News Linkflow

This Wired News blog kicked me on this track.

TubeSock: Convert YouTube files to iPod or PSP format. Sweet! Well, $15 ain't too bad, considering the normal cost of software. But YouTube quality is usually pretty shitty. On the other hand, using this I can download Kevin's ski crash....

Bram Cohen's blog: He's an interesting character, you have to admit. I'm just jealous because he started a Net phenomenon. Here he is on ergo keyboards. Eclectic subject matter, indeed.

String theory is bullshit. I thought so.

iTunes 6 has been cracked. Sweet!! The download link is here.

Hmm, there's a link to the Crazy Frog entry on Wikipedia. Sachie's bro bought some of that on iTMS....

Ugh, nerdcore.

And last but not least, the Villain Chair. Ok, that was from an IM session.

FairUse4WM

An article on Engadget discusses FairUse4WM, a program to strip DRM from PlaysForSure Windows Media files. While I feel that license-holders are imposing draconian terms for their media, this opinion sums up the morality of the issue quite well:

I know what's wrong with the system: content providers overcharge for subpar quality content. And the peoples' response is "I'm not paying $15 for garbage."

The thing is, it is the content providers' RIGHT to determine the price they think is fair for their product. If the people don't agree, they don't have the right to just take it without paying. If the content providers give a little and say, ok, we'll sell it to you for $12 but with these restrictions, it is NOT OK for the people to say "ok" and then strip off the restrictions. Either pay the $15 for unrestricted content or realize that if it isn't worth it to you, don't just take it. Say "No, that's crap. Change your pricing scheme because I won't pay $15 for crap." If there were no piracy and no one was paying $15, don't you think the content providers would lower the price to move SOME of their product? Yes. Because that is the law of supply and demand. But if people keep going around the established means, the content providers can say "Hey, our price is at $15, but all these pirates are getting it for free! Our model is legit and these rapscallions are just criminals! Please help Mr. Congressman!"

I've said it before and I'll say it again: You have no right to be entertained. If you're not willing to pay the set price, then don't buy it.

The same thing can be said of software, and that's long been my viewpoint. The difference in the case of software is that businesses will still buy overpriced crap software, and individuals tend to prefer to use at home what they use at work. Personally, I think the price of software is outrageous, particularly since there's essentially no warranty and licensing typically restricts use to one computer. Of course, one doesn't have to buy it, but in that case the software will still sell, propped up by B2B sales.

Star Trek Inspirational Posters

These are friggin' hilarious. Had to be some benefit in squandering all those hours watching the show.

My fave? "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am."

Ties and Pocket Squares

I often find that I have to remind myself how to tie a Windsor knot because I don't wear ties very often. Here're a couple sites with good directions: SharpMan.com and at Neckties.com.

Incidentally, my dad showed me how to tie a four-in-hand knot when I first had to wear a tie, but I found the length of the tie is typically too long and the knot too small that way. Recently I've used the Windsor knot because it's fuller, but the proportions are hard to get right and I typically have to re-tie it at least once after my first attempt at a given sitting.

I also found some rules for suiting up. It's always good to know such things.

The one thing I never learned was how to tie a "pocket square". Neckties.com had the most comprehensive collection of diagrams, but eSuit.com also had a few pictures. Seems like in Japan, no one wears pocket squares, however.

Freescale RS08

An ad for Freescale's new RS08 microcontroller popped up on some site, and it looked interesting so I clicked on it. Looks like a good tool for tinkering, like the PIC, except this is an 8-pin package. There's a $50 demo board too. Maybe I'll buy one when I get back to the U.S.

Were these stocks to own in 2006?

Yahoo Finance had an article on the "stocks to own in 2006". Did they do well so far? Need to check. I know Microsoft sucked it hard.

Aetna (AET), American Express (AXP), General Electric (GE), Granite Construction (GVA), Ingersoll Rand (IR), Medtronic (MDT), Microsoft (MSFT), UPS.

Off-Road Commode

My uncle sent me this link to a product called the "Off-Road Commode". The video is hilarious! Check it out. Some products were made to be ridiculed.

3- and 4-Way Illustrations

With the help of those posable figures for sketching, someone made a page of sexual positions for 3 and 4 person couplings. It's actually not that useful (even presuming one was in such a lucky situation) but the commentary is amusing.

Every guy wants "two chicks at the same time", but practically speaking, the woman sandwich is more plausible. As unfortunate as that is.

K Visa FAQ

This site is pretty useful in providing additional information on the visa forms. Still, there's some conflicting information, e.g. they don't say that an I-864 must be filed with the I-130, whereas the U.S. Embassy of Japan site says it must be. They also mention I-134 instead of I-864, but a page on the State Department's website says that for a K-3 visa, the I-864 is the one to use.

Anyway, the overview of the whole process was helpful in figuring out how much more work is ahead of us. And they do say that the G-325A form (four pages) should be filed. That's good to know.

IEEE Entrepreneur's Village

In an email newsletter from the IEEE recently, there was a link to an article about an IEEE online forum called the Entrepreneur's Village. Looks interesting, so I should find time to go through it.

Wiki.ThePPN

I found this site while searching for something related to Utada Hikaru. According to the index page, it's "an attempt to create a complete reference to Asian pop culture". Interesting enough. Might be worth browsing. The Utada article was pretty good, anyway.

4ch

Apparently a 4channel clone of 2channel, except in English. Wacky.

The Curse of Storage

This article by Momus was actually interesting. Normally I don't really dig his stuff because it's mostly obvious to anyone of modest intelligence who's lived in Japan, but this piece was good because it was something I'd been thinking about myself a lot lately. Spaces and organization, specifically, how my living spaces are different in the U.S. and in Japan. Part of it was instigated by reading David Allen, but it's all tied together.

Ultimately, the most useful thing in the article is this quote:

"There are some men of letters who do not model themselves on the present, but study the past in order to criticize the present age," declared the Chinese emperor Qin Huang-di in the third century B.C.

Those men may've been massacred, but I intend to have enough weaponry to fend off anything the modern emperors can throw at me. Weapons are as important to real scholars as are their books—pure intellectuals are useless in practice.

Oops, like Momus, I digressed all over the place in this entry.

Leia's Metal Bikini

Nuff said, right?

From a link in an article on Wired News.

ASP

Noel sent me a link to a site selling ASP batons in Japan. Sweet, I want one....

Hitachi GST Channels & Infineon

My manager sent the department this link. Interesting seeing a press release with our group in center focus. A search on IFX's site turns up a couple more news links, slightly dated.