Monthly Archives: March 2004

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.

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 best.

(p.s. Life of Brian 0wnz j00)

Yeah, you know I’m in a weird mood when I deliberately misspell 4/5 words in the title. Either that, or I couldn’t be bothered to think of any other relatively relevent and/or amusing titles :)

Today The Broken was on the front page of slashdot. It always amuses me when I see things on slashdot that I discovered weeks ago. Like I told Chris the first time I watched these videos, they are strangely entertaining, but mostly uninformative to anyone who’s been playing with computers for a while. Of course- that’s to be expected.

Just like the “Dark Tips” on The Screensavers are suited to a more general wanna-be-techie crowd (d00D!1!11 i kan git m00sik 4 fr33!!11 i r teh 1337!!11!) this too is suited to the crowd of people who think they know more about computers than they really do (I know, because I’ve been there). The Broken is worse than “Dark Tips” though, because in addition to presenting decidedly non-secret information, it pretends to be underground. Which is a bit sad. Sad and amusing because I’m sure lots of people believe it.

Don’t get me wrong- I like The Broken . It entertains me. And The Screensavers is probably my favorite currently-being-produced TV show. Even though the knowledge Kevin presents may be common to anyone with sufficient sysadmin (or console modding) experience, I don’t know all of it (i r n00b). Anyway, I like Kevin. I have a feeling he really does know more than he lets on in these shows, but only says what can be said to the general public without causing too much damage. I mean, the script kiddies who eat this shit up are the exact people you don’t want knowing how to really crack into systems at large, right? Besides, Kevin’s cute for a geeky guy ;) (And yes, I know he’s taken. I also know he’s a TV personality and therefore the chances are against me ever seeing him in real life)

Long story short (too late). I think The Broken is fun, but it’s no 2600 (and that’s probably for the best, given the intended audience). And kevin rocks.

In other randomness (that poses as news on occassion), I recieved my copy of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Assault today (hence the “Rebell Asphault” in the title- see? It fit!). This. Game. Rocks. It’s hard, but it’s beautiful, fun, and exceptionally true to the movies. Sure, I’ve only gotten a few stages in (I did say it’s hard), but its already made me anxious for the original (albeit tainted [Han shot first!]) trilogy to come out on DVD. I’m also eager for Chris to get home, so I can test out the multiplayer shizzy. Oh, yeeeeaaaaah. :D

And today’s gross lunchtime quiz: Can you tell the difference between Puke and Soup?

My results:

Yeah, that was pretty gross. Yet another reason why I’m not a big soup fan (especially soups like clam chowder and tomato- I can’t even look at them without losing my appetite). The only soups I like are ones with the contents clearly visible and identifiable- like Miso or Chicken Noodle. And I’d still rather have a sandwich (or a Tuna Roll) :)