Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category

« Older Entries

Disagreement: The path to real learning. (Life is tough, brother. Get a helmet.)

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Another comment from another blog that I wanted to keep where I could find it.

Many years ago I bought a new computer — a 386SX-16running MS-Dos5, with a user interface called GeoWorks that had client software for this upstart on-line service that thought some day it could challenge the big-boys (Compuserve and GEnie) called America On-line.  It had a free trial number of hours, and I looked around and around (it was a long-distance call to the only access number in my area, and things didn’t move fast on my 2400 baud modem), and, at the very end, I found a listing for Hatrack River Town Meeting, which rung bells from a book I had just bought by Orson Scott Card — there was a little blurb at the end of the book.  So I went there, and met Scott and a bunch of people.  After a while I was invited to come to a private area called Nauvoo, and there I met Robert Woolley.  He was one of the more insightful folks in that space, but it was pretty low-key and happy for the most part.   (more…)

Posted in Church, Forums, Internet, Learning, Opinion Pieces | No Comments »

Responding to WP comment spam

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

I’m starting to learn the way this is done, and have come to a new conclusion — any comment that doesn’t explicitly show thought about the post it’s responding to, or other comments responding to it, unless it’s made by someone I know that I know, will be marked as spam. “Nice post,” or the like from strangers aren’t going to see light of day, and will be reported to the appropriate databases. Comments are here to continue exploring the thoughts in the posts, or to be a connection between the participants in it.

So, if you’re not someone I already know, and you want to make a connection with what you find here, then say something with even a little bit of substance. Otherwise, I’m going to assume that this is from a spammer and, possibly, machine generated.

Posted in Admin, Internet, Warnings | No Comments »

njdagr and achesto

Friday, February 6th, 2009

Howdy,

So I got friended by these two accounts.  I looked and saw a bunch of familiar folks listed as friends, but the rest of the accounts looked dodgy — no userpics, no details about the individuals to make them sound like anybody I knew, and then I found the journals were identical.  And the posts were nonsensical.  And the second of the three had a “BTW, it would help me if you click this link” that goes to a data gathering website.

So I contacted the person who had friended one of them, and she didn’t know anything more than I do.  So I’m suggesting that these are fake accounts created to point to a likely phishing site. 

Your paranoid tip for the day.

Posted in Internet, Warnings | No Comments »

25 Random Things

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

I put this list together for Facebook, but thought I’d bring it here as well.  These are 25 random things about me.  Feel free to respond with 25 random things about yourself.

1.  I like the color blue.
2. I have shaken hands with Blaine Yorgason, Russell M. Nelson, Orson Scott Card, Slade Gorton, Vladimir Jan Kohanski, Tim Bachman, George “Pinky” Nelson, and Janis Ian.
3. I once blockaded my door and hid when a jealous husband had left his house with guns on his way to my house. (It was a misunderstanding. I never did or said anything inappropriate to/with his wife.)
4.  I have successfully predicted my last two recorded A1C levels. 
5.  I read the Book of Mormon in two days once (Alma one Thursday, everything else the following Thursday).
6.  I once slid down a snow drift in the Beartooths in Montana in August because I tried to walk across it in flip-flops. 
7.  My great-great grandfather was a founding member of the James-Younger Gang (as in Jesse James).  Google “Arthur C. McCoy”
8.  My grandfather sat in the Montana State Legislature, and was suggested as a candidate for governor.
9. His brother was the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota and was appointed to the United States Senate from Minnesota — the last Republican in that seat until the Reagan Revolution. His name was also Arthur.
10. I’m a Republican in the field of Human Services.  It can be lonely sometimes.
11. I once ran a kid on a bike of the road with my car on purpose as part of my job. 
12. I have never received a speeding ticket.
13. I was a candidate for the Washington State Legislature.  I dropped out before the election.
14. I had a pony tail and goatee for seven years. 
15. I learned how to type on a typewriter (IBM Selectric II).
16. I share a birthday with Marie Osmond, Paul Simon, Sammy Hagar, Chris Carter, Maria Cantwell (one of my U.S. Senators), Mario Bonilla (the younger), Kerry Bloxham, and my cousin’s daughter.
17. I have run a 5k, a 10k and a half-marathon.
18. I once received an email from Douglas Adams.  I also had a link-exchange in our blogs with Orson Scott Card.
19. I didn’t start playing Sudoku until the trip to be with my mother when she died.
20. I like Barry Manilow’s music.  Especially “Weekend in New England.”
21. I have seen the Cassini division from a personal telescope (that didn’t belong to me).
22. I’ve been hit by a car.
23. I have autographed pictures from Heather Locklear and Carmen Thomas.
24. I enjoy building computer systems, especially if I’m installing Linux on them.
25. My domestic abuse website has won several awards over the years, and has seen most of those award sites go down (excepting those built by Dr. John Grohol).

Posted in Memes | No Comments »

Significant Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels 1953-2002

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.
Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

I’ve also added commentary, at no extra charge.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
Liked it.  Read it twice.  Maybe again before I die.  Maybe not.
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
It was okay, but I got bored part-way through.
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
Started it a second time, and just couldn’t do it.  Most complex storyline I can remember.
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
Seriously over-rated. 
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Leguin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
Read to the end of the first section.  Felt betrayed.  Never went back.  Don’t plan to.  Clarke’s not my guy.
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
Dick’s not my guy either.
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury*
Love my Bradbury. 
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
One of my history teachers LOVES this one.  I thought it was okay.  Might be more offended if I was Catholic.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov*
Most of my favorite fiction work by Asimov is his robot series, including the Lije Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw series.
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
Didn’t hate it.  Won’t ever read it again.  Blish really isn’t my guy.
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
Not sure I finished it.  Don’t get the big deal about Ellison. 
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey*
Loved these at the time.  Don’t think I could do it again. 
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card*
Loved this, and the rest of the Enderverse stories. 
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
Dear, God, this was the reading equivalent of crawling over broken glass.  I tried, but I hated the character’s voice.  Never.
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling*
On my third (fourth) time through the earlier books in the series. 
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
Liked this much more the first time than later.  Have I mentioned I got an email from DA after his daughter’s birth?
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
Waited to stop hating the characters.  Didn’t.  Quit.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
Might have finished it.  Didn’t care about it. 
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*
One of his better works.  Possibly the best.
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
I like my Tolkein rip-offs a little less flagrant.
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

My honorable mention (use or ignore as you wish, all count as read and loved):
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Robert A. Heinlein (My first of his.  Teaches the value of a good education.)
Earth Abides, George R. Stewart (One of the best after-the-disaster novels ever.)
Maps in a Mirror, Orson Scott Card (OSC’s short fiction is amazing.  And, increasingly, rare.  I like almost everything he’s written.)
Alas, Babylon, Pat Frank (Another of the best after-the-nukes novels ever.)
The Illustrated Man, Ray Bradbury (Bradbury’s short fiction is amazing also, and the connective tissue of the Illustrated Man was the coolest.)
The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury (More Bradbury shorts.)
The Golden Apples of the Sun, Ray Bradbury (Still more Bradbury shorts.)
Tunnel in the Sky, Robert A. Heinlein (Beware the stobor!)
The Cold Equations, Tom Godwin (Hard, hard, hard, powerful story.)
The Puppet Masters, Robert A. Heinlein (early-adult Heinlein, before he got smutty — one of his strongest periods.)
Moscow 2042, Vladimir Voinovich  (not really science fiction, any more than 1984 was, but an excellent satire.)

I’m sure I’m forgetting something important.

Posted in Internet, Memes | 16 Comments »

Alert the Media!

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

You heard it here first:


Your Social Dysfunction:
Normal

Being average in terms of how social you are, as well as the amount of self-esteem you have, you’re pretty much normal.  Good on you.
       

       

       

       

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Please note that we aren’t, nor do we claim to be, psychologists.  This quiz is for fun and entertainment only.  Try not to freak out about your results.

Posted in Memes | 3 Comments »

TED Rocks

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

Technology.  Entertainment.  Design.

For those who didn’t already know.  I didn’t until two weeks ago (although I think I’d stumbled onto some of it a time or two prior to that).  TED is a series of conferences held every year where very interesting people gather to make 18 minute presentations about what they know.  I’ve watched a few of these presentations, and have found them interesting and thought provoking.

One of them is a presentation by Jonathan Haidt on the topic of the Moral Mind, someone I’ve linked to here before on this same topic.  It’s good stuff.  I particularly like his notion of stepping outside our paradigms (he uses the term “matrix,” invoking the movie of the same name) to try to understand the experiences of those of other tribes (he uses the word “teams”) and how those can better inform our own understanding of the truth. 

Since I’ve moved to Minefield, one of the extensions that doesn’t work is Sage, my RSS aggregator.  So I’ve been trying out the built in LiveBookmarks that Firefox has had for some time.  Thus far, I’m less than impressed — I have to add feeds multiple times to get them to work, and the default location for them seems to be the Bookmarks Toolbar Folder — not some place I want a bunch of feeds accumulating.  But it’s what works until the folks at SageToo (Sage, apparently, is orphaned) update the version numbers to allow me to install it into Minefield.

TED has a number of RSS feeds of their videos and the audio.  For now, I’m sticking with the video, which is unusual for me.  But these are visual presentations and there is value in the video that’s not there in the audio-only.  I’m annoyed thus far that it seems to be sending me five or six of these in the past hour or so I’ve been subscribed, and I might dump the feed if this continues.  We’ll see.

But I recommend this site and this talk.  With the rhetoric of inclusion and unity floating around of late, it needs to be understood that inclusion doesn’t mean that any side gives up what it believes to join the other side in their unchallenged sense of superiority.  Unity comes when all sides value and respect all opinions, even when they aren’t shared.  This is one of the fundamental challenges of the statements of the President-elect, and it can’t be faced too quickly.  It is very hard.

Posted in Cool Websites, Internet, Politics | No Comments »

Grammar

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

This is too cute.

Posted in Cool Websites, Funny, Language | 2 Comments »

Every so often an AC hits one over the fence.

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

This comment came in the middle of a /. discussion about a plan by record labels to distributed music in DRM-free 300ish kbps MP3 on microSD cards (not a bad plan, but not showing a significant advantage over the Amazon MP3 Download store I was talking about recently):

In the age of the internet, they have conceived of a method of using physical media to transport bits.  And they’ll still charge $15 for an album.

You know, watching these guys over the last decade has been like watching a retarded child learning to go poo in the toilet.  They’re six years old when they finally get it right, and then they look at you like they’ve just won the Olympics.

No disrespect to retarded children intended.

Posted in Geeking, Internet, Music | No Comments »

Supertramp for cheap.

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

I’m really enjoying the Amazon MP3 Download store.  Last night, I remembered what brought me there in the first place — the specials.  The first one was Depeche Mode — a 21 track album for $2.99.  Right now, they’ve got Supertramp’s Breakfast in America for $2.99, which I bought last night.  I even signed up for a marketing email that will tell me what the new free/cheap things are as they change (I got a free one off of Lindsay Buckingham’s new CD last night also — it sounds a lot like Lindsay Buckingham, but it was free).  I never ever like marketing emails — I get very nasty at the places that spontaneously decide to send them to me without me opting-in.

The only thing that bugs me about the place is the windows-only client.  But no DRM and they don’t (at last word) watermark the files — you just agree not to distribute them.  A music service that doesn’t treat you like a thief — and that doesn’t steal back the music you paid for when they go out of business.  And you know what you’re getting — higher bitrate than the usual bootleg mp3, the whole song, and the song you wanted. 

And I’m not getting paid for saying any of this — I haven’t touched my Amazon Store on my website in years, and I’ve never gotten a check from it anyhow.  Just in case you were wondering.

Posted in Internet, Music | No Comments »

« Older Entries