Stealing Wi-Fi

Link blog post #512—a nice "round" number.

There was a post on c|net about how stealing Wi-Fi in an airport is bad. I agreed with the following comment.

I agree, this sort of unauthorized use of Wi-Fi on a continuing basis is theft. Quite clearly the service is made available for the purpose of making a profit, and so circumventing the system constitutes stealing. Kind of like phone phreaking; while it's cool to figure the ins and outs of the technology, going much further past demos is hard to justify. This thing called ethics says just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Now I would change my reaction if we're talking about an unprotected signal coming into my house. It's my airspace, and if someone is broadcasting something I don't want at me, then it's their problem if I decide to take advantage of it. The law is dead wrong in saying that that is theft. If I chuck an iPod into someone's open window and they decide to keep it, it's not theft since I put it there. (Actually, it's my bad for throwing stuff into their space, and they'd have a right to be upset.) Decoding a signal is more marginal ethically. I'd say it's "half theft" in that as above, the user is stealing service, but it's also half the broadcaster's fault for polluting the PUBLIC (outdoor) airspace with their private signal, in contrast to the private airspace within the airport. With publicly shared things like frequency spectrum, there are gray areas abound.

NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

This "NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog" might be useful, I'm not sure. The bit about an NFA trust looks inspiring.

Unlawful Armed Force

An article on CNN claims:

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said there was "mounting evidence that Russian and Georgian military used armed force unlawfully during the South Ossetian conflict" and it emphasized that this "highlights the need for international fact-finding missions in Georgia."

What the hell does "unlawful" mean in an international military context? How can anyone say that with a straight face? Forcing someone's notion of "international law" upon the world is farcical to say the least. Put another way: Whose law was broken? The reason people fight is because they can't resolve things peacefully, and no law can be applied to that.

The Geneva Convention wouldn't mean a damn thing if the aggressor who violated the rules were to win. Such laws are only used as a pretense for the winning nation to justify their actions upon the loser. "War crimes" is a nonsensical term—there is no crime in war, only the will of the victor over the vanquished. Nuremburg after World War II was a farce in that punishing the losing generals was some application of authoritarian law. No way: The Allies extracted vengeance and had to apply the shield of "law" to make up excuses for their actions. The Allies rightfully won (although the Allied leaders were minor tyrants in their own right), and still they felt they had to apply a bit of decorative color to the war's end. Well, the winner writes history, always.

This whole conflict with Georgia and Russia is a case of he said, she said—who knows what exactly happened out there. What we do know is that Russia is not to be trusted. The wounds of the Cold War run deep, and just as China longs to rule Asia once more, Russia longs to again be the dominant power in Europe. Where such ambition runs rampant, war can never be far behind.

GPS Map for Japan

I thought about buying a GPS prior to this last business trip but decided against it. It'd be cool, but an unnecessary expense.

Garmin apparently allows downloadable maps, and one company produces a GPS map for Japan. The one with routing information, version 2.0, costs more than the one without routing info, version 1.2.

Satellite Installation

In a search for satellite dish installation, I found some info from a vendor in NJ. They mention the RG6 cabling, which apparently carries power. Interesting. I should've read up on this more before the Dish Network third-party installer weirdos showed up.

い草

さっちゃんがちょっと前に送ってくれたリンク：
い草天国
イケヒコ・コーポレーション

買いたい物が増えたな。

Coharie Arms

In consideration of purchasing a "CA89" (SP89 clone) or a "CA94" (HK94 clone), I've been doing some reading. Coharie Arms is the only clone manufacturer left, apart from buying a flat and having the gun manufactured from a kit. The problem is, they're quite controversial in that a number of people are happy with their purchase while a seemingly equivalent number have had problems. Todd Bailey is at the center of the controversy, as many question the ethics of his business practices. Discussion of his products, via companies Special Weapons and Tactical Weapons, was verboten on HKPro at one point, though recently the ban has been rescinded.

HKPro post on the CA89
Another HKPro post on ordering
Bailey's comments on ordering

The Photographer's Right

Via a Slashdot article's comments, I came across "The Photographer's Right", a single page flyer by an attorney indicating what photographers can expect legally. That could be useful.

On the other hand, when someone in a position of power isn't getting their way, they're liable to screw you over, regardless of what your rights are. So I'd imagine that if one intends to push the envelope, one had better have a videocamera, with a flash memory card, that one can afford to lose for the purposes of filming the confrontation. People on a power trip are unlikely to take kindly to non-sheeple.

KD-36HD600

Nowhere on the web can I find specs for my Sony TV, model KD-36HD600. Of course, it is a Japanese TV, but even Sony's site just lists it as discontinued. A Wikipedia page lists FD Trinitron/WEGA TVs, though those are only the American model numbers.

I want to know the resolution of the TV—it's not in the manual. I sort of found this info on another site, which says that the vertical resolution is 1300 lines:

「スーパーファインピッチブラウン管」というのは前回ご説明した「トリニトロン方式」を採用しているから搭載できている機能。横方向の解像度1300本以上を実現するまさにスーパーなブラウン管を搭載しています。ハイビジョン映像の1125iと呼ばれる放送方式ですが、ソニーいわく、理論的に横方向に関しては1300本の解像度が必要らしく、そのためにはキメの細かいピッチ幅が必要とのことで、その理想の解像度をブラウン管で実現できているのは現状ではソニーのスーパーファインピッチ管だけとのこと。

Also, since the TV supports the D4 connector, it should handle 1080i and 720p. However, lacking an HDMI or DVI output, that means that the TV technically isn't "HD Ready"

Japanese TV

I was looking at DirecTV for satellite service, since the lone cable company around here, Charter, sucks. However, DirecTV doesn't carry Japanese programming; furthermore, they seem to have a bunch of Asian countries, e.g. China, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, etc., other than Japan. That offended me in a way.

So I looked into Dish Network, and they do have Japanese channels. $25/mo is a bit steep, but it would be pretty cool to get. Maybe after we unpack more of the boxes piled up in the living room of the new house—and set up the TV!

The Website is Down

Samir sent me a link to this video on Break.com which is friggin' hilarious. From the comments, I found the full version of the video.

Building an MP5

There was a post on HKPro a while ago about building an MP5.

It's about $1200 to fold the flat into a receiver, assemble the gun add a paddle magazine release and finish the gun in original HK style black. Every part on the gun is factory HK. Basically what you get from Adam is an MP5 with a big chunk out of the receiver missing so that it is no longer a firearm. All the parts are there minus the receiver. The receiver flat is produced on HK tooling by a company licensed by HK to produce MP5's. Once the flat is turned into a receiver by a pro like Jayson at IGF, the completed gun is every bit as much an MP5 as one from Obendorf, except of course for the semi auto shelf.

Sounds way cool...except for the part about $1200+. Plus if one wants it converted to NFA (SBR or AOW), there are the additional modifications and taxes. And it still won't be a real sub gun. Ah well.

Indirect Solar Indoor Lighting

I must've seen something on this in an article on a zero-emissions building in California. There was indoor lighting that utilized solar concentrators and fiber optics to channel light indoors so that electricity wouldn't have to be used during the day.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to find out how much it costs, because that'd be pretty sweet to use in my new house. I googled "fiber optic lighting basement sunlight" and came up with a few interesting links. Unfortunately I still don't know how much this stuff costs—other than it's likely outside my price range.

Sunlight inside no direct-sunlighted rooms
Simple and bright, heliostats tap sunlight for lighting outdoor and, increasingly, indoor spaces
Sunlight Direct Hybrid Lighting: Install It, Get a 30% Federal Tax Credit
Hybrid Lighting Promises Cool, Efficient Light and More...

Fireproof Safes

So I'm looking for a fireproof (er, fire-resistant) safe for the new house, i.e. a big-ass gun safe. Of course it has to be made in the U.S., so my selection is probably limited. Here are some vendors:

Sturdy Gun Safe Manufacturing - Possibly the best value. Has minimal moving parts, a removable door, and the insulating material is ceramic and glass wool.
Sportsman Steel Safe Co. - Similar to Sturdy. Uses ceramic wool, drywall, and an air gap for insulation.
Graffunder Safe & Vault - Look to be the best, albeit the most expensive and heaviest of all. The insulator is a cement compound.
American Security - Looks pretty good, albeit expensive. Insulation is cement-based.
Fort Knox
Heritage Safe Co.
Liberty Safe - They are way overpriced, and use drywall as their insulator. Can be found at Gander Mountain.
Smith Security Safes
Hall's Safe Co.

Slashdot News

Brightnets: "Owner-Free Filesystems", distributed, public storage
How Facebook stores all those digital photos
Bjarne Stroustrup reveals C++ secrets
Metallic glass
Bad boys get more girls, fo' real. Shiz.

enysea

グリソが行くダイブショップ…かな？

Dog Tags

Yasu had asked about getting dog tags. I found a site, Military Dog Tags, that sells U.S.-made tags, and the order page is pretty nice. When Sachie and I went to Okinawa in 2006, she made a pair at a shop on Kokusai-Dori. I don't think she's ever worn them, though.

Definition of a Conservative

CNN for the most part has a hard liberal bias, and therefore, for the most part, they suck. They've been trying to appear less biased by featuring Glenn Beck's op-ed periodically, and certainly it helps. (They have that Reuben Navarrette on there that consistently pisses me off with his moronic, liberal, pro-illegal immigration op-eds.) Beck has a piece on who to vote for in the election this year, stating that he might not vote for McCain because McCain's not a true conservative. Beck goes on to list what he thinks defines a conservative, and it's pretty good.

My comments:

Mr. Beck, excellent op-ed piece. That about sums it up, and I'm facing the same dilemma. Certainly those values are the right ones to have, regardless of what the label is. The problem is splitting the vote, like Perot did. So the issue at hand is, how badly do we not want Obama to get into office?

To mbronx, the point of not letting the government control education is to not allow the curriculum to be polluted by outside parties. Parents should have control of what kind of information makes it into their children's heads, not the government. Supplemental funding should be handled at the local level so that no stipulations can be placed on receiving the federal money.

There were a few scumbag posters:

"Who cares for whom Mr. Beck wants to vote. This is not news." — Apparently dr doesn't notice opinion pieces when they're left-wing (admittedly, I've thought the same thing, though, about Navarrette). Newspapers always have op-ed sections. Why not try to get people to think about the issues of the day? Maybe that's impossible.

"Thank you for laying out all of the reasons I don't consider myself a conservative." — Hey Justin, why say that you're a moron in a public forum? Try growing a brain!

"I'd rather you stay home on election day, anyway." — Don't have kids, Kris, I'd rather you stay out of the gene pool, anyway. Beck didn't say he'd stay home, but rather that he may not vote for either main party candidate. Cretin.

Hehe.

Snopes Education

Recently my mom forwarded me a warning about the "postcard" virus. The note claimed it was checked out on Snopes, but didn't include the link. Well, I found the real link and discovered that as I surmised that the warning was a hoax. (There aren't any viruses that can "burn" one's HDD.)

That got me reading various articles on Snopes. There were a couple of interesting entries, one on the "Triangle of Life" that Harry Lam had forwarded me while on assignment, and one on The Great Stork Derby. Charles Millar sounds like he was a really cool guy.

Region Free

The Firmware Page used to have a good collection of patched/hacked optical drive firmware to bypass region codes. Since >NIL: retired in 2005, however, the firmware scene has somewhat sucked.

The Dangerous Brothers have a lot of new firmwares, but not for the newer Pioneer drives, which kind of sucks. Well, that's the way it goes. Beggars can't be choosers. So beggars will have to buy a supported drive, if available.

Edit: I found out from reading the forum above a bit more that MediaCodeSpeedEdit (MCSE) supports updating a standard Pioneer DVR-215 firmware to RPC1. Sweet!

CNN's Editorial Skillz

CNN has an article on the proposed bill to make concealed carry legal in national parks. This is a doubly good idea, to cement CCW policy into federal law before the anti-gun laws that are sure to be passed in 2009. But true to form, the CNN article has a glaring error, which I sent in to CNN as a correction:

First paragraph: "...in which a black .22-caliber Glock pistol sits snugly."

Glock does not make any .22 handguns, although third-party conversion kits are available. Glock does have a model G22 in .40, which is a favorite caliber of police officers.

http://www.glock.com/english/pistols_models.htm

It wouldn't make sense to carry a .22 for personal defense, since its stopping power is almost non-existent.

The World of Golden Eggs

So a while back, Kevin sent me this link to an anime skit called "すげえデブ", which unfortunately is no longer available due to copyright violation. Apparently the group or whatever is called The World of Golden Eggs. Sachie found out from her bro the name of the group, and had me watch a couple of their other videos. Some are hilarious, like the 91TV one where the Kunoichis help Dubya finish his speech, but some are more incomprehensible to my sense of humor.

The SSD Threat

Samsung didn't have me very worried with their cheap flash, because they were screwing themselves trying to build a market by dropping prices to unsustainable levels. Apple took them for a ride. Intel's effort is more of a concern, because they have the market clout to push flash. That Seagate's going to enter the SSD arena as well is an even bigger concern—perhaps the HDD industry's headed for some more pain in the near future. Remind me why I do this again?

The Homebrew Channel

/. had a link to some hack for the Wii called The Homebrew Channel, which allows running homebrew code on a Wii. I knew there was a good reason for buying the Zelda Twilight Princess game: even though I haven't played it yet...installing the "Twilight Hack" apparently requires the game. A software hack sounds a lot more attractive to me than having to install a hardware mod that may get screwed by a Wii firmware update.

Another way to beat jet lag

Russ sent me this link to an article regarding how to beat jet lag—by going hungry.

変圧器

秋葉原で見てきた。これは西口の線路下の店や、ラジオ会館の店じゃなくて、駅の南にある、線路下のほうだ。俺的に新しい発見の、「ニューアキハバラ。」そこの店に真空管アンプ専用変圧器などが置いてある。

Californication

I found a blog that has a translation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication into Japanese. Wacky! And I think the guy did a pretty good job. As well as making reasonable sense of Anthony Kiedis' lyrics!

Pop Baby Names

CNN had an article recently about the top 10 baby names for 2007. Essentially it was a wrapper around the SSA's press release. "Emily" (12 years running) and "Jacob" (9 years running) are the most popular names...? I don't know any Emilys or Jacobs, but then again, I don't know anyone with 9-12 yr olds.

Previously I'd linked to a CNN article on "baby name remorse" and the SSA's top name list. Search for "baby" on here to retrieve all such links.

渡辺玲子

Her version of Tzigane kicks ass.

Gun Links from Edo

Ed sent me these a while ago in an IM session. Most are C&R related.

IMA
Model 1 Sales
AIM Surplus
SOG
Military Gun Supply
Akron Armory
Classic Arms