libelle

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• Commented on 100-word fiction competition — win an HP MediaSmart EX495
  "I know I saved it," she said with a hint of that petulant edge indicating this was my fault. "Fucking computer!" "Let me take a look," I said in my best calming everything's-gonna-be-ok tone. "When did you save it?" "I...
• Commented on Hit-and-run driver who hit cyclist
  As a Los Angeles pedestrian, I've been hit by 3 cars and 5 bicycles over the past 5 or so years. As an *alert* pedestrian, it's never been a direct hit or resulted in worse injury than scrapes or bruising...
• Commented on Exorcisms vs. schizophrenia drugs
  OK, I think it's unanimous. You win the Internet for today....
• Commented on Cities as battlesuits for surviving the future
  Conscious entity? Dhalgren?...
• Commented on After the big LA fires, terrain looks like a post-war moonscape: death, charred remains.
  I grew up in the foothills just off of Route 2, and have spent a lot of time hiking in those mountains. I recognized most of the road along the stretch videoed. The chaparral loss is not that big a...
• Commented on Man hunts for poo-squirting con artist in Delhi
  Heh. I got nailed in Connaught Place fifteen years ago, but I saw the guy do it. I just explained to him that I worked in a fertilizer factory back home, so it didn't bother me in the least. He...
• Commented on KFC as pot dispensary
  Yeah, the dispensaries are a little out of control here in LA. While I support the medical use (and don't have anything seriously against people who use it recreationally), the dispensaries are going to destroy their own ecosystem by overdoing...
• Commented on EFF criticizes Burning Man for limiting attendees' fair use rights
  @29 zeepoli: missing the point *for you*. I've not been to Burning Man, but for me, Photography is a participatory act in many artistic events, gatherings, parades, festivals, etc. It's not about owning. It's about experiencing. Forcing yourself to look...
• Commented on Dara O’Briain on homeopathy from Derren Brown Blog
  @26 Bugs: Interesting. The study you mention indicates a significant improvement over routine care. It might show that the "meridians" and qi points and other aspects of acupuncture are bogus, but it doesn't prove a placebo effect. In the absence...
• Commented on What's wrong with Jamba Juice's Get Your War On plagiarism
  I stopped drinking beverages from Jamba Juice when I learned ... giggle ... snort ... that "jamba" ... chortle ... means "I fart" in Swahili. That about sums it up, don'tcha think?...
• Commented on LA's vegan restaurants are full of egg
  I'm not interested in raining on anyone's parade or challenging their beliefs / mores / choices. But among my many activities, I do work in an "organic" (e.g., no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc) garden. Gardening involves massive, orchestrated murder. I...
• Commented on Scam artists con Apple into killing app that tells you when the bus is due in San Francisco
  @anonymous: I stand corrected. I actually was thinking of that case, but I remembered the outcome incorrectly. Thanks for setting me straight. @Rosenkrantz: I'm not debating that the iPhone does things better than PalmOS did. But I think if Palm...
• Commented on Scam artists con Apple into killing app that tells you when the bus is due in San Francisco
  Rosenkrantz: "That's why the Palm went the way of the Dino & never was more than a niche device." Uh, they still managed to sell tens of millions of devices. If that's "niche" then I want my commercial ventures to...
• Commented on Scam artists con Apple into killing app that tells you when the bus is due in San Francisco
  Cory didn't say "never a crash" -- he said "never a brick." As a 15-year Palm user/developer, I could say I've never been bricked by a bad app. I've definitely had my share of crashes -- many coming from bugs...
• Commented on Scam artists con Apple into killing app that tells you when the bus is due in San Francisco
  "Hey, dipshits, facts aren't copyrightable," Ah, but collections of facts are. Fergzample phone books, databases, maps, etc. From the article, I'm not sure whether or not there is a legitimate claim on the data. It definitely looks pretty suspect to...
• Commented on Christopher Hitchens vs. Ken Blackwell of The Family Research Council
  Hitchens reminds me of a drunk, bullying professor at an after-class discussion session. He knows far more than you do, and you both know this, yet he still needs to rub your face in it. Yes, he's better read, and...
• Commented on Partial list of corporate lickspittles who are allowed to know what's in the secret copyright treaty the Obama administration claims is a matter of "national security"
  Actually, Budweiser may mean from Budvar, but Budvar is part of the Czech Republic, not Poland. What's weird is that the Budvar brewery is famous for its Pilsner brews -- and, of course, Pilsner means "from Pilsen" (which is the...
• Commented on Please take the Boing Boing Survey (It works now!)
  FWIW, I got the pop-up banking ad too. It wasn't from another site, because this was the first site visited in this browser session. One of your advertisers is f'in around with you....
• Commented on Homage to Arizona: Continued
  I (unfortunately) have discovered a vine that'd give kudzu a challenge. We planted Fo Tea (a Chinese medicinal -- no idea what its scientific name is), and that stuff is virtually unstoppable... makes bamboo, mint, and ivy seem quite tame....
• Commented on Cops Talk Funny
  @SCUBA SM: I take it you don't work in the Aerospace industry. There, a four letter acronym is properly called an ETLA (Extended Three Letter Acronym). Then there are acronyms which are self-referential, which are known as TIARAs (TIARA Is...
• Commented on Kevin Kelly: Access is better than ownership
  As mentioned above, the thing I'd fear most is Sinister Forces altering content. In the Ministry of Remembrance, they simply 'shop out anything they want to remove. Or subtly change syntax to change meanings. And who would know? Sure, you...
• Commented on Stephen Fry on the beauty of "incorrect" language and the stupid futility of linguistic pedantry
  I could listen to Stephen Fry reading a dictionary. Even the OED :)...
• Commented on Nuclear slide-rules from a time after nukes and before pocket-calculators
  I had this information in a PalmOS app call EONW that John Oliver adapted from the book. It had UI sliders instead of wheels, and would helpfully tell you in color coded boxes the percent chance of survival for your...
• Commented on Work-chair with a giant no-distraction hood
  Don't they have these in the Haunted Mansion?...
• Commented on Sonic Nausea will finally give you disturbing, pathetic revenge
  #9 Anonymous: but if you have it in your pocket, you *do* become nauseous (if it functions as advertised). Theoretically, both you and your victims become nauseated as well....
• Commented on Winter wonderland was a dump
  But if my interpretation of the Olde Legends & Prophesies is correct, if you stick around this place, you could witness Santa Claus meeting his dear friend the Ice-Cream Bunny!...
• Commented on Andrew Keen predicts the end of "free labor" online
  Actually, as an open source developer, I get more offers for paying work than I can handle. And this really isn't my day job. Some people want to get their hands dirty and change how things work. Other people want...
• Commented on US Customs: Sketching an SUV makes you a copyright infringer
  Remember, Madame Defarge used her knitting to transfer secret messages... ... it's clear that all the Crafty Types are part of the Great Cabal to Undermine Democracy and Freedom!...
• Commented on Pentagon researcher unveils World of Warcraft terror plot
  @sabik: that's a+ prime bumper-sticker/.sig file material! Occam's razor was confiscated by TSA....
• Commented on Annalee Newitz sues the worst scifi movie ever made
  And here I thought Santa Claus & The Ice Cream Bunny was the worst of all times. I mean, it puts Manos and even The Star Wars Holiday Special to shame. Oh. It's not Sci-Fi? Really? I need to go...