Month: October 2009

  • Pedobear for Polanski

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    This is so wrong…. and hilarious! Props to whoever made it.
    For those that don’t know either of these bad boys: Pedobear, Polanski

  • Sunny Day

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    The view from our front porch.

  • Ping Test

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    Give it a try here: http://www.pingtest.net
    This is especially useful for people in Thailand trying to stream data or play multi-player games on servers overseas. Try testing your latency to Bangkok, then to a foreign destination. The traffic bottlenecks at the undersea data cables after being squeezed through government filters and ISP proxies, which explains the pitiful latency. It’s not quite as bad as DSL being beat by carrier pigeon, but it does explain why Skype and internet radio reception can be so crappy a lot of the time.

  • Dark Stalking

    This is really interesting: Dark Stalking on Facebook

    “But by far the most interesting part of all of this have been dark users. Like dark matter, these users are not directly observable, usually because they’ve completely disabled API access. In fact, some of these users are completely dark unless you’re a friend. They don’t show up in search results. They don’t show up on friends’ lists. You can’t send them messages. If you try to navigate to their user page (assuming you know it exists), you get redirected back to your homepage. These users have their privacy settings turned up real high, and are supposed to be hard to find.
    However like dark matter, dark users are observable due to their effects on the rest of the universe. If a dark user comments on a stream entry, I can see that comment. More importantly, I can see their user-ID, and I can generate a URL to a page that will contain their name. I can then watch for their activities elsewhere. Granted, I can’t directly search for their activity, but I can observe their effects on my friends.”

    So, even if you think you’re cloaked safely in the thermocline like a lurking nuclear sub (by using “safe” Facebook practices), the very act of trying to be invisible can give you away. You cannot be detected directly, but you invariably leave clues just by being there. I keep wondering what form the Great Facebook Meltdown will take, but it’s definitely building up to that definitive moment.

  • Banana Flower Photo

    When a cluster of bananas appears on a tree, you wait a while and lop off the flower (which grows upside-down from the bottom of the cluster’s stalk). This is from the biggest tree in our backyard, of which there are always 5 to 10 in various stages of growth (I cut them down after we harvest the bananas, and new ones sprout up next to the stumps).
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    A banana flower is a beautiful thing. It looks like something out of a Giger sketch.

  • Kokia Live


    This is an awesome song in a Gandalf/Runemaster/Operatic Celt kinda way. This is Kokia.

  • Spontaneous glass breakage

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    Well, I’d heard of it before (wpedia link), but never seen it. Didn’t see it happen this time, either, but Nam said this glass pot lid (which was thankfully placed inverted on the pot for storage under the sink – this kept glass from flying around) suddenly exploded when I was in the shower half an hour ago.
    The most common theories are installation damage (N/A here), thermal expansion or manufacturing impurities. However, another theory states that it might be caused by an “ultrasonic sound wave at a harmonic of the glass’ resonant frequency.”
    Oh.
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  • Beware of “pleas for help” scam on Facebook

    Robbed by Facebook’s enemy in the camp
    The more info you give to Facebook, the easier it is for malicious people and apps to exploit you. For your own sake, stop providing info that can be used against you! Facebook has no stake in protecting you because they are not liable, and using that very info makes them money.