Saturday, February 25, 2006
Bye-bye, blogspot
Welp, I done with blogspot and I'm moving this blog to oranchak.com, a more customized WordPress-powered blog. See you there!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Don't Hassel the Hoff
Oh, sweet Lord.
Apparently the Aussies are crazy for David Hasselhoff, too. Enough for Pepsi to take notice with this ad campaign.
Is it a joke? A career? A joke wrapped inside a career? A career wrapped inside of a joke wrapped inside of a career??? (more evidence here)
It spins my noodle.
Apparently the Aussies are crazy for David Hasselhoff, too. Enough for Pepsi to take notice with this ad campaign.
Is it a joke? A career? A joke wrapped inside a career? A career wrapped inside of a joke wrapped inside of a career??? (more evidence here)
It spins my noodle.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
What good is Caller ID?
In a recent TWIT episode, Kevin Mitnick described a new service called SpoofCard that gives you some interesting new abilities when you make phone calls, all by using a special kind of calling card:
How can I change my voice?
SpoofCard offers the ability to select a Male or Female voice when making a call. The feature works in real-time and allows the caller to speak in a normal tone while the person on the other end will hear the changed voice.
What are the advantages of Caller ID spoofing?
Caller ID spoofing gives business professionals the ability to manipulate their identity to their choosing and stay anonymous. Caller ID spoofing is also valuable in defeating popular telephone services such as "*57 Call Trace", "*69 Last Call Return", "Anonymous Call Rejection" and "Detailed Billing". Private Investigators will find Caller ID spoofing valuable for pretext calls.
Now, we can all be one of the Jerky Boys!
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Ghost in the machine
When you stare at data long enough, patterns emerge.
(click for full)
Yeah, I need to get out more. But the glowing box of light resists my feeble efforts.
(click for full)
Yeah, I need to get out more. But the glowing box of light resists my feeble efforts.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Math fun
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Foodthulhu
A great idea from Jon: H.P. Lovecraft meets bizarre vintage food adverts:
It was very peculiar, but as the little boy uttered his petition there seemed to form overhead the shadowy, nebulous figures of exotic things; of hybrid creatures, crowned with horn-flanked disks.
Those who described these strange shapes felt quite sure that they were not human, despite some superficial resemblences in size and general outline.
The odor of the fish was maddening; but I was too much concerned with graver things to mind so slight an evil, and set out boldly for an unknown goal.
(thanks to boingboing and accordionguy for mashup fodder)
It was very peculiar, but as the little boy uttered his petition there seemed to form overhead the shadowy, nebulous figures of exotic things; of hybrid creatures, crowned with horn-flanked disks.
Those who described these strange shapes felt quite sure that they were not human, despite some superficial resemblences in size and general outline.
The odor of the fish was maddening; but I was too much concerned with graver things to mind so slight an evil, and set out boldly for an unknown goal.
(thanks to boingboing and accordionguy for mashup fodder)
Monday, January 30, 2006
Try the veal
(15:03:11) Frank: Did you hear about the penguin in a santa suit who went to the psychiatrist?
(15:03:21) Frank: diagnosis: bipolar!
(15:03:34) Frank: tip your waitresses...
(15:03:48) Frank: I'll be here all week...
(15:03:52) David: <insert cricket chirps here>
(15:03:21) Frank: diagnosis: bipolar!
(15:03:34) Frank: tip your waitresses...
(15:03:48) Frank: I'll be here all week...
(15:03:52) David: <insert cricket chirps here>
Ultimately, EVERYBODY just wants to makes music.
Remember 80s movie staple Rick Moranis?
You loved him in Ghostbusters. And Little Shop of Horrors. And the Honey, I Shrunk the Everything series of flicks. Well fast-forward a bit from the 80s (a VERY long bit, come to think of it) and you'll find that he's released a country music album, of all things, named "Agoraphobic Cowboy".
(his site | his explanation | amazon reviews)
You loved him in Ghostbusters. And Little Shop of Horrors. And the Honey, I Shrunk the Everything series of flicks. Well fast-forward a bit from the 80s (a VERY long bit, come to think of it) and you'll find that he's released a country music album, of all things, named "Agoraphobic Cowboy".
(his site | his explanation | amazon reviews)
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Dumbest moments in business
(via Business 2.0):
Winner, Dumbest Moment, Outsourcing
Told you we shouldn't have rented that list from the Department of Homeland Security.
Blaming a mailing-list vendor for providing bad information, JPMorgan Chase apologizes for sending a form letter about its credit card services to an Arab American man in California addressed to "Palestinian Bomber."
Another good one:
Winner, Dumbest Moment, Public Relations
Men, on the other hand, have a charming self-destructive quality.
Speaking at an ad industry event in Toronto, WPP Group's worldwide creative director, Neil French, says there aren't more female creative directors "because they're crap" and they eventually "wimp out" and "go off and suckle something." French speaks from a stage decorated as a hunting lodge while being served drinks by a woman in a skimpy maid's outfit, of whom he asks, "Could you lean over a bit more?" Two weeks later WPP accepts French's resignation.
Winner, Dumbest Moment, Outsourcing
Told you we shouldn't have rented that list from the Department of Homeland Security.
Blaming a mailing-list vendor for providing bad information, JPMorgan Chase apologizes for sending a form letter about its credit card services to an Arab American man in California addressed to "Palestinian Bomber."
Another good one:
Winner, Dumbest Moment, Public Relations
Men, on the other hand, have a charming self-destructive quality.
Speaking at an ad industry event in Toronto, WPP Group's worldwide creative director, Neil French, says there aren't more female creative directors "because they're crap" and they eventually "wimp out" and "go off and suckle something." French speaks from a stage decorated as a hunting lodge while being served drinks by a woman in a skimpy maid's outfit, of whom he asks, "Could you lean over a bit more?" Two weeks later WPP accepts French's resignation.
Monday, January 23, 2006
The ghosts of BASIC past
Click the button for resurrected geekery.
Update:
From Jerry:"What goose did:
Once upon a time, there was a great sinus who lived in a large goose in the clouds.
I'd really like to hear the rest of that story."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Pluto brings out silliness
The New Horizons mission finally launched, after many false starts and delays. And it brought out not only the great feeling of human achievement, but more importantly some goofiness in our instant messaging chatter:
(12:52:26) Chris: aw snap! they are delaying for clouds
(12:52:39) Chris: it's a freaking rocket guys
(12:52:47) Chris: clouds are not a problem
(12:53:39) David: dammit
(12:53:49) David: oh no, we might hit an endangered bird species up there or something
(12:53:56) Chris: why does god hate pluto
(12:54:11) Chris: oh yeah...the whole "underworld" thing
(12:56:58) David: LOL
...
(Chris getting excited as we hear that the launch is actually happening for real this time:)
(13:53:25) Chris: ooh, they might be good to go at 2 PM
(13:53:30) Chris: GO! GO!
(13:53:56) Chris: GO on weather
(13:55:38) Chris: light that freakin candle
(13:56:14) Chris: man, i should have seen if i could have gone over to mission ops
(13:57:44) Chris: look out for teh birdz!!!!!11
(14:00:40) Chris: OH YEAH!
(14:03:37) Chris: sweeet
...
(the day after, i saw an article about
the spacecraft's cargo containing the ashes of Pluto's discoverer Clyde Tombaugh):
(11:17:22) David: i had no idea
(11:18:27) Jon: neither did I
(11:18:42) David: the plutonium is going to bring that dude back to life
(11:18:56) Jon: ...as the Incredible Hulk
(11:19:05) David: HULK SMASH CHARON!!!!
Haven't you wanted to do this?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Before you leap...
From Michelle:
"At least San Francisco is trying to keep people from jumping!"
Here's another view I found on Flickr:
"At least San Francisco is trying to keep people from jumping!"
Here's another view I found on Flickr:
Monday, January 16, 2006
Nanotechnology...
...is now a dietary supplement??
"Mesosilver is 0.9999 pure silver in colloidal form, a true silver colloid. All natural mineral supplement in the form of nanoparticle colloidal silver."
Are they actually making money off this?? The link appeared in the Adsense advertisements above. Of course, I'm giving them some potentially free business by talking about them. What a scam!
"Mesosilver is 0.9999 pure silver in colloidal form, a true silver colloid. All natural mineral supplement in the form of nanoparticle colloidal silver."
Are they actually making money off this?? The link appeared in the Adsense advertisements above. Of course, I'm giving them some potentially free business by talking about them. What a scam!
1000 reasons to love Japan
Symptoms of fatigue
Kathryn, who woke up for a while last night due to Iris screaming, tells me at the gym today that she's "looking forward to going home to relaxate."
Reminds me when I was sleep deprived in college, riding the bus to campus and thinking that everyone was speaking a weird new language that only makes sense again when you get enough sleep.
But one of the best is Jim's boot camp story, wherein he reached out to receive candy offered by the fatigue-induced vision of a woman in a blue dress. He was supposed to be practicing hiding in a ditch with his machine gun. Apparently his drill instructor was not happy to be seeing him jumping out of the ditch for treats.
Reminds me when I was sleep deprived in college, riding the bus to campus and thinking that everyone was speaking a weird new language that only makes sense again when you get enough sleep.
But one of the best is Jim's boot camp story, wherein he reached out to receive candy offered by the fatigue-induced vision of a woman in a blue dress. He was supposed to be practicing hiding in a ditch with his machine gun. Apparently his drill instructor was not happy to be seeing him jumping out of the ditch for treats.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Sunday funnies, the remix
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Spam subject du jour
The subject of some cheesy Web marketing scam I received in my inbox recently:
"My Darling, Is That Manure Stick You Have On?"
"My Darling, Is That Manure Stick You Have On?"
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Geckos with friggin' LASER BEAMS!
I and several other BKA folk are working on some SBIR proposals to try to fund some research and development in our little shop, and I found some interesting proposals that were already awarded.
DARPA, which has a reputation for funding some freaky stuff, awarded one to a company with some interesting wording in their abstract: "The ability to efficiently utilize the large surface area of entities such as buildings, tanks, and ships as active, intelligent skins will allow these assets to become part of a larger, highly-responsive, complex nervous system in mission critical scenarios."
This title won the funding award despite breaking trademark: "Printed Electronics Processing for Structural Integrity (PEPSI)".
And CES would have been a much more interesting consumer electronics conference with items such as the "Highly Scalable Low Loss Fast Tuned True Time Delay Module Based on Dispersion Enhanced Photonic Crystal Fibers".
Science fiction? "Distributed Collaborative Planning and Control for Undersea Surveillance using Swarms of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles." Big Brother goes swimming!
And who would have thought the humble gecko could inspire the next generation of robots? "An essentially new research thrust on studying the climbing capability of the gecko has been of major interest. The ability to not only climb walls but also hang upside down from the ceiling has postulated many research questions. In addition to this, the gecko has the added advantage of having dry, self-cleaning, dynamically modulated adhesive feet. These advantages give unlimited life in sticking ability, unlike modern adhesive materials (i.e. tapes, glues, etc.). Recent studies indicate that this is actually achieved by small intermolecular forces known as van der Waals forces. This force, which occurs when unbalanced electrical charges around molecules attract each other, is individually miniscule, but the effect of several million collectively produces a powerful adhesion. An effective adhesive material would probably have to utilize a multi-level micro structure design that would engage the surface so the naturally occurring van der Waals forces could be maximized. The development of this new material would incorporate understanding at the nanoscopic scale of the fibers and/or microstructure of both the gecko feet and the proposed adhesion material. The major technical risks will be in the development, fabrication, and adhesive efficiency of this type of material."
DARPA, which has a reputation for funding some freaky stuff, awarded one to a company with some interesting wording in their abstract: "The ability to efficiently utilize the large surface area of entities such as buildings, tanks, and ships as active, intelligent skins will allow these assets to become part of a larger, highly-responsive, complex nervous system in mission critical scenarios."
This title won the funding award despite breaking trademark: "Printed Electronics Processing for Structural Integrity (PEPSI)".
And CES would have been a much more interesting consumer electronics conference with items such as the "Highly Scalable Low Loss Fast Tuned True Time Delay Module Based on Dispersion Enhanced Photonic Crystal Fibers".
Science fiction? "Distributed Collaborative Planning and Control for Undersea Surveillance using Swarms of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles." Big Brother goes swimming!
And who would have thought the humble gecko could inspire the next generation of robots? "An essentially new research thrust on studying the climbing capability of the gecko has been of major interest. The ability to not only climb walls but also hang upside down from the ceiling has postulated many research questions. In addition to this, the gecko has the added advantage of having dry, self-cleaning, dynamically modulated adhesive feet. These advantages give unlimited life in sticking ability, unlike modern adhesive materials (i.e. tapes, glues, etc.). Recent studies indicate that this is actually achieved by small intermolecular forces known as van der Waals forces. This force, which occurs when unbalanced electrical charges around molecules attract each other, is individually miniscule, but the effect of several million collectively produces a powerful adhesion. An effective adhesive material would probably have to utilize a multi-level micro structure design that would engage the surface so the naturally occurring van der Waals forces could be maximized. The development of this new material would incorporate understanding at the nanoscopic scale of the fibers and/or microstructure of both the gecko feet and the proposed adhesion material. The major technical risks will be in the development, fabrication, and adhesive efficiency of this type of material."
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Today, on "Internet", part 2
(15:41:11) Dave: i think i typed a bush-ism accidentally
(15:41:24) Dave: writing up some sbir crap on the wiki, i tried to type "easily"
(15:41:29) Dave: and ended up typing "easible"
(15:41:38) Jon: HAH HAH HAH
(15:41:58) Jon: see? modern society makes ya dumbpid!
(15:42:01) Dave: it'd be a good name for a company :)
(15:42:07) Dave: Welcome to Easible
(15:42:32) Jon: that'd be a good name for a ranch out in nevada...
(15:42:29) Dave: oh, i saw an ad for some meds for bi-polar patients
(15:42:34) Dave: it had the worst drug name ever
(15:42:38) Dave: it was called "Abilify"
(15:42:47) Jon: oh yeah, that stuff
(15:42:59) Dave: it makes you able! so it abilifies you!
(15:43:00) Jon: pharmaceuticals have all kinds of stupid names like that now
(15:43:28) Jon: "Ask you doctor about Pubella!"
(15:43:32) Jon: "No, I don't think I will..."
(15:44:39) Dave: LOL
(15:41:24) Dave: writing up some sbir crap on the wiki, i tried to type "easily"
(15:41:29) Dave: and ended up typing "easible"
(15:41:38) Jon: HAH HAH HAH
(15:41:58) Jon: see? modern society makes ya dumbpid!
(15:42:01) Dave: it'd be a good name for a company :)
(15:42:07) Dave: Welcome to Easible
(15:42:32) Jon: that'd be a good name for a ranch out in nevada...
(15:42:29) Dave: oh, i saw an ad for some meds for bi-polar patients
(15:42:34) Dave: it had the worst drug name ever
(15:42:38) Dave: it was called "Abilify"
(15:42:47) Jon: oh yeah, that stuff
(15:42:59) Dave: it makes you able! so it abilifies you!
(15:43:00) Jon: pharmaceuticals have all kinds of stupid names like that now
(15:43:28) Jon: "Ask you doctor about Pubella!"
(15:43:32) Jon: "No, I don't think I will..."
(15:44:39) Dave: LOL
Today, on "Internet"
(13:04:32) Jon: internet thread of the day:
(13:04:59) Jon: I noticed a news headline about Philly celebrating Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday this month
(13:05:07) Jon: So I looked him up on wikipedia
(13:05:20) Jon: read through all this stuff about him that I either had forgotten or didn't know
(13:05:35) Jon: at the end there's a fiction category
(13:05:40) Jon: one of the lines:
(13:05:51) Jon: "Franklin surprisingly appears as a character in Tony Hawk's Underground 2, a skateboarding video game. Players encounter Franklin in his hometown of Boston and are able to play as him thereafter."
(13:05:54) Jon: o_O
(13:06:09) Dave: ROFL
(13:06:12) Dave: that's awesome :)
(13:06:25) Jon: didn't expect to read that line ever :)
(13:06:41) Dave: that rules
(13:06:55) Jon: it does sound pretty cool :)
(13:07:11) Dave: now i wanna play that game
(13:07:24) Dave: and, they should make a spinoff that lets you play as all sorts of historical characters
(13:07:31) Dave: sigmund freud shreddin' up the asphalt
(13:07:34) Dave: with his wicked moves
(13:07:43) Jon: don't forget socrates!
(13:07:49) Dave: hehe
(13:07:57) Dave: he's a sk8 poseur
(13:08:26) Jon: they should do a contemporary version too, where you can play Bill O'Reily, Jesse Jackson, Jerry Falwell, etc.
(13:08:36) Dave: hahaha
(13:08:39) Dave: jery falwell
(13:08:42) Dave: i'd buy that game
(13:08:46) Jon: hells yeah!
(13:04:59) Jon: I noticed a news headline about Philly celebrating Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday this month
(13:05:07) Jon: So I looked him up on wikipedia
(13:05:20) Jon: read through all this stuff about him that I either had forgotten or didn't know
(13:05:35) Jon: at the end there's a fiction category
(13:05:40) Jon: one of the lines:
(13:05:51) Jon: "Franklin surprisingly appears as a character in Tony Hawk's Underground 2, a skateboarding video game. Players encounter Franklin in his hometown of Boston and are able to play as him thereafter."
(13:05:54) Jon: o_O
(13:06:09) Dave: ROFL
(13:06:12) Dave: that's awesome :)
(13:06:25) Jon: didn't expect to read that line ever :)
(13:06:41) Dave: that rules
(13:06:55) Jon: it does sound pretty cool :)
(13:07:11) Dave: now i wanna play that game
(13:07:24) Dave: and, they should make a spinoff that lets you play as all sorts of historical characters
(13:07:31) Dave: sigmund freud shreddin' up the asphalt
(13:07:34) Dave: with his wicked moves
(13:07:43) Jon: don't forget socrates!
(13:07:49) Dave: hehe
(13:07:57) Dave: he's a sk8 poseur
(13:08:26) Jon: they should do a contemporary version too, where you can play Bill O'Reily, Jesse Jackson, Jerry Falwell, etc.
(13:08:36) Dave: hahaha
(13:08:39) Dave: jery falwell
(13:08:42) Dave: i'd buy that game
(13:08:46) Jon: hells yeah!
This says it all
The International Coal Group executives celebrating their initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2005; a precursor to today's news of the 12 West Virginia miners that perished.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
The Infotainment soundtrack
The creative brief in the first Gulf War had more to do with the
conflict of cultures and ideologies--it was the Islamic or Arabic
East versus the West, and so the conflict was set in those tones.
The second time it was more like they were trying to promote the
war the same way they would promote Terminator 3--it was like
"Battle of the Megaheroes." So the first time what I delivered
was vaguely militaristic and vaguely Arabic simultaneously. And
the second time it was just Techno-Ali vs. Frazier-IV,
we're-going-to-knock-the-crap-out-of-them music.
- Peter Fish, composer, on his work for CBS's Iraq war coverage.
Quoted in "Music at 6: Scoring the News, Then and Now" by
Carter Burwell in the Fall 2003 edition of Esopus Magazine.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Replacement for rotations of "It's a Wonderful Life"
Joanie brought us the destined-to-be-a-Christmas-classic Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (the non-MST3K version). We all managed to endure the entire movie, famous for being on many "worst movies" lists, via our own lesser brand of MST3K-style audience participation. Not much beyond the movie itself says it better than these caps:
"Think of the Martian children!"
The laziest men on Mars.
The intrepid Martian leader. With built-in plumbing.
Anyone got a pipe-wrench?
Beware the man-eating furries.
Mere children cannot escape the powerful robot.
Santa succumbs to the power of the Martian conquistadors.
What's your boggle, Geraldo?
So, it turns out this movie is in the public domain, should you be interested in such a fine cinematic feast.
"Think of the Martian children!"
The laziest men on Mars.
The intrepid Martian leader. With built-in plumbing.
Anyone got a pipe-wrench?
Beware the man-eating furries.
Mere children cannot escape the powerful robot.
Santa succumbs to the power of the Martian conquistadors.
What's your boggle, Geraldo?
So, it turns out this movie is in the public domain, should you be interested in such a fine cinematic feast.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Iris vs Technology
And your young shall be calmed by the loving warm glow of shiny new technology:
Thanks, Oma and Opa, for the cool new portable DVD player!
Thanks, Oma and Opa, for the cool new portable DVD player!
