Tech
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Three things
- The US government converts the leader of a one million member Afghan tribe from an ally to an enemy in Afghanistan. Why aren’t we just buying the opium and then burning it or selling it for legitimate purposes (there are some)? It would be much cheaper than the current fight, and also make the Afghan farmers in the most hostile areas utterly dependent on the US. Where is Nixon when you need him?
- The Snake Eater – an army of Davids helps out in the Iraq war. From concept to completion in only 30, very cool.
- Japanese Snowplow Robot!
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Apocalyptic reading for the Tech Crowd
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth
That’s the fiction reading of the new year – for the disturbing nonfiction reading check out North Carolina Woman Charged With Malicious Castration After Attacking Man’s Genitals. It’s disturbing mostly in that there are other kinds of castration in North Carolina.
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Short 2006 best of list
- Best New Movie – The Departed
- Best Book – Truth Imagined by Eric Hoffer
- Best TV Show – The Shield
- Best Old Movie Seen For the First Time – Tie – The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) / The Testament of Dr Mabeuse (Fritz Lang) / The Big Sleep (Bogart/Bacall). Only The Big Sleep is in English, where as the other two are probably much better off being subtitled. All three are from the 30s and 40s.
- Best New Gadget – Garmin Street Pilot – I never get lost anymore
- Best New General Interest Site – DamnInteresting.com
- Best Concert – Prince – though to be honest I didn’t see that many in 2006
- Best New Band discovered – Freakwater – I have no idea how I managed to not know about them until this year, they’re perfect for me.
- Biggest physical accomplishment – Biking the entire Silver Comet Trail – 126 miles – in one day with no rest and very few stops for water and such. It did take forever
- Biggest professional accomplishment – staying in business for another year I suppose
- Biggest artistic accomplishment – successfully finishing two whole songs, and actually doing open mic nights
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Sunday rapid fire
- RFID Digital Door Lock – this looks very cool, a totally key less lock system.
- The RFID Superstore
- MyPhotoPipe.com – a very large format printing service, run by a blast from the past
- What would Genghis Khan do in Iraq – an interesting article The Mongols also immediately executed the caliph and his sons on charges that they spent too much money on their palaces and not enough defending their nation.
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The end nears
The end to my long upgrade struggle anyway. From three pin adapters that go onto four pin holes, to reformatting hard drives to bizzare RAM voltage, it’s been an informative two days. Now to go Christmas shopping. Humbug.
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RAM wickedness
I want the 16 hours of my life back. I’ve been chasing my tail on what I believe are memory problems. The photo is apropos of nothing, but I thought it turned out nicely. It’s from my little Canon.
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Ajax is a seductive swamp
Specifically the Ajax.net toolkit. It would seem that one can’t retrofit an existing site, though who knows why.
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Two cool tech things
- The tale of a family in Vermont that lives totally off the electrical grid, and how they do it.
- Radar Goliath
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We all knew cell phones could spy on you…
Now it seems to be confirmed
The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone’s microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.
And if the FBI can do it, talented hackers can do it too. One can be tracked (more or less) by a cell phone too.
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Friday rapid fire
- A quick review of video hosting services
- DIY public hotspot
- SQL Refactoring and formatting – a bit pricey, but it seems interesting
- Yet another electric car – due sometime next year
- Revealed: Why understanding economics is hard
- What economists agree on