August 31, 2003

Graffiti backdrop at Dean really

Sorry everyone, not much in the links department lately. All I have for today is an amusing story about a councilman angered by a graffiti backdrop at a Howard Dean rally. (Be sure to read to the end of the article.)

31 Aug 0:28 | Link | Category: Politics

August 28, 2003

Cool walking animation

Check out the BML Walker, an animation of walking with adjustable sliders for gender, weight, and mood.

28 Aug 12:56 | Link | Category: Cool Links

August 27, 2003

The "ever-growing virus crisis"

According to BusinessWeek, the Blaster and SoBig.f worms may have cost from $500 million to more than $1 billion in lost productivity, hours wasted, and lost sales. (This despite the fact that "the Feds and good geeks worldwide saved the day, unraveling the secret code for the SoBig worm just in time to prevent mass calamity.")

Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post notes that "nobody with a Mac or a Linux PC has had to lose a moment of sleep over these outbreaks -- just like in earlier 'malware' epidemics." In the article, he explains why this is not a coincidence.

27 Aug 0:17 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing

August 23, 2003

BBC's "The Mind"

Check out BBC's The Mind page. They have a bunch of interesting surveys you can take. Make sure to check out the disgust and lonely hearts surveys. There are lots of other interesting ones, too, like perfectionism (I tend to be one) and what sex is your brain? (according to the program, mine's 50/50).

23 Aug 22:15 | Link | Category: Interactive

August 21, 2003

Elevator Moods

Today's bit of odd entertainment: elevator moods, a collection of thirteen short movie clips, all taking place in elevators.

21 Aug 0:17 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment

August 20, 2003

PowerPoint: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Edward Tufte believes PowerPoint is evil. David Byrne has learned to love it.

20 Aug 14:28 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment

August 19, 2003

Music stuff

Courtesy of RIAA Radar is the Amazon Indie 100, a list of the 100 most popular albums on Amazon that are RIAA-free.

Since we're in the music category, a few more things...

I just got a copy of Natalie Merchant's latest recording, The House Carpenter's Daughter. It's a collection of various folk tunes. It's an enjoyable, diverse collection of songs that does a pretty good job of capturing the feel of her folk music tour several years ago. There are several must-hear songs on the disc. It's an independent release, so you may have to search around a bit. The easiest place to find it is at her official web site.

I was sent a link to a humorous article, The Case of the Found CDs, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Last but not least, if anyone is looking for a ticket the August 28 Radiohead show in Salt Lake City, I may have one available, so drop me a line or call me.

19 Aug 0:12 | Link | Category: Music

August 18, 2003

Prop-Agenda

In an article for the Guardian, Brian Eno writes "It isn't just propaganda any more, it's 'prop-agenda'. It's not so much the control of what we think, but the control of what we think about."

18 Aug 23:47 | Link | Category: Current Events, Music, Politics

August 16, 2003

All The Presidents' Films

This is an odd tidbit: White House projectionist Paul Fisher kept a log of films requested by presidents and has created a documentary entitled "All the Presidents' Films." The BBC has published a short writeup.

16 Aug 0:31 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment

August 15, 2003

Life Simulator

Someone sent me a link to The Simulator. Luckily, my life is not quite that banal and predictable (though sometimes it gets uncomfortably close).

15 Aug 23:15 | Link | Category: Cool Links

Photos: Liberia and America, Iraq Uncensored

Photos:

15 Aug 1:31 | Link | Category: Photography

Daily Affirmations with Bill O'Reilly

Fox News is suing Al Franken in an attempt to stop him from using the phrase "fair and balanced" in the title of his new book. I'm not exactly sure why I find this so ridiculously funny. Anyway, my bet is that Mr. Franken will prevail because he's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it, people like him.

15 Aug 1:14 | Link | Category: Humor

Windows XP Speed-Installation

How to install Windows XP in 5 hours or less.

15 Aug 1:09 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing

August 14, 2003

Looking for a new McJob

Well, I finally got rid of my McJob. (That's right, my days working in the sun and heat are over... of course I managed to work through the hottest July ever.) I should have a new one soon, though. For one application I had to take a typing test. I was happily surprised to score 93 words per minute. The folks at the testing center (an employment center) seemed impressed as well and offered me some jobs right on the spot (jobs I wasn't terribly interested in, but still...). We'll see if anything works out. I had an interview today that was, um, interesting. I'm still kicking myself for having interviewed so poorly. Whenever I have interviews (job or otherwise), I'm either completely smooth and charming, or I fill up with nervous energy and make a complete ass of myself. (This goes for meeting new people, too.) Today's interview was an instance of the latter.

14 Aug 0:29 | Link | Category: Site/Life News