Monthly Archive for July, 2005

avoiding work

Published at 5:14 pm on July 31, 2005 in Misc. 0 Comments

So I should really be working. Yes, i know it is Sunday, but web contract work can be done anytime, and I have time now…

The distraction of the hour is www.slashdot.org, and I have certainly found some interesting reading:

  • Virigin have launched a space flight company, and for $200,000 you can go to space in 2008. Space.com has an article.
  • A hacker has found some interesting vulnerabilities on hotel TV system. With a laptop with infrared (most have it) you can view other people’s bills, watch them check their email over their TV, or even write their email for them! Not to mention watch the premium content movies for free

Not bad reading actually… I wish I had $200k to go to space… Well, maybe i can find the $20,000 deposit now and then save up the other $180k by 2008?

What it means to be british

Published at 6:39 pm on July 28, 2005 in Humor. 0 Comments
The Telegraph asked its readers their thoughts
on what it meant to be British.

This was a nice reply………

Being British is about driving in a German car
to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian
curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch
American shows on a Japanese TV.

And the most British thing of all?

Suspicion of anything foreign 

More than 100%

Published at 4:39 pm on July 22, 2005 in Humor. 0 Comments

This equation should be taught in all math classes!

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this:

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to
give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z
is represented as:
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass kissing that will put you over the top.

Harry Potter

Published at 10:59 pm on July 21, 2005 in Misc. 0 Comments

Two and a half weeks ago, I gave in and started reading Harry Potter.

I have just finished the 6th book (the half blood prince), and really wish the final on was out.

I won’t talk about the book because I do not want to spoil it for those who have not yet finished it, but it is really good. It does however make the final book seem like it must be really different from the others, you will see what I mean when you finish it.

If you haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, I suggest you do as they are really good. Ok, the first two are somewhat short and could probably be skipped. They are short enough though that you might as well read them, as the background from them will make the rest of the books more enjoyable.

As for the rest of the books. Each one is better than the one before it. Read them!

What to do…

Published at 10:38 pm on July 21, 2005 in Misc. 0 Comments

Dark had this on his blog, and I almost wasn’t going to fill it in… but I gave in

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby’s diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (does a D&D RPG count?)
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. ***
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently – Depends if my Italian was really fluent… probably not
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read – and understood – your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ….more than once? – More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a seizure
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone’s heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. …and gotten 86’ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

Creative Commons

Published at 6:11 pm on July 20, 2005 in Misc. 0 Comments

I came across a rather slating article on Creative Commons: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1838249,00.asp

This article imples that creative commons is a useless and stupid idea. Most notibly, the author think that the public domain part of creative commons is useless. Well, the public domain part of creative commons is indeed the ususal public domain licence, but it specifically states that it is in the public domain. While the author questions whether people really do not know what public domain means, I can only see that most people have no idea. Sure, some law savvy people will know, but I feel that most people have no idea what it means they can do with material that is in the public domain. The creative commons licence states what rights they have, so that everyone may know!

As for his remarks that creative commons licencing reduces the authors rights on the work… Well, yes! That is the point!

If one does not state any licence with published work, then by default other people have no rights other than those of fair use (e.g. quoting small pieces of the work).

Let me give you an example.
If I write a short story, and put it on the web. You have no right to email it, nor print it from my website.

If however I release it under a creative commons licence, I may allow you to print it, or email it to anyone you desire. Surely this is a good thing for any work that you do not want to hoard to yourself until 75 years after you are dead.

Why limit it to non-commercial use? I have to say that they author shows little intelligence by asking this question. Why should I produce some work, and then give it to other people to sell and make money from?

If a commercial company wants to reproduce something under a creative commons licence, all they have to do is ask the author, and they can give them permission to publish it, whether in return for a fee, a percentage of profits, or even for free!

The creative commons licence is not useless. It opens up work to those that wish to use it. Yes, by default it restricts it to non-commerical, but if you are sure that you do not want to make any money on it, then you can always release it to the public domain!

In the comments of the article, which i did not respond as I have no wish to be spammed by the site when I register, someone asks if they buy a painting from a friend, whether they have the rights to make copies of it and sell them. Well, NO. Unless the artist specifically agrees to it then they have no right to reproduce the work, even though they own the original. Of course, the artwork could always be released under a creative commons licence, and then you may make copies to send to friends or put on your website, but you do not have the right to copy it otherwise. You did not buy the right to do so, only the right to display the original. (the issue of charging people to view the work i do not know the answer to)

The above example is the same for photographs. You are not allowed to make copies of your wedding photographs even though you may have paid a photographer to take them, unless the photographer states that you can!