posts from 2004.03

A couple of people at work and I, as well as Chris, are gonna try to revive the currently defunct Cornell Student Linux User Group. Of course, we will have to contact the people on the still active cslug list about this (which I can’t subscribe to ‘cuz Chris doesn’t know the subscription address, even though he is subscribed *eyeroll*).

If Chris and I have half the luck we did with RUSLUG, this will be a complete and utter success. Of course, we did have Luis’ help the first time, and it still wouldn’t be the same ‘cuz all the slug people are irreplaceable (you guys know who you are). You guys rock :)

Even so, this would still be incredibly cool. I’m really hoping there’s interest (and hopefully from some mature people, as well) and it all works out.

This has been a public service announcement from the committee for penguin rights (me). That is all.

Today during my lunch break I took a walk down to Collegetown and got my hair cut short, which I’ve been thinking about doing for a while. It’s back to the length I had it during my freshman and sophomore years of college. Here’s a picture of me then (1998), for reference of how short it is now (it was relatively long before, about to the bottom of my shoulders).

So yeah, I didn’t get much lunch, but that’s probably for the best. I just hope I don’t start getting hit on by girls more often now….. (it happened on occassion in Rutgers while I had short hair, but has only happened once recently [with long hair]- in a dining-hall-type-thing here on Cornell)

From GeekPress: Stool Transplants. They start from the mouth, no less.

What makes this even stranger is that the Doctor’s name is Aas.

If it weren’t in the Washington Post, I wouldn’t believe it. I’m not sure that I believe it now.

I don’t know why it’s called a ‘morality’ quiz, as it isn’t so much, but it is entertaining.

Check out my Morality! 67% liberal, 33% conservative
Here’s a direct link in case you want to take the quiz yourself.

Stolen from randomthinks – I got the same overall score as Keith :)

I think I really want a moblog. Just last week there were about 3 occasions that I wished I had a camera on me (like when I was walking to lunch and 4 deer crossed the street about 20 feet in front of me- and the last one stopped and stared me down for a few moments). Of course, this means I need to get a camera phone.

That’s really not as big a deal as it may sound, actually, since I’ve been meaning to dump Sprint and get a cellphone that actually works in my apartment since I moved to Ithaca. Of course, when I talked to the people in the ratshack about number portability, they said they couldn’t do it – since the phone has a New Brunswick area code I would have to go to New Brunswick to switch the number apparently- bah. A search onine seemed to confirm this, at least with Verizon, and I imagine it is the same with other providers as well. So it should go without sayng that after I do this, my phone number will change (which is one of the things that has prevented me from doing it sooner).

Anyway, yeah. So I’m in the market for a new cellphone provider.

Here are the requirements:

• Good coverage in the 14850 area code
• Plans comparable (±$10-$15) to what I pay now: $34.99/month=>(300 anytime minutes && unlimited off-peak minutes && unlimited wireless web)
• Camera phone support (I don’t even know if any of the providers don’t have this)
• Allow me to roam between NY and NJ (as well as other places in the country, should the need arise) without adding additional costs

Here are things that are not necessary, but I would like given a choice:

• GSM (so one day I could switch to something like this)
• Unlmited text message support
• Real web browsing, not the crap Sprint passes off as web browsing

Here are providers I have looked at and/or know about:

• Sprint – my current provider. Obviously has insufficient coverage, so they’re right out.
• Cingular – the coverage looks great, and they have GSM, but additive costs make this more expensive: ~$50 for pretty basic options w/multimedia message (picture sending) support (but possibly no wireless web).
• Verizon – expensive, and no GSM. Also, when I tried to get one of their phones back in 2000 they wanted a huge deposit from me (granted, I’m more financially sound now). I’m not rich, so I think they’re out, too.
• T-Mobile – They have GSM, but their coverage looks spotty. A friend said he got good reception in my apartment though (but also that reception seems to be binary- either strong or nonexistant). The prices look good until I add everything up and it comes to ~$52. Which still isn’t that bad, I suppose.

Are there any other providers anyone can think of worth considering? Any good/bad testimonials to any of these (or other) providers? So far, it looks like Cingular and T-Mobile are my top-runners, with similar prices and features, but I’d love to hear from people who actually use them, as well as any cellphone-using Ithaca dwellers (everyone I talk to seems to use Verizon). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here’s this weeks:

1. Pitbull::dog
2. TD::cancer
3. Carter::Jimmy
4. Japan::Iraq
5. 50::60
6. Streak::nude
7. Rifle::gun
8. Trap::caught
9. Easter::egg
10. Mitt::-en

By far the most shocking this week is Japan::Iraq. I think it has something to do with McCarthyism, but it’s stil shcoking ‘cuz I’m a big anime fan and you’d think that would come up first, heh.

Two of my favorite channels, Tech TV and G4 are quite possibly merging. This is quite likely a good thing, as each channel only really has 2 or 3 good shows which they repeat for weeks at a time- maybe this way you can turn on this channel twice in a 2 day period and actually get to see something new :)

Of course, that all depends on how it’s handled, and how much existing Tech TV shows are dropped and/or changed (IMHO, for instance- The Screensavers should stay in San Francisco, and X-Play is far superior to the G4 equivalents).

I know the station isn’t going to end up being more technical than either of the two currently are (the masses just aren’t tech savvy enough for that), but as long as it doesn’t become less technical, it should still continue to be at least as entertaining as its two parts. Also, I’m really hoping they go with the name “GTV” (GeekTV) :)

Well, here’s hoping for the be