Chaos Magnet

At the click, the time will be ...

I have a goodly number of clocks in my house, so you'd think I always know what time it is. Not so. I have several clocks, but they all have different times on them. What's more, my wife and I can't seem to agree on which clock is actually correct. Now I've found the official U.S. time, a government web site that's actually kind of cool. Not only does it give you the "official time", but you can see where it's daylight, so you can avoid calling people in other places in the middle of the night.

What's neat about it to me is that it's a way to coordinate meetings and such with people who may be geographically dispersed.

Oh, and it turns out my wife is right. As always.

Technorati tags: time | clocks

Name this punchline

OK, I'm trying to place the joke that goes with this punchline:

"Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!"

(or, alternately, "Wrecked 'em? Damn near killed 'em!")

The closest I got was a reply to a blog posting that mentions the joke, saying "that's not a joke, it's a punchline that needs no joke."

ARG!

Your remote control and your computer

Here's something fun, or at least interesting. The USB-UIRT is an infrared reciever and transmitter that hooks up to your computer. So you can not only program your computer to do various things when you press a button on your remote control, you can also control your tv, TiVo, stereo, and so on from your computer. Nice.

Technorati tags: remote control | hardware

A Java book that might be fun

As you may know if you read this blog, I've got my fingers in more pies than ... well, than I've got fingers. So it's nice when I can have fun and learn something useful. Java™ After Hours: 10 Projects You'll Never Do at Work looks like one of those opportunities. Anybody read it? Recommendations? The reviews, at least, are very good... Ah, for more spare time! (OK, I'll settle for any spare time...)

Technorati tags: Java

0-672-32747-3

What people are searching for

Ever wonder what people actually look for other search engines? Well, reportedly 20 to 25% of searches are for shall we say, "adult" topics. As for the rest, Search Engine Watch has a page with links to see what the top searches on various engines. I particularly like the warning at dogpile.

Technorati tags: search | search engine | search engines | keywords

Senate blocks courts from ruling on Guantanamo Bay

The Senate has passed an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that removes the ability of the courts to rule on whether or not an individual is being held illegally at Guantánamo Bay.

The relevant text:

(d) Judicial review of detention of enemy combatants --

(1) in general -- section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
" (e) No court, Justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for writ of habeas corpus call by or on behalf of an alien outside of the United States (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(38) of The Immigration and Naturalization Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)) who was detained by the Department of Defense at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

I can't even begin to tell you how bad I think this is. And before you think "I don't have to worry about that, I'm an American citizen," I direct you to the fact that the administration tried to pass legislation allowing the Justice Department to strip citizenship from ANYONE thought to be a member of a group the Attorney General deemed as a terrorist organization. Let me further remind you that that could apply to groups as diverse as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Technorati tags: freedom | habeas corpus | justice | politics | Senate | Guantánamo | Guantanamo | Guantánamo Bay | Guantánamo Bay

Panexa, the wonder drug

The person who sent this to me said it was "too good to keep," and he's right. Make sure you read this to the end.

Technorati tags: panexa | humor | pharmaceuticals | humour | parody | drug | squirrels

Stop the MPAA and RIAA's Horror Triple Bill!

Just recevied this action alert from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

On Thursday, November 3rd, the heads of the MPAA and RIAA present to the House Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property their plans for the future of digital technology.

For high-definition television (HDTV), the MPAA demands every receiver must have, and obey, the broadcast flag. For new radio technologies, you'll be restricted to recording radio shows for a minimum of 30 minutes, for a maximum of 50 hours. And all analog to digital video conversions will be forced to watch for, and obey, a concealed copy restriction mark.

If any one of these provisions pass, it would be a disaster for you and for innovation.

There'll be no room for open source software here. All of these devices must be "robust" -- welded shut to prevent alteration by their owners.

There'll be no room for innovation without the say-so of Hollywood. And there'll be no fair use copying without breaking the law.

Please, please, please, if you live in the US, go to the EFF's site and contact your Congressperson to oppose these bills, and spread the word.

Technorati tags: congress | open source | HDTV | protest | freedom | fair use | copyright

Microsoft plans Web version of Windows, Office

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but apparently Microsoft is planning a sort of online version of Windows and Office, partially to compete with Google. Here's the full story. I gotta chew on this for a while.

Do-it-yourself Lava Lamps

I love Lava Lamps. (Please forgive me, oh Lava Lamp gods, for I know you are a trademark, but do not know the proper way to cite you. [UPDATE: The proper citation is "LAVA LITE lamp", but that's just too awkward to say, I'm sorry.]) I am also incurably meddlesome. Translation: I love to shake it up and watch the little tiny bubbles of wax re-coalesce. Unfortunately, when you do that to Lava Lamp and [or to a LAVA LITE lamp, for that matter] , you get more than just little bubbles of wax. You get very, very cloudy solution. Especially if, like me, you have a tiny little fake lava lamp-type thing, which is constantly toppling to the floor. So in my search to find out how to clear the water, I found the Oozing Goo Lava Line and its thread on fixing a cloudy LAVA LITE lamp. The cool part, however, is about halfway down the page, where someone explains how to replace the water in one of these things. Very cool, especially since it means you can make your own colors with a little food coloring.

Technorati tags: lava lamp | chemistry

Twenty five writing secrets

I don't write for magazines, but it's not because I don't want to. It'sy mostly because I'm too occupied writing for online publications and doing other corporate writing. But every once in awhile, I think about it, so I found Robert McGarvey's Twenty-Five Writing Secrets very interesting. Perhaps the biggest secret he lets out of the bag is the one hardest for people to accept: this is a job. If you want to make a living, treat it that way.