technogeek

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• Commented on Demi claims missing hipflesh is for real. But $5,000 says it's Moore photoshopping.
  Gotta say -- after masking off the fabric, which tends to break the outline -- I go with "not photoshop, just a less than flattering combination of outfit and photograph." At least not at the hip, which is the point...
• Commented on Quebec solves H1N1 vaccination queues with Disneyland Fastpasses
  For what it's worth, the easy way to buck the lines at Disney is to go there when you are wheelchair-bound, or when someone in your group is. Apparently they bend over backward to make sure their rides are not...
• Commented on Chumby Guts for sale at Maker Shed
  If reviews of potentially interesting products and advisories of potentially interesting deals bother you, I think you're reading the wrong blog... The BoingBoing folks are pretty good about indicating when they have a direct interest in the product or when...
• Commented on Animated video for Flairs' "Trucker's Delight" (NSFW)
  Frankly the whole thing reminds me of what I've heard about the video game in which the goal was for the cowboy figure to scalp and/or screw as many indians as possible. I'm sure it amused its creator. But I...
• Commented on Animated video for Flairs' "Trucker's Delight" (NSFW)
  Bodily functions don't bother me. Gross-out for its own sake bores the $#!+ out of me....
• Commented on Cataloging the lies in Palin's "Going Rouge"
  Proofreeding prebennts tupograhplica erors....
• Commented on Cats for Gold: turn your glitter to litter!
  pawned....
• Commented on Meow Mix
  What absolutely makes this vid is the detail work -- the head bob in particular....
• Commented on Demonstrating TSA futility by stabbing dead pigs with pens
  +1. Absolutely. Bingo. The terrorists won. They terrified us into damaging ourselves worse than they could ever have damaged us directly -- from economic damage to civil rights damage to international policy and reputation damage. I'm rather disgusted with our...
• Commented on California to enact energy-saving mandates for HDTVs in 2011
  "Everyone promises more mandates. What about those of us who'd rather date women?" (Thank you, Emily Latella.)...
• Commented on "Where Are Your Keys?" a language fluency game
  The sign language being used is mostly legit. As he says, it's largely based on ASL -- American Sign Language -- signs and the manual alphabet. Where he's cheating is not requiring "proper" ASL grammar; that's what downgrades it to...
• Commented on Animated video for Flairs' "Trucker's Delight" (NSFW)
  Yawn. Someone else who confuses vulgar with funny. Admittedly many so-called comedians make the same mistake. Note to self: Be skeptical about Mark's recommendations; his tastes apparently don't match mine....
• Commented on Chumby Guts for sale at Maker Shed
  OK, I grant that it's a cute little box. But with older laptops running for not much more -- and older desktops being a glut on the market -- unless I really need something to cram into a tiny space...
• Commented on All-in-one ectoplasm measurement device
  ... and this from Edmund Scientific, who used to be the go-to folks for amateur scientists. I knew that when they were bought out it was just because the buyer wanted the name, but... well, I guess they've milked the...
• Commented on Auction for a private tour of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles with Leonard Nimoy
  I'm presuming it's a tour _with_ Nimoy, _led by_ an expert. Yeah, I'd be tempted to bid, both for the tour and for the neatness factor of being able to talk to Nimoy for more than the 30 seconds in...
• Commented on Make an audiobook, get an audiobook science fiction challenge
  Very interesting to a frustrated actor like myself, and I do have quite decent audio hardware/software. My voice is a bit scratchy right now, but... Hmmm....
• Commented on Blackwater accused of $1 Million in secret payoffs to silence Iraqi officials
  Absolutely, Antinous. Frankly, I wish our government was more willing to use that form of practical/tangible apology. I suspect that if we sent each of the Guantanamo detainees home with a megabuck, it would be (a) cheap as such things...
• Commented on What MP3 player should I buy?
  Trying to spark a mine-is-better-than-yours flamewar, were you? Seriously, Cory: Given your fondness for the Maker movement, I'm slightly surprised you didn't start with "what's a good homebrew design?" I can't advise since your needs aren't mine. I wanted one...
• Commented on Mind control with sound and light
  I've got to admit that my first reaction to "mind control with sound and light" was indeed "oh, Faux News."...
• Commented on Cats with fraudulent diplomas
  Kind of cat in photo: I'd guess Maine Coon, from the combination of tiger-tabby markings, longish fur, and apparent size....
• Commented on Zoomquilt II: Flash zoom-through painting
  Of course, after staring deeply into the Zoomquilt for a while, once you look away your field of vision seems to be zooming in the other direction. Classic perceptual trick; the brain gets used to tracking constant motion in one...
• Commented on Cats with fraudulent diplomas
  I once sent in a registration card in my cat's name, giving accurate information about her age and hobbies (climbing trees and so on). The result was many years of age-appropriate junk mail. Mostly amusing, though I was actively annoyed...
• Commented on Danish anti-piracy group gives up
  c/sieze/cease/, unless you mean it in the sense of an engine siezing when it loses lubrication......
• Commented on Tech support!
  "Shut down the machine. Turn it off. Disconnect the power cord from the wall. Disconnect the power cord from the machine. Clean the power contacts on the machine with a pencil eraser. Plug the cord back into the machine. Plug...
• Commented on The OpenOffice Mouse
  Actually, the original mouse design was largely derived from the old inductive tablet pucks, and some pucks _did_ have more buttons than we're used to on a mouse. Depending on the application, having that many functions available on the pointing...
• Commented on Glottal Opera: vocal chords on video
  Whelp, I suppose having mentioned the cervical shots one also has to consider the other end of the body... The thing I find surprising is that there isn't more visible evidence of pitch shifting. Makes sense, I suppose, since that's...
• Commented on Large Hadron Collider: Now This Is Just Getting Ridiculous
  Getting back on topic... Have we got confirmation of this story from some source just a bit less imaginative than Pop Sci? I still don't have the flying car they promised me......
• Commented on Large Hadron Collider: Now This Is Just Getting Ridiculous
  Animated ads generally (and popups specifically) are the reason I started running NOSCRIPT. I don't actually mind sponsorship/advertising on websites; I DO mind when it tries to get in the way of my using the site. I've seen much worse......
• Commented on The Blue Flash: Nuclear Accidents and the Origins of Superhero Origins
  As far as blue-glowing reactors goes -- I am still somewhat amazed in retrospect that Brookhaven Labs, which had an open-pool reactor (!) amongst its many lovely nuclear widgets, also hosted an open house (!!) many years ago... so, yes,...
• Commented on Videos of exploding capacitors
  A co-worker of mine, some years ago, liked to tell the story of one of his first homebrew amplifier attempts. At the first power-up, it blew a capacitor. Then another before he could get it turned off. At that point,...