate prices mean sometimes kids need help from their parents.
What makes a hot zip code hot? (CNN Money)
Publisher banned from Apple stores (CNN Money) - Books published by John Wiley & Sons are banned from Apple Stores due to publication of an unauthorized biography on Steve Jobs.
Bono bunks at Bill Gates's house - I hope Bill kept his hands to himself. Or vice versa?
Girls are abusing steroids, too - Get skinny at the expense of a deep voice and small boobs ....
Huffington invites celeb friends to join blog
Are lenders getting too lenient? (CNN Money) - Are lax lending rules following the Dot-Com Bust building up a real estate bust?
First National Bank of Mom & Dad (CNN Money) - Soaring real estate prices mean sometimes kids need help from their parents.
What makes a hot zip code hot? (CNN Money)
2005-04-25
Japanese News, 2004.04.25
Machimura blasts China's textbooks as 'extreme' - Every country paints themselves in the best light. In that regard, China is extremely hypocritical. If they want to "fix" Japanese textbooks, then let Japan fix theirs.
Man burned to death at GSDF exercise area - I remember they were burning stuff in late March when I went snowboarding up near Mt. Fuji.
Softbank to return Fuji shares - Ahh, hostile takeover attempts.
Kobe plans 'new vision' for city
Man burned to death at GSDF exercise area - I remember they were burning stuff in late March when I went snowboarding up near Mt. Fuji.
Softbank to return Fuji shares - Ahh, hostile takeover attempts.
Kobe plans 'new vision' for city
2005-04-20
Random news from the past couple days
"Tech's China Syndrome" (tariff the junk subsidized by the Chinese government!!) ; Random tidbits: Why flying cars won't work (no graceful landing), Viagra ruled kosher for Passover (sex sells), and Britney Spears is pregnant (there goes the rest of her career) ; Music moguls trumped by Steve Jobs (they wanna raise prices, eXcUsE me?!); Game Stop buys Electronics Boutique (what the hell?!)
Rift in the Linux Community?
Apparently, Linus Torvalds is making some not so nice comments about a developer who reverse engineered the protocol for the source code management system being used for the Linux kernel, allegedly causing the license to get revoked. Sounds petty and childish to me. There's a follow-up article, as well.
2005-04-18
MathWorld rules!
MathWorld is a way useful math reference site. I've never used Mathematica, but Wolfram Research's pretty cool for providing that site.
2005-04-17
News, 2005.04.18
Gore's TV channel (Canada's Current TV sounds cooler);
Latest on Apple's rumor lawsuits (justified, if stolen trade secrets were published) and a statement by the EFF;
Rupert Murdoch says news media must adapt to Web (too little, too late); Reefer Madness (still mindless); and
Dems bashing Gov. Schwartzenegger (can't please anybody these days).
Latest on Apple's rumor lawsuits (justified, if stolen trade secrets were published) and a statement by the EFF;
Rupert Murdoch says news media must adapt to Web (too little, too late); Reefer Madness (still mindless); and
Dems bashing Gov. Schwartzenegger (can't please anybody these days).
Dolores Erickson
There's an article on CNN.com about the re-release of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass's Whipped Cream & Other Delights that also has some interesting history. Well, I always liked that album cover. Unfortunately there's a tidbit of info in the article that sort of ruins it....
2005-04-16
Tesla Site
While flipping through a Mac magazine at the Fuji Super, I happened to see a picture of Tesla that caught my eye. There was a link to the following site on Tesla: http://www.teslascience.org/. Interesting. Perhaps I'll make a donation after a bit more looking into how the donations are used.
2005-04-14
Katie's Photoalbum
The other day, Katie sent me a link to her online photoalbum from a trip to Nikko, in Tochigi prefecture. There's one other album, but one has to create an account to view them.
2005-04-13
Tiger release date set for 4/29
Woo! As long as Apple bundles this with new hardware, Mac mini here I come!
In other news: 10 reasons tech sux ; olive oil + wine = immortality? ; RIAA/MPAA sues students using P2P on I2 ; when silicon runs out of gas
In other news: 10 reasons tech sux ; olive oil + wine = immortality? ; RIAA/MPAA sues students using P2P on I2 ; when silicon runs out of gas
The things people do with their PSP
Noel told me about this site GameTab that's got some links to stuff on the PSP. There're links to this chick licking her PSP, and to some girl jamming hers between her boobs. Great.
2005-04-10
Soldam PC Case/Desk (Prism III)
How about one of these PC cases that double as a desk?!
For $1k, I think I'd rather try my hand at building my own....
For $1k, I think I'd rather try my hand at building my own....
Albert Einstein was highly overrated
Albert Einstein was highly overrated. Continuing some reading from earlier on Philo Farnsworth (an article in Time magazine dated 1999.03.29), I read a blurb on Einstein, who they named "Person of the Century". Runners up were Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose socialist programs bloated the government with little socio-economic benefit, and Ghandi, an eminent person, to be sure, but I find it hard to appreciate non-technological achievements. If there's one person who shaped the 20th century, it was Tesla. Without Tesla's work perfecting the alternating current dynamo and proliferating AC at his personal expense, none of the achievements of the last century would've been possible. It's even more cruelly ironic is that a foul person like Edison, who achieved much less than Tesla and who did all he could to prevent AC from being adopted, is remembered whereas Tesla is not (by most people).
Anyway, Einstein wasn't all peachy. He left his first wife, Mileva Maric, who bore him three kids, for another woman. Even better was that their first child was out of wedlock—Einstein had a bastard kid. (Did they have rubbers back then?!) Strangely enough, Maric was an acquaintence of Tesla's, and it's widely debated how much she contributed to Einstein's work. Einstein wasn't terribly distinguished in academia, so it wouldn't be surprising if she were much more than a sounding board. This documentary by PBS allegates that not only did Einstein have an affair with his first cousin, who he later married, but had other extra-marital affairs. Further, after Einstein left Maric, his science never was on par with what it once was. Coincidence?
I never really liked Einstein anyway, for reasons I could never put my finger on. One reason is people often associate Einstein with the development of the atomic bomb whereas Einstein had nothing to do with it. The relevation of Einstein's personal weaknesses gives me reason to dislike his character, and the mystery surrounding his first wife gives doubts about the origin of his work. Incidentally, I've read that Tesla didn't really care for Einstein; possibly it's because of the way Einstein treated his friend. History is twisted.
Anyway, Einstein wasn't all peachy. He left his first wife, Mileva Maric, who bore him three kids, for another woman. Even better was that their first child was out of wedlock—Einstein had a bastard kid. (Did they have rubbers back then?!) Strangely enough, Maric was an acquaintence of Tesla's, and it's widely debated how much she contributed to Einstein's work. Einstein wasn't terribly distinguished in academia, so it wouldn't be surprising if she were much more than a sounding board. This documentary by PBS allegates that not only did Einstein have an affair with his first cousin, who he later married, but had other extra-marital affairs. Further, after Einstein left Maric, his science never was on par with what it once was. Coincidence?
I never really liked Einstein anyway, for reasons I could never put my finger on. One reason is people often associate Einstein with the development of the atomic bomb whereas Einstein had nothing to do with it. The relevation of Einstein's personal weaknesses gives me reason to dislike his character, and the mystery surrounding his first wife gives doubts about the origin of his work. Incidentally, I've read that Tesla didn't really care for Einstein; possibly it's because of the way Einstein treated his friend. History is twisted.
Comment on Yoshi's Blog
I posted some commentary on Yoshi's blog, but not all of it would fit. Here's the full bit:
Dude, your English skills never fail to amaze me. If my Japanese were as good as your English is, I'd be in good shape. How'd you get so damn fluent? Back at OSU, at one point I wondered if you really spoke Japanese!
About Turing, he was a pretty amazing guy. His contributions to the War effort were of course enormous on the Western front. One has to wonder how much else he would've been able to accomplish if he hadn't been persecuted for his homosexuality. Perhaps if he had emigrated to the U.S. he would've been treated less discriminatorily. Wikipedia has an entry on Turing with various tidbits of information. I didn't know he was a marathon-runner, for instance.
John von Neumann, another critical figure in the development of computers, apparently knew of Turing. Von Neumann was involved with the Manhattan Project, not cryptography, but also had a hand in developing the fledgling field of computer science. Then of course there's Norbert Wiener, who advanced the development of control theory, and invented the field of cybernetics. Wiener's interest in the field developed from research in WWII—it's amazing how much technology was developed as a result of that war. I've read that Wiener was very matter-of-fact about the necessity of war; that, plus a great quote attributed to him, made me a fan of the guy, even though he died half a century ago.
Still, it's amazing how many critical people in history are never given credit for their work, or never are ascribed the importance that they really had. Two people who greatly shaped the 20th century, Nikola Tesla (the reason we have AC electricity today, as well as radio, the Tesla coil, and a slew of other inventions) and to a lesser extent Philo Farnsworth (inventor of the television, who later came to despise the way it was being used), were never given appropriate credit for their inventions.
Dude, your English skills never fail to amaze me. If my Japanese were as good as your English is, I'd be in good shape. How'd you get so damn fluent? Back at OSU, at one point I wondered if you really spoke Japanese!
About Turing, he was a pretty amazing guy. His contributions to the War effort were of course enormous on the Western front. One has to wonder how much else he would've been able to accomplish if he hadn't been persecuted for his homosexuality. Perhaps if he had emigrated to the U.S. he would've been treated less discriminatorily. Wikipedia has an entry on Turing with various tidbits of information. I didn't know he was a marathon-runner, for instance.
John von Neumann, another critical figure in the development of computers, apparently knew of Turing. Von Neumann was involved with the Manhattan Project, not cryptography, but also had a hand in developing the fledgling field of computer science. Then of course there's Norbert Wiener, who advanced the development of control theory, and invented the field of cybernetics. Wiener's interest in the field developed from research in WWII—it's amazing how much technology was developed as a result of that war. I've read that Wiener was very matter-of-fact about the necessity of war; that, plus a great quote attributed to him, made me a fan of the guy, even though he died half a century ago.
Still, it's amazing how many critical people in history are never given credit for their work, or never are ascribed the importance that they really had. Two people who greatly shaped the 20th century, Nikola Tesla (the reason we have AC electricity today, as well as radio, the Tesla coil, and a slew of other inventions) and to a lesser extent Philo Farnsworth (inventor of the television, who later came to despise the way it was being used), were never given appropriate credit for their inventions.
2005-04-07
News, 2005.04.07
Predominantly Wired News.
So I'm not the only one having Blogger troubles.
Apparently fixed-gear bikes, "fixies", are all the rage. This site has pictures.
News about PSP hacks. Apparently some guy wrote an IRC client using the Wipeout Pure browser hack as a gateway. I'm gonna have to get that game.
So I'm not the only one having Blogger troubles.
Apparently fixed-gear bikes, "fixies", are all the rage. This site has pictures.
News about PSP hacks. Apparently some guy wrote an IRC client using the Wipeout Pure browser hack as a gateway. I'm gonna have to get that game.
2005-04-06
Late April Fools
Ok, so I haven't been diligently updating my link blog like I should be, either. Work is a time sink.
The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time, from Museum of Hoaxes.
April Fool's coverage on c|net.
Google Gulp with Auto-Drink.
The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time, from Museum of Hoaxes.
April Fool's coverage on c|net.
Google Gulp with Auto-Drink.
2005-04-01
Random Links of the Moment
Wikipedia: Philosophy
The Inquirer Console News
"Absurd Genius": A demonstration of the PSP web browser hack in Wipeout.
The International Herald Tribune: The end of Japan, Inc. A presumptuous title, to say the least.
Create a Google Account.
BlogStreet.com: A blog index. Here's their top 100.
The Inquirer Console News
"Absurd Genius": A demonstration of the PSP web browser hack in Wipeout.
The International Herald Tribune: The end of Japan, Inc. A presumptuous title, to say the least.
Create a Google Account.
BlogStreet.com: A blog index. Here's their top 100.
2005-03-30
PSPwiki
Actually the proper link is http://psp.holybell.to/index.php?PSPwiki. The site is all in Japanese, and apparently is a compilation site of information from 2channel, etc. If you want the latest buzz, gotta be able to read it!
偶然の出会いの話
It's not fair that this chick got to meet the Ulfuls. I'm jealous. I've met Hayao Miyazaki (if you could call saying "Hi" meeting him), but it's not the same as meeting rock stars....
News, 2005.03.30
Wired News
RFID Cards Get Spin Treatment: The Department of Homeland Security stooges are spinning RFID chips by calling them "contactless chips". Call a spade a spade. And how's this for use of RFID?
File Sharing Has Supreme Moment: P2P has good and bad uses, but the idea itself is neutral. Certain services that cater to piracy should be dealt with individually, if the Court chooses to go down that route. Not all P2P needs to be governed.
Baby Sputnik Flies the Coop: Launching a satellite by chucking it out the window.
News.com
Sony to challenge block on PS2 sales
Octopuses running like humans?
Disc expiration dates debated
RFID Cards Get Spin Treatment: The Department of Homeland Security stooges are spinning RFID chips by calling them "contactless chips". Call a spade a spade. And how's this for use of RFID?
"Let's say you are in Beirut, carrying a passport with an RFID tag," said Steinhardt. "A terrorist with a portable reader device could easily tell who is the American (in a public space)."
File Sharing Has Supreme Moment: P2P has good and bad uses, but the idea itself is neutral. Certain services that cater to piracy should be dealt with individually, if the Court chooses to go down that route. Not all P2P needs to be governed.
Baby Sputnik Flies the Coop: Launching a satellite by chucking it out the window.
News.com
Sony to challenge block on PS2 sales
Octopuses running like humans?
Disc expiration dates debated
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