Origami
From cnet
Intel showed off two prototypes of Ultra Mobile PC devices at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Tuesday. The models are examples of full-featured, low-wattage minitablets that can run a variant of Windows XP, developed as part of Microsoft's Origami Project.
Now, who wants to sign up to test the bleeding edge of technology?
Creepy Dads
Creepy
It all began when Trump was asked how he'd react if Ivanka, a former teen model, posed for Playboy.
"If she posed, it would be fine. But it depends on what's inside the magazine," Trump answered.
"Although she does have a very nice figure," he said. "I've said if she wasn't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."
"If she posed, it would be fine. But it depends on what's inside the magazine," Trump answered.
"Although she does have a very nice figure," he said. "I've said if she wasn't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."
Super-mega creepy!
He gushes, "Jessica never tries to be sexy. She just is sexy. If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double D's! You can't cover those suckers up!"
That sound you heard is the regular, normal Dad's of the world (I am one) having to stifle themselves from proclaiming what ought to be very very apparent: children are not to be viewed or considered in such a way by a parent and the parents who do say such things (in PUBLIC!! dear God, in PUBLIC!!) about their children ought to be watched...very...very...carefully.
Every father likes to think his little girl (or girls in my case) are the most beautiful examples of the human race ever blessed upon us. I could watch my little girls smile and play all day through.
But the creepy sex-talk from these dads sound like they're viewing their daughters the way a strip-bar patron might cat-call a dancer from Gyno-row.
Shame.
It'll probably cost 69 gabillion dollars
When my Super-Villianing finally starts to generate some real hard currency flow (rather than the terrified shopkeeper IOU's that seem to make up the balance of my Villiany assets) I want one of theseOn the classic Monaco side, the black shade of the leather strap and dial is discreetly matched by the silvered folding clasp and steel case. The small seconds register at 6 o'clock is entirely in tune with the harmoniously understated overall effect. This subtle equilibrium contrasts with the other high-tech side of the case with its digital display dial and 1/1000th of a second chronograph function. The Monaco Sixty Nine embodies the bold characteristics of a new icon, a prestigious and highly singular object that will delight the distinguished devotees of the TAG Heuer Monaco.
That, and they invoked Steve McQueen. And the movie Le Mans
Now what they should do is have a James Bond-version for Casino Royale with some kind of remote spying device, or remote detonation controller, yeah! That's the ticket!
Battle Royale
There was a time where the term "foreign film" would send me screaming from the room...I'd always picture some long boring pretentious piece of existentialist crap that I would be forced to talk about over coffee afterward (God I'm glad that I'm not in the dating world anymore...Feigning interest in boring conversations for the hope of potential physical contact at the end of the night is so tiring...)
I think the Family Guy writers must've been tortured the same way by Foreign and Independant Cinema when they did the film "Lint" as a parody in one of their episodes - BTW I found a live action version here - ahhh, student cinema...
Well I've changed my tune in the last few years: There's no way in hell Battle Royale would ever be made here in North America...especially after Columbine. But I'd heard of this movie on several websites and decided to rent it. I wasn't disappointed.
Holy crap what a ride. And I love Chiaki Kuriyama
See that look in her eyes? She's about to neuter a guy who attempted to rape her because he made the mistake of scarring her face...Leg crossing time!
It was from this film that Quentin Tarantino decided to cast her as Go Go Yubari in Kill Bill Vol 1, where she played the only character that I thought was a good match for Uma Thurman's Bride (in the first movie - Darryl Hannah was totally convincing in Vol 2.)
I think that my attitude toward foreign films changed when I first saw Akira Kurosawa's Ran at the ripe ol' age of 22 - old enough to know something good when I saw it and young enough to be open to something new - coincidentally on IFC right now as I write this.
Think of a better King Lear than Shakespeare's King Lear and you'll get the idea.
I had more to say about the advantage of looking beyond Hollywood and even the English language for good quality films, but I have to go watch Ran again.
Great.
Another night of staying up 'til 2am watching samurai movies.
I'm going to have to go out and learn Japanese.
So what did kill her!?
In the rush to get stories out and the hyper-competitive news market, the biggest annoyance to me is incomplete stories.
You all remember the case last November of the Quebec teenager with the peanut allergy who dropped dead when her boyfriend kissed her after eating a peanut butter sandwitch? No. OK then go here and then come back.
You came back! Great!
So now today we get this story: Peanut kiss did not kill Quebec teen: coroner
OK, so we have a number of inaccuracies in the first story:
- no adrenaline shot, because
- she didn't have an allergic reaction to peanut butter
...so of course WHAT did kill her? You figure the story would tell us, no? Well it doesn't, and because of the inane boredom of my afternoon today, I'm left contemplating this question of absolutely no relevance to my life (tragic though the story is...) and I'm now insanely curious about what actually did kill her...
I'm starting to turn into another victim of the Grapefruit Mentality...
Viral Crap
If there's one thing I can't stand it's viral marketing campaigns
Just tell me what the damn product is, Microsoft, so if I can see if I hate you more after the botched mess that is Windows Mobile 5.
This is worse than Gabbo.
Origami, WTF-ing kind of name is Origami?
If you're really that damn curious go here
iPod sHmipod
Apple has sold its BILLIONTH song on iTunes.
I deal with the cult of Apple all the time at work...I can't turn around without someone in my department crowing about how great his laptop is and how wonderful OS X is yada yada yada.
I'm not saying that they're wrong about OS X - I personally don't know - I don't want to know (just like I really don't want to know what the Jehovah's Witnesses want when they bang on the door on Sunday morning - any religion that forces its adherents into black monkey suits on a Sunday to sell their religion door-to-freakin'-door already has a most definite lack of appeal for me!) Cult members who try to indoctinate me make me steer clear of what they're selling.
Where was I?
Oh yes, the cult of iPod.
Yes they look cool.
Yes they are the fashion accessory of the 21st century...
They're overpriced, overhyped crap.
Your battery dies - too bad. You're carrying a brick. It's not replaceable by the user.
Video? My iPaq (Hewlett Packard, thank you very much) did that in 2003. They're making a big deal now about video, on a 2.5 inch screen. *Whips it out* My Dell Axim has a 3.7 inch glorious VGA screen. Sometimes size does matter.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that the iPod is a bad device. As a music/video player it's quite a good quality design...but let's compare, shall we:
60 gig video iPod: $499
Dell Axim x51v: $499
Let's see, same price and what do I get if I don't go with Apple and pick the Dell?
- Email.
- Instant messaging.
- Wifi networking.
- Excel, Word, Powerpoint.
- Games games games.
- GPS. (optional upgrade)
- With right free software it plays everything- all music/video formats.
Same damn price. I'm not even going to mention all the techies out there writing free utilities to let it do just about anything...Oh, I guess I just did!
The only drawback to the Axim is storage...which for $100 more buys me 2 gigs, which I can use in any damn thing that uses flash memory: cameras, PCs, other Pocket PC's, you name it.
"But the iPod looks cooler," says the guy in the cubicle next to me...hopefully the stapler I launch over the cubicle wall doesn't get me fired...
UPDATE (2/24/2006 10:52PM):
What...the...hell...
Even the Japanese are falling for the glitz - iPod Takes Japan by Storm
Japanese consumers, much like their U.S. counterparts, are jazzed by iPod's sleek and hip design, easy-to-use functions, and first-class software -- something local rivals have yet to match. "Apple has focused on developing a seamless, end-to-end experience for the consumer when it comes to portable music," says Jon Erensen, a senior research analyst at Gartner Dataquest. "Other companies, including the Japanese consumer-electronics giants, have been focused on one or two pieces of the equation." Sony, for example, has received plaudits for design and sound quality, but criticism for its Connect software.
Slick marketing has helped, too. In January the Nikkei Marketing Journal named Apple's TV advertising campaign for iPod the best of 2005. Another big boost has been the August rollout of a Japanese version of Apple's iTunes Music Store. The company also opened the brick-and-mortar store in Shibuya -- Tokyo's vibrant youth center. A month later it introduced its best-selling, ultra-slim iPod nano to Japan.
Slick marketing has helped, too. In January the Nikkei Marketing Journal named Apple's TV advertising campaign for iPod the best of 2005. Another big boost has been the August rollout of a Japanese version of Apple's iTunes Music Store. The company also opened the brick-and-mortar store in Shibuya -- Tokyo's vibrant youth center. A month later it introduced its best-selling, ultra-slim iPod nano to Japan.
51.3% of the Japanese market.
I just don't know what's going on anymore.
Wherein the Value of SHUTTING UP is apparent to all
Swedish coach ponders going in the tank
TURIN — Controversy is swirling in Olympic and Swedish hockey circles after the head coach of the men's Olympic team suggested it may throw today's final preliminary-round game with Slovakia, in order to receive preferable seeding in the medal round.
Ah, the true Olympic ideal comes through in shiny bright colours.
The reaction in Sweden has been swift and harsh.
A Swedish Internet site that posted a story about Gustafsson's remarks received overwhelmingly negative reaction from readers who insist the team give a full effort.
A Swedish Internet site that posted a story about Gustafsson's remarks received overwhelmingly negative reaction from readers who insist the team give a full effort.
I'm not naive. I'm sure this kind of thing happens regularly in tournament play. Tactically, it might even make sense.
But there is inherent value in shutting the hell up, at least with respect to minimizing the dangers of being pelted with rancid tomatoes upon return home.
Red Ensign Standard #37
Red Ensign Standard #37 is up at West Coast Chaos.
Incompetent or Malevolent?
Those are usually the two choices when something goes completely and utterly WRONG.
When it comes to the favourite Federal Government Program whipping-boy ie. the Federal Gun Registry, Captain Ed seems to be suggesting the second choice:
The RCMP, as the national law-enforcement agency, can act independently to investigate corruption and malfeasance. However, it needs the time and resources to do that. A government that wanted to avoid having the RCMP looking into its actions -- say in Adscam or other hidden scandals -- could handicap the agency by burdening it with a populist but massive new program, selling it as a low-cost civic safety program, and then underfunding it so that it ate up all of the agency's resources. That would leave the agency with no time and no people for other efforts, including political investigations.
But I'm willing to give the former government the benefit of the doubt: I'll go for the "incompetent" choice any day. I can't believe that they would A: be able to even think of this plan and B: be able to implement it so effectively. Anyone who could do that wouldn't have botched the election so completely (I still can't get the picture of Paul Martin playing air guitar the night before the election out of my head!)
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