I posted my pictures from BlackHat 2007. I was sick for most of the trip, so the pictures are mostly of my room in Caesar’s. I think you’ll understand why I didn’t mind being ill.
Las Vegas
August 18th, 2007Ownership (Gun)
July 28th, 2007I am the proud owner of a Springfield Armory XD-40 semi-auto pistol. Not the Sigarms P229 I’ve been thinking about, but an excellent weapon nonetheless. I fell for it at the Nation’s Gun Show this weekend at the Dulles Expo Center. Keith pointed it out as an innovative trigger system on an American weapon (assembled in Croatia) with a warranty comparable to Sig’s. So I bought it. My decision for forego the P229 was aided by the fact that the specific model of the Sig that I wanted is hard to find and expensive to maintain, and by the light, smooth trigger pull of the XD.
I’m off to practice field stripping my gun blindfolded.
WebCrash 2007
July 21st, 2007Onion News Network, I love you. Marry me?
via Lifehacker.com.
Wii Number (No Bowels)
July 18th, 20078560 2573 5464 8408
Leave yours in the comments on LJ or Supertiger so we can play together. When I eventually buy games.
Wii-dom! (Bowels flying everywhere)
July 18th, 2007I am William Wallace. I have a Wii at last. I poked my head in the same old store today just as they opened their latest shipment of acrylic glory.
Thanks to everyone who look for me!
That’s all the post I have time to make. Gotta play.
Find me a Wii
July 8th, 2007Lately I’ve been thinking about the Wii availability situation. It’s like diamonds and oxygen. Atmospheric oxygen isn’t concentrated enough to interact with the supply of carbon in a diamond. Put the diamond in liquid oxygen, though, and the crystal evaporates.
I need to look in a rarified consumer environment. More to the point, I need my friends around the country who already have their own Wiis to find one for me. Anyone out there want to find a Wii and send it to me? I’m certain we can find a way to get you paid back hastily.
Joost Invites
July 5th, 2007Dear friends,
I have invites to share for the Joost internet TV beta. Leave you email address in the comments if you’d like one.
It’s a neat thing. The video and sound quality are both on par with the abc.com and Fox/myspace streams. They’ll play a commercial a couple of times per half hour while you’re watching. I think if you leave the program running in your system tray it’ll pop up ads when you’re not watching TV, but no one says you have to leave the tray icon running.
Channel selection is broad, but there’s no network affiliation yet. Even so, there’s a good chunk of comedy central, adult swim, and national geographic (oh boy!). The developers say they’re in talks with the major networks, so we’ll see how that goes.
Joost linkage for more information. (For what it’s worth, I don’t think you really need an invite from me, but there is a social network aspect to this thing so who knows.)
Die Hard in Denver
June 30th, 2007Back from another week of training in Denver, CO. That’s all the traveling I’ll do for a while.
Saw Live Free or Die Hard out there. It’s a good action flick, although they overplayed the computer hacker exposition. A note for screenplay writers: skip the expository tech speak. If the point is to make people feel incapable of understanding the technology involved, just have the hacker say they are performing deep magic. If a hacker is plugging an iPod into his PDA in order to access a satelite communications network simply have him say, “I think I can mod this stuff to make a sat-phone.” Everyone will be impressed and you won’t have said, “Oh yeah, hackers have been playing around in satcom for years.” No, we haven’t; we all know this and now we’re insulted that the Apple Guy has been. 4 of 5 pips.
Watched a bunch of flicks from Netflix last week. Beginning with Bandidas, staring Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. A comedy about lady bank robbers, the best part of this movie is Cruz’s trained horse. (Also, no computers.) I was advised to watch it on account of the trained horse, so I was pleased. 3 of 5.
The Maltese Falcon, Bogart. Twisted, suspenseful, breathtaking. The pinacle of Film Noir. Just go watch it. 5 of 5.
Eraserhead by David Lynch. I haven’t decided what this film is about, yet. I’m leaning toward Lynch’s fear of having kids. I should explain. Henry knocked up his girlfriend. When the maybe baby is born they are forced to wed. The E.T. baby never stops crying, especially when Henry’s new wife leaves him and he knocks up the lady next door. All the while, aborted fetuses pile up in the corners of the room. Amazing sound engineering. The story, though… I have no clue. I did like it, though. 4 of 5 pips.
After being gone for a week, my cats smell the same but they think I smell funny. I have cold nose spots all over me.
Last week
June 10th, 2007I spent a week in Seattle getting trained in useful things. Spent my evenings exploring. Went up the Space Needle for the first time. Ate excellent foods. Didn’t get to play in the Pier 59 Aquarium because they close early on weekdays.
On the way home I got on the volunteer list for bumpage in the event of an over-booked flight. I did get bumped and thereby upgraded to “Economy Plus” – which is the seat at the front bulkhead or exit row – and a voucher for a round-trip flight anywhere in the contiguous 48. So I get to visit somebody soonish, yay. The best part was that my itenerary took me through Chicago O’Hare where no flight is ever on time and half are canceled. As a result of being bumped, I was moved to a connecting flight from O’Hare – one of three such flights that weren’t canceled. So I wasn’t stranded and thousands of people were. Hahaha. I only laugh because it wasn’t me this time. I’ve spent enough nights on an airport floor to feel mirth at their pain. Especially since I got home and got perks. So great.
Upon arriving home I learned that I would be evicted on Monday. This is the last month in my current lease. When I asked if this month’s rent was prorated until the 23rd, the Resident Services rep said yes and told me how much. I thought it seemed low, but she confirmed the number three times so I finally wrote it down and went to Seattle. Seems she was mistaken. I got it all cleared up yesterday, but I still have to get to the accounting office tomorrow before they bring the Sheriff around. Fun fun fun! I’m signed on for another year with these folks, but I think it’ll be the last. Time to look for landlords who will call me when there’s a problem.
Update complete.
The cats smell the same as they did last time I mentioned them. I wonder what they were rolling in to change their scents.
Spiderman 3
May 4th, 2007Was probably pretty good. I can’t really say because the kids in the row behind me wouldn’t shut up. Their shit talking would have been great at a Rocky Horror Friday, but not on the opening day of a summer movie. I berated them after the film, and they laughed at me. Let us all thank Shepherd Book for reminding us of the special Hell in which they will be interred for all eternity.