Category: Web

This is a public warning. I thought a long time before posting this, and it needs to be said.
NewsOnJapan.com is a useful site that aggregates, well, news about Japan. I visit it almost every day.
It has a sister site, NewsOnKorea.com
There is an option on that site to subscribe for e-mail updates. About a month ago, I accidentally found the UNPROTECTED DIRECTORY where they store complete, unobfuscated e-mail addresses of (what I assume to be) their subscribers.
I subsequently notified an apparent admin of that site in case they wanted to take action to protect their subscribers’ e-mail addresses.
I received no reply. The directory remains open and unprotected. For obvious reasons, I will not link to it here, but e-mail me if you want to check for your address there – it is a spammer’s wet dream.
I have no idea if unsubscribing will remove your address from the directory or not – that is between you and the site operators. I just wanted to bring this issue to light.

Nothing too serious to start off with, of course.

Revenge of the Tattooed Nerds
You know what? This article is from 2004. I wonder how many of those nerds regret having tattooed PWNED around their assholes now.

The top 10 weirdest USB drives ever
My prediction for 2006: The Universal Serial Otaku collective at Solid Alliance will continue to lead the industry for the first half of the year, but will be eclipsed by commercialization of actual flash drive implants into user’s thumbs which will be developed at a hitherto-unknown Korean university (in defiance of the international outcry from anti-gargoyle groups, of course).

Look what just popped up on screen:

Once again, please note that YAHOO’S BUYOUT OF DEL.ICIO.US HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RECENT MINOR GLITCHES/OUTAGES IN SERVICE. Last time it was a server upgrade. The time before that it was a power failure. This time, it’s that GODDAMN JOLLY SAINT NICK FELLER.

The Federal Trade Commission has somehow convinced itself that their pitiful attempt at stopping spammers via anti-spam legislation is working.
Uh… Do any of those idiots actually use e-mail on a regular basis?

Just wanted to point out an outstanding site dedicated to the blues: Junior’s Juke Joint
The design is simple, and I suspect that’s the way Junior likes it. Don’t let the looks deceive you – it’s filled with great stories and links. If you dig hard enough you’ll happen upon some real gems, like the ones below:
Eric Clapton: Me & Mr Johnson
Nellie Jackson’s Whorehouse
ANOMIE AND HOMELESSNESS: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF RURAL NOMADS
That third link is pretty much a must-read.
Blues fans might be surprised to hear that I’ve met way more Robert Johnson fans in Japan than I ever did in the states.

Finally: Sweet, sweet justice.
After my little sister got stalked home by some sicko in Sakai last year, I have absolutely zero sympathy for these fuckers. I’m also happy there were a couple of off-duty cops involved, as it may prevent the civilians who took the guy down from getting in trouble.

Fairly entertaining drifting video: LINK

Go listen to Christopher Walken reciting The Raven
And look at the domain name it’s hosted on! I betcha I know the author of this page.

Yo, it’s Narnia rap time, ya’ll:
SNL – The Chronic of Narnia Rap

This story helps illustrate the importance of accurate documentation and redundant checking, which I have a hard time explaining to people sometimes.
The link above reminds me of a story I heard about a DC-10 accident when I was a a kid. The right engine caught on fire, so the pilot hit the kill switch, but the left and right engine switches were cross-wired…