reignition / diversion

Arsis

I love Arsis, and they are playing this weekend at the Palladium in Worcester. They are playing with Mototrhead and a lot of marginal bands. Still debating, but until then.

Google, The Rain and I

While I have been a GMail user for years, I will offer that its use in an offical capacity makes me slightly uneasy. In the IT world, End User License Agreements (commonly referred to a EULAs) are the “fine print” that license the software for use. They can sometimes be rather intrusive or onerous in their language (try a web search for “bad eula”).

Note that in general corporations are free to change the EULA at anytime, though they are compelled to display it to users for re-authorization once they do so. Careful review of Google’s general Terms of Service highlights some points that relate directly to the intellectual property discussion elsewhere on this blog. My amateur interpretation of this language may be incomplete, but I find it alarming nonetheless.

I think we need to enter into this world of cloud computing with eyes wide open.

Roku Moto? The NetFlix Roku Box

Ok, so I know you are dying to know what I think about the Roku. You’re not? Well, here it is anyway.

Total with shipping was about $107. Took 2 weeks to get here. Apparently they are sold out now. FedEx left it, no sig required. Bad idea in my ‘hood, maybe in yours too.

Tiny, like smaller than a Mac Mini. It doesn’t turn off! Weird. Cool light blue status LED like a mini, LED flashes sometimes, maybe when it goes to sleep? Tucks up nicely just about anywhere.

Connected video to TV RCA video in. Connected audio to extra RCA audio channels on the reciever. 2 channel only for now.

Took about 1 minute to set up, detects the network and gives you a code and a page on the web to enter it. Now you are connectied to your account and everything in your queue that can be “watched instantly” is added.

Queue browsing is a pedestrian affair. Back. Forward. Back. Get the idea? In the movie detail screen you can watch, rate and remove. No browsing non-queue items, forcing you to go to the computer to select. Not a biggie, but could be a drag if you didn’t have stuff on deck.

The wireless connection is better and faster than my laptop. I get a full quallity stream out of my router, something I never got from the shitty wireless card in my laptop. The video never even THINKS about stuttering.

The video? Perfect. You immediately (in like 30 seconds) forget that it’s not a DVD. Keep in mind that I have a 27” tube set. No artifacts, ghosting or stuttering.

The audio is great, but I guess that’s not hard to pull off.

Content in comparison to the rest of NetFlix is terrible, or course. This morning, though, I added 2 GG Allin videos, a Stooges live and a Dwarves. Maybe this will be their niche? Lots of fringe stuff, some arty, some old, and LOTS of dreck. I can only hope that improves. I have been watching stuff that I would NEVER add to my regular queue, but I guess that’s how you discover those “hidden gems”.

Whatever. It’s $100.

PHP Meetup

Glad to see our little Meetup Group getting some pub in the Providence Business News and RI Nexus.

Come join us if you are so inclined.

CSS Double Asterisk or Star Star

The asterisk is the universal selector, a kind of ‘select all’.

The single asterisk example sets the style for all children, often times in the context of BODY.

body * {font: normal 11px sans-serif;}

The double asterisk example sets the style on all children of children.

Not sure how often that is used, but seems useful in styling inside tables. 

Vacation

I can’t wait to go on vacation. I haven’t have a vacation since I had 3 days off last July. Christmas doesn’t count, as I was sick as a dog for the week.

We are going to Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas to see what it’s like. And to eat BBQ and sleep in motels.

Fail

“NASA rescinded a directive Tuesday that would have forced millions of dollars in cuts from the popular Mars rover program, saying the budget reductions had not been cleared with NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin.”
John Johnson Jr., Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Good luck to a country that spends billions to kill, but considers cutting budget for programs used to determine our place in the universe.

That’s smart thinkin’!

Corporate Jargon

By analysis, corporate jargon means very little, and corporate sales jargon even less.

If a thought or idea is meant to be conveyed, it can be stated simply. Corporate jargon is meant to inflate the very small idea, or to obfuscate that fact that there is no idea at all.

Jargon also acts as a “secret handshake”, a common language to gauge your peer’s loyalty or affinity to your cause. Those that speak plainly are either gradually assimiliated, or quickly shunned.

I needn’t provide examples, as you can no doubt provide them yourself.