WARNING: Geek quotient high, proceed with caution

http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/05/brio-aqueduct.html

I had a virus problem last night. I found the following things super useful, you might be interested:

WinSock XP Fix - After removing the virus, my networking was completely screwed and I couldn't find a way to fix it. This little utility managed to reset everything and it works fine now. A lifesaver. Download it and put it somewhere safe.

Windows Process Explorer - This is a much better version of Task Manager, with the kind of features that make you think you're using Unix. Best yet, it has an option to automatically replace Task Manager! Install it, it's awesome. (Sysinternals has a bunch of awesome utilities that you probably don't need.)

Jotti's malware scan - This is an online virus scanner; you upload an individual file and it checks it against like 20 different virus scanners. If you know a file that is definitely infected, this is a good way to find out which virus scanner(s) are able to detect it.

Please enjoy jwz mixtape 031.

In anticipation of the impending return of The Venture Bros, this one opens with some Steroid Maximus. And then, it kinda goes where it went. If you're like me (which I recommend) you're imagining Christopher Walken tapdancing through the whole of side A.

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2008-05-18&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/8BlockWalk/~3/292688032/hot-out.html

The news didn't lie, it was 90 today. we played in the fountain at Fisher Plaza, what did you do to get out of the heat?

• 16:15 Playing taxi driver (no, iPhone: not taco) to three house guests without {motor,bi}cycles. I hate cars and parking. #
• 17:17 I love this city: sitting in dolores park, I just signed a petition to rename our sewage treatment plant after George W Bush. #

(posted using LoudTwitter)

http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=4876

We don’t like stereo speaker enthusiasts any more than you do. They’re antisocial noise polluters, most of them. You’ve got your mobile variety, driving around otherwise pleasant city neighborhoods disturbing the peace with their favorite tunes (always terrible). You’ve got your audio snob, a smug weenie who seems to have no real interest in music at all, and picks his favorite recordings solely by how well they show off his hi-fi’s dynamic range. You’ve got that guy in the old Memorex ads—really, a leather tie? Sunglasses indoors? Would it kill you to sit up straight? And you’ve got the guy in the apartment next to ours, who keeps bartender’s hours and seems a bigger John Cougar fan than even John Cougar could possibly be at this point.

Cretins, every last one of them!

So it is with some reluctance that we admit… we’ve joined their ranks. We didn’t mean to. All we intended to do was plug in some inventory and make sure it worked. But it was a life-changing experience, brothers and sisters. We never thought we’d be saying this, but thanks to the Klipsch RF-35 Floorstanding Loudspeaker—we’re speaker people.

We never stood a chance, really. We set up a pair in our sample room and test-spun Montrose’s “Rock Candy”—and from the very first beats, we were captivated, like sailors of old bewitched by a siren’s song. Man, you should hear these things! Alone or paired with a matching center channel speaker (available on sellout.woot even as you read this)!

Now, some Desmond Downer out there is probably going to point out that these speakers are big, and take up a lot of space. You know, like that’s a drawback. Well, they are pretty big. But drawback? No, sir. Bigness is what makes them sounds so good—and they sound so good, you might consider moving into a larger apartment to enjoy them. Bigness is how their nice, wide cabinets accommodate larger woofers. Bigness is what facilitates the woofers’ optimal placement in relation to the horn tweeter. Hey, “horn tweeter,” that was our nickname in the Marines.

People, the sound is so full and rich, it’s gonna flood your den like mouth juices when you bite down on a cherry tomato. But not so gross. The bass is so full, you won’t need a subwoofer. And the sound is so real—well, put it like this: After we finished listening to “Rock Candy” in the sample room, three of our staffers discovered they were pregnant. One of them male. Doctors are baffled.

The way we see it, there’s really only one big disadvantage to these speakers. Once you’ve heard ‘em… you’ll be “speaker people” too. Sorry. We accept you, we accept you. One of us, gabba hey and all that.

Warranty: 5 Year Klipsch

Features:

• 125 watt max continuous, 500 watt peak
• 6” square 90°x60° high frequency tractrix horn
• K-137 1” (2.54cm) Titanium dome compression tweeter driver
• Two K-1122-OB 8” (20.32cm) cerametallic woofer cone in a cast polymer frame. Cerametallic is a combination of materials that produce a very stiff, and highly controlled cone movement
• 2 sets of binding post speaker terminals (connected via brass strap jumpers). Can be used for bi-wire speaker cable, or typical speaker wire

Specifications:

• Frequency Response: 37Hz-20kHz ±3dB
• Power Handling: 125 w max continuous (500 w peak)
• Sensitivity: 98dB @ 2.83 volts/1 meter
• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms compatible
• Crossover Frequency: 2600Hz
• Tweeter: K-137 1” (2.54cm) Titanium dome compression driver
• High Frequency Horn: 6” square 90°x60° Tractrix® Horn
• Woofer: Two K-1122-OB 8” (20.32cm) Cerametallic® cone / cast polymer frame
• Enclosure Material: MDF
• Enclosure Type: Bass reflex via rear-firing port
• Input Connections: 2 sets of binding post speaker terminals (connected via brass strap jumpers)
• Dimensions: 40.9” (103.9cm) x 9.25” (23.5cm) x 14.8” (37.6cm)
• Weight: 54 lbs. (24.5kg)

In the box:

• 2 Klipsch RF-35 Floorstanding Loudspeaker
• 4 Feet (X2)
• 4 Carpet Spikes (X2)
• Users Guide

http://shirt.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=4877

3rd pace in Derby #42: Join the Revolution!, with 684 votes!

You were gonna bring them down from inside, remember? You were going to be the Mister X of office supplies, the Chris Burden of advertising, the Wild Man Fischer of corporate accounts. You were gonna set an example so powerful that they couldn’t help be gravitate to you, and a decade from now the whole stinkin’ world would be different. Only somewhere along the way, that tie started looking pretty nice. And that city, well, now it feels like home. You don’t want to smash up your home, do you? You just want to make it better. So maybe that’s the way to go. Little changes, baby steps. The occasional unauthorized sick day and a few bucks on some spray paint. People like a familiar image to make them feel like they’ve got choices. Really, though, The Man isn’t such a bad guy when you get to know him, right?

This shirt was designed by: derekfilley, whose persistence has won him a copy of Sid Meier’s Civilization® Revolution™ and a poster signed by the development team. He’s submitted variations of this design to four different Derbies and it looks like the fourth time is the charm. Good thing, too, because we don’t know how he’d have handled Derby #44 (Chocolate Cake). Way to never give up, Derek!

Wear this shirt: when you want to rebel, but fashionably. You might be on television, after all. Who wants to follow an ugly revolutionary?

Don’t wear this shirt: when you’re out jogging at night. Night joggers should wear bright and reflective clothing so that they can be easily seen.

This shirt tells the world: “I’m against something!”

We call this color: There Once Was A Man Named John Galt/Who Felt Poverty Was Not His Fault/Made By Some Russian Bird/Those Who Follow His Words/Generally Turn Out To Be Real Asphalts

Placement: Centered

Printed Size:
3X – M: 15” x 16.46”
S – WS: 11.25” x 12.34”

Pantone Color(s): – Black C – 428 C – 7544 C – 7546 C – 153 C

Please check American Apparel's sizing chart for men or for women before you order. The Woot Tee, constructed by American Apparel, follows their classic closer-fitting style. If you prefer a baggier look, order a larger size. If there is not a larger size, consider starting a belly-hanging-out trend.

cheese fest + 80 degree weather= lolz

A middle-aged man driving a red BMW convertible...while reading a novel.

That's right, a novel. Not a map, not his Blackberry. A paperback novel. He had it propped up on the steering wheel.

It's the greatest regret of my life that I didn't get a picture, but I couldn't get my iPhone out fast enough. My second greatest regret is that I didn't ask him a question, a question I now ask you to speculate upon, seattle:

What was he reading?

http://homepage.mac.com/ericchambers/nerdshirts.jpg

please someone take these or they are going to goodwill. they're all Men's L except Shonen Jump, Guitar Hero 2, and Engadget, which are XL. If you're not local, paypal me the price of shipping and I will mail them.

Also my whole collection of Apple shirts sold for an astounding $10.50. These things used to be worth $20+ each :(

http://blog.zenspider.com/2008/05/argh.html

sudo gem install mysql -- --with-mysql-config=/opt/local/bin/mysql_config5

not

sudo gem install mysql -- --with-mysql-config /opt/local/bin/mysql_config5

so. lame.

http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/05/wil-wheaton-swe.html

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/not-really-about-anything.html

Let's see -- spoke at Maddy's school yesterday, to about a hundred 13 and 14 year olds. Survived. The pear tree and the cherry trees are coming into blossom too. Tomorrow, without the glorious leadership of Bee Boss Sharon Stiteler, I get to inspect the Kitty hive and go and see how the queen is doing...

I'm currently spending most of the time in the gazebo at the bottom of the garden, alternately writing a sort of outline for something and proofreading The Graveyard Book. This is the US edition of The Graveyard Book, and now I'm taking all the corrections and fixes I did to the UK manuscript when I was in Australia and transferring 90% of them over to the US version (only 90% because I'm letting a few Americanisms that my UK editor had problems with stand -- particularly the ones my otherwise wonderful UK copy editor and I butted heads over. )(There's me at two in the morning on Skype muttering, "Look freak out can't just be a newfangled Americanism -- it's in Fanny Hill, for heaven's sake...") [For the curious, http://fiction.eserver.org/novels/fanny_hill/09.html five lines from the bottom.]

....

If you're on the upper East Coast and sad that you won't get to see me at MIT as all the tickets have sold out, you could -- and should -- down your sorrows in Cory Doctorow. As you will learn over at http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000357.shtml you can learn all about it....

What: Cory Doctorow Benefit Reading For CBLDF

When: Sunday, May 25 at 5 PM; VIP After Party at 7 PM

Where: Comix, 353 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

How Much:
General Admission: $20/advance $25/day of show;
VIP Admission: $100/advance only, includes preferred seating, copy of the book, & After Party with open beer/wine/soda bar

Tickets:
General Admission tickets available at
http://comixny.com/event.aspx?eid=416&sid=1302;

VIP Admission available at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/prod_cbldf-ff80818119f1676e0119f2fbcdc91642.html


You should go.

...

I know that David Tennant's Hamlet isn't till July. And lots of people are going to be doing Dr Who in Hamlet jokes, so this is just me getting it out of the way early, to avoid the rush...

"To be, or not to be, that is the question. Weeelll.... More of A question really. Not THE question. Because, well, I mean, there are billions and billions of questions out there, and well, when I say billions, I mean, when you add in the answers, not just the questions, weeelll, you're looking at numbers that are positively astronomical and... for that matter the other question is what you lot are doing on this planet in the first place, and er, did anyone try just pushing this little red button?"

There. Thanks. Sorry about that.

...

This came in from Laurel Krahn -- I've already mentioned Fourth Street Fantasy on this blog, one of my very very first American conventions, the one at which I first discovered the joy of talking to Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden (amongst others) and failing to argue with Steve Brust:

Any chance you could mention the return of Fourth Street Fantasy Convention in your journal/blog thing? We've extended the pre-registration date from May 15th to May 31st to give us all more time to plug the convention, it also gives those who haven’t registered yet a bit more time to gather the funds together to do so.

June 20 - 22, 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota with Guest of Honor Elizabeth Bear.

More details at http://www.4thstreetfantasy.com/

My friend Lillian Edwards pointed me at the TechnoLlama blog, where over This, this and finally this post the entire matter of Dr Who knitting patterns is discussed to within an inch of its life.

I crochet, and I'm a Doctor Who fan, so I've been following the thing with the knitted pattern a little. I've always had a set of Lil' Endless on my mental list of things to eventually crochet, but now that you've mentioned that DC is a bit strict about things I think I might just keep them to myself instead of writing up a (free, not to be sold) pattern. What would your feelings be about crochet/knitting patterns of your characters? It's not just The Endless I have in mind, I've done a seven legged spider before, and there are several other characters or concepts that I think would make neat projects.

As long as things aren't being sold in quantity, DC Comics is incredibly unlikely to grumble about it.

I don't mind at all, as long as it's not commercial. I don't mind anything that's creative, and I especially don't mind if people ask nicely first.

(I mind, very much, things like people selling on ebay CDs with PDFs of the complete Sandman books on them.)

(Nobody is going to complain if a fan turns a Barbie into a Death -- although I heard that DC said no to one of those appearing in a book of photos of interesting Barbie dolls. Nobody is going to grumble if a fan puts up a "how to make Barbie into Death" guide online. If someone put up a how to guide, and then one day hundreds of Death Barbies turned up on eBay, I can see Warners lawyers trying to close it down...)

...

Had a conversation with Paul Levitz the other day about Gaiman's Law of Superhero Movies, which is: the closer the film is to the look and feel of what people like about the comic, the more successful it is (which is something that Warners tends singularly to miss, and Marvel tends singularly to get right) and the conversation went over to Watchmen, which had Paul explaining to me that the film is obsessive about how close it is to the comic, and me going "But they've changed the costumes. What about Nite Owl?" It'll be interesting to see whether it works or not...

I've stumbled across some excellent mashups on YouTube. My favorite so far is called "Toxic Love Shack":




Some other honorable mentions:

* Sweet Dreams are Made of Seven Nation Army
* Take Me Out For A Milkshake
* Bootylicious + Smells Like Teen Spirit
* Scrub Close To Me

Fire!
Originally uploaded by coffeechica

Oh no the outside garbage can!

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp05162008.shtml

---

If there are any problems with the comic or website, or if you have any questions, comments, or complaints you would like to address directly to Randy, please email him at choochoobear@gmail.com.

Making arrangements to meet someone at a cafe to drop off books and stuff. "Oh no!" I thought, after confirming the time, "how will we recognize each other?"

*pause*

*look at boots*

*look at giant kingfisher tattoo*

Yeah, probably not much of a concern. Remind me not to ever commit any crimes that will involve me getting dragged into a police line-up...