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Jun. 7th, 2008 @ 12:37 am A Brief Democratic Primary Retrospective
Current Mood: blah
Tags: ,
I'm happy that Obama is the nominee after all. It's been a long and close campaign between extremely solid and historic candidates.

But putting a damper on this is the justified pain of Clinton supporters and the gloating of those who feel (or hope) this is the end of women in politics (it's not).
Entry Links
Wings
Apr. 8th, 2008 @ 09:44 pm A Smattering
Current Mood: okay
Tags:
Some links from the past few months, saved to share:
  • Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone: On parenting, security, and the dangers of paranoia.
  • What the World Eats: Pictures of the weekly diet of families from around the world.
  • Still Alive?: A look at the imagery of the character of GLaDOS from the game Portal (read this if you've played the game, play the game if you haven't; it's only about 3 hours long so I highly recommend it even to non-gamers).
  • The UI That Cares: An example of the intersection of web design and customer service.
  • The Right Choice?: An argument why Barack Obama should be the candidate of choice for conservatives.
  • World War Z Movie Details: Apparently, they're making a movie based on the book, which was really good. I'm excited.
  • Please Talk to Kids About AIDS: An article about the documentary (which can be viewed here, it's 30 minutes long). Both the documentary and how it was made raise interesting ethical questions, I'd especially like to hear your thoughts on this one.
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L33t
Jan. 30th, 2008 @ 09:55 pm More of the Best, Programming and Otherwise
Current Mood: chipper
Programming:Other:
Entry Links
L33t
Dec. 5th, 2007 @ 01:42 am Double-Filtered
Current Mood: cheerful
It's that time again, when I share the best of the best of the latest on the web (from my point of view) for you to peruse at your convenience:

Film and literature: The movie version of Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass premiers this Friday. It seems that the film has been somewhat sanitized with respect to the book's theological undertones, but that hasn't prevented the Catholic League from denouncing it as some sort of gateway drug to atheism. This has generated quite a bit of commentary in the last few days, with one article discussing the theology of His Dark Materials, another on the relationship between Hollywood and religion, and one focusing on Pullman's perspective on the controversy.

Food: Here's a website that suggests ingredient substitutions and pairings based on analysis of chemical flavor components. In a slightly related vein, here's a recipe for Kiwi Pomegranate Avocado Salsa. DO WANT.

Webapps: Here's an incredibly fast dictionary, and heres a tool for determining how walkable a community is (in terms of distance to various sorts of amenities). I may have posted the second one before, as I came across it soon after it first went up, but it now has the added advantage of actually working.

Programming: I read a very interesting essay on code design patterns (not of ideals but of design in imperfect practice) entitled Big Ball of Mud. There's also a page of evil C code examples.
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L33t
Sep. 28th, 2007 @ 09:09 am Filtered for Your Convenience
Current Mood: chipper
Tags:
The best of my links from the past few weeks, for your enjoyment.

Music Videos:
Emilie Simon - Flowers
Daft Hands
Nico Nico Rave

Articles:
Raytheon's New Non-Lethal Weapon
Radical Honesty

Miscellany:
Two blog entries on cooking awesome steak
Top 100 American speeches of the 20th century
The Escapist's new series of game reviews, which are hilarious
Entry Links
DDSR
Jun. 27th, 2007 @ 05:40 pm Consolidated Links
Current Mood: restless
Tags: , , , ,
Been a while since my last links post. Here's the niftiest of the nifty I've encountered over the past few weeks:
Entry Links
Error
Jun. 1st, 2007 @ 08:53 pm (Dis)Organized Thoughts on the Internet
Current Mood: quixotic
  • Short Attention Spans
    • Tumblr
    • Twitter
    • What will be the ultimate conclusion of this trend?
  • Google vs. Yahoo
    • Yahoo
      • Cool UI stuff (YUI shares the shininess)
      • Cool tagging systems
        • Del.icio.us
        • Flickr (tag clusters are nifty)
        • Will any of this improve their search?
        • Is this the next way to create a web catalog, since the hierarchal system doesn't work so well?
    • Google
      • Local search becomes augmented reality (Google Maps + GPS-Enabled Smartphone = Win)
      • Innovative approach to tagging
      • Translation with a statistical focus --> natural language understanding (they're certainly hiring AI programmers left and right)
      • Focusing on internet security, what's this all about? (That plus customized Firefox running off of a USB key = awesome.)
      • Google Gears = webapps that work offline
    • Yahoo vs. Google = explicit vs. implicit metadata? Cool thought, but certainly an oversimplification.
  • Customization to the max
    • Firefox plus extensions
    • Custom start pages
      • Google has the newly renamed iGoogle
      • I still think Netvibes is the best (and it grows ever shinier)
    • Will such customization (to a less obsessive extent) ever be adopted by general audiences?
  • Unrelated notes
    • eBay has bought StumbleUpon and will likely drive it into the ground.
    • Not related to the internet per se, but Microsoft has a new product (including a new OS?) that looks awesome. Innovation? From today's Microsoft? I'm stunned... Seriously, if those things sell for $5K-10K, they will be well worth it. Go and check out the video.
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L33t
May. 15th, 2007 @ 12:41 am iTunes Hacked Again
Current Mood: amused
Apparently, some hackers have broken iTunes DRM (again), so that all your protected m4p files can be decrypted to m4a format just by installing and running a simple tool, with no loss of quality and no duplicate entries in the iTunes library (which is updated to point to the new files).

What's really interesting is that Cory Doctorow linked to this hack from the most linked-to blog on the net. Wonder how quickly (or if?) Apple will send a cease and desist letter his way...
Entry Links
Jackpot!
Apr. 26th, 2007 @ 09:01 pm Happy Notes
Current Mood: happy
Tags: , , , ,
ゴールデン ウィーク です!

It's Golden Week at last! No classes tomorrow, and I leave for Hiroshima on Saturday!

I feel like things have been going a little better for me language-wise the past few days. I'm suddenly having a slightly (but noticeably) easier time remembering the words and grammar that I've learned, and I've carried on a few real conversations (both in and out of class) in Japanese (quite limited and somewhat broken Japanese, but still).

Yesterday, Kyoko-san took me to a sushi and udon restaurant for lunch, which was awesome. I tried 雲丹 (うに; uni; sea urchin), which was very unusual tasting but rather good.

釜玉うどん (かまたまうどん; kamatama udon; udon with egg and green onion) is awesome. That's the ¥330 lunch I mentioned early on in my trip. Also, いもけんぴ (imokenpi; candied sweet-potato sticks) are one of the best snacks ever.

An Australian paper has an article on the FHCers in Harajuku, which I find amusing.

Also, have you seen this guy?
Entry Links
Conga!
Apr. 11th, 2007 @ 11:00 am Flash Card Programs
Current Mood: working
Current Music: Bush - Monkey
Flash cards are really useful for language learning, but they're a pain to make and a pain to carry around. Xave ([info]kihou) made a rather useful flashcard program back in the day. Unfortunately, it's Cocoa-based, so it only runs on Macs.

The Amazing Flash Card Machine shows promise, but the features are rather minimal, and the interface could be better. I should really consider coding something better when I have the time (open-source project, maybe, or part of a web start-up?). Still, that's what I'm using for now. Here are a few flash card sets I've made, so you can get an idea of what I'm learning:
Hiragana
Vocab 1
Kanji Vocab 1

If anyone could help me understand the origins / components / meaning of the following kanji, I would be grateful:
休 - きゅう or やす (rest?)
先 - せん or さき
週 - しゅう (week)
曜 - よう (day?)

Update: Props to the makers of TAFCM for being prompt to respond to feedback. They've implemented at least some of the suggestions I sent them, and responded to the rest (put them on their to-do list, apparently).
Entry Links
Japanese!
Mar. 15th, 2007 @ 12:05 am Not Much, Yet Again
Current Mood: awake
The only thing eventful about this week is that my passport is still not here yet. It was going to arrive today, now the expediter says Friday. Everything's still going to be done on time, but the U.S. Dept of State seems determined to get things done at the last possible minute. (To be fair, they're probably trying to minimize the amount of people who are really angry, at the cost of raising the number of people who are somewhat pissed off.) I'm not worried, but my mom is, which makes my life less pleasant (she feels compelled to point out all my faults (along the lines of "you can't do that in Japan") and worries out loud in my general direction).

I saw 300 with Markos last weekend. It was awesome, but not for everyone. If this review makes you want to see it, then you'll probably enjoy it.

I also read World War Z. In one sitting (~350 pages). At Markos house, after the movie. For that, I stayed up all night. I also watched Marcos play all of Half Life: Blue Shift. Yeah...

I'm still sleeping far too much, odd hours... I hope I'll be able to adjust to Japan schedule all right.

Other random things:
  • There's an atheist in congress. Which is cool, I would have guessed there weren't any. The Secular Coalition has more on that story.
  • Xepher and So Deep on the piano. Nifty.
  • This game seems like a cool enough concept that it might motivate me to buy a 360. Wonder how it will turn out... (If I got a 360, I'd probably get Mass Effect, too. It looks like they're getting a lot of good RPGs.)
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L33t
Mar. 6th, 2007 @ 11:31 pm I'm Busy When I Have Nothing to Do
Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: Jonathan Coulton - Code Monkey
I keep forgetting to post. I feel like there's a lot to comment on, but my life is pretty uneventful. However, when there's not much going on in my life, my consumption of media seems to rise to near-epic levels.

By which I mean this post is long... )

And I've still been working on programming and studying Japanese. Man, my mind is all over the place...
Entry Links
LJ Base
Feb. 28th, 2007 @ 02:08 am Voltage Valet
Current Mood: pleased
Tags: ,
One of the things on the packing list for IES is power converters for electronics. While Japan uses similar outlets to the US, they run at 100V, as opposed to the 110V US standard. I'm bringing my laptop and external hard drive, so today I tried to figure out what sort of converters to buy.

I found the product I thought I needed at Voltage Valet, but I called them to ask if it handled grounded (3-prong) outlets. They responded to my message with the following (paraphrased):

"A laptop? You don't need anything! Check the specs on your AC adapter."

Indeed, when I examined the label on my AC adapters, they were rated for 100-240V. So, props to Voltage Valet for being very helpful and for giving excellent advice even at the cost of a sale.
Entry Links
Jackpot!
Feb. 8th, 2007 @ 11:23 pm One Eye on the Doom
Current Mood: thoughtful
Tags: , ,
I haven't talked about Peak Oil lately because the short-term trend was (briefly) rosy. The price of light, sweet crude dropped from around $80 per barrel into the mid $50-$60 range. Basic reasons why:
  1. "Risk premiums": We got lucky with the hurricane season and a relatively warm winter.
  2. Demand destruction: The global economy has been hurt by high energy prices.
  3. Conservation: A minor factor, but high prices have spurned some investment in efficiency.
  4. Alternative energy: Likewise.
However, this is a temporary reprieve. A few links that discuss the situation as it stands now:
  1. Bush says the economy is strong. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.
  2. Oil has risen over $60 a barrel again, due to OPEC lowering its quotas and China beginning to fill its first strategic oil reserve.
  3. Matt Simmons now thinks that Peak Oil has passed.
  4. Increased demand for ethanol has caused the price of corn in Mexico to double in the last six months. (I like tortillas, but unlike many Mexicans, I don't need cheap tortillas to avoid going hungry.)
(And I won't even get started on Zimbabwe. Even with energy costs aside that country would be in horrible shape...)
Entry Links
Peak Oil
Dec. 18th, 2006 @ 03:02 pm Backlog Links
Tags: , , ,
Movies: The Iron Giant (quite good), City of Lost Children (awesome, one of the best movies ever), Top Secret! (funny)

Books: The Selfish Gene, Punished by Rewards (both interesting)

Links:
GO MARIO GO
Colbert's Best Interview (old, but so good)
Interesting Essay on Diamonds
Entry Links
L33t
Nov. 13th, 2006 @ 05:33 pm Did YouTube Win the Senate?
Current Mood: thoughtful
I'm a big fan of [info]liberalviewer's videos (they're fairly insightful and a good example of some of the benefits of fair use), and I thought this was particularly interesting.
Entry Links
Colbert
Nov. 6th, 2006 @ 02:09 pm Voting
Current Mood: hopeful
Tags: ,
When you go to the polls tomorrow (or submit your absentee ballot), be sure to vote these guys and their friends out of office. (As far as corrupt Democrats go, please vote them and their friends out of office, too.)

As far as the Republicans' latest last-minute distraction attempt goes:

"I think Americans are sick and tired of this game. These Republicans are afraid to stand up and debate a real veteran on this topic. And they’re afraid to debate — you know, they want to debate strawmen because they’re afraid to debate real men. Well, we're going to have a real debate in this country about this policy. The bottom line is: These Republicans want to distort this policy. And, this time, it won't work because we are going to stay in their face with the truth. No Democrat is going to be bullied by these people, by these kinds of attacks that have no place in American politics. It's time to set our policy correct. They have a stand-still-and-lose policy in Iraq, and they have a cut-and-run policy in Afghanistan. And the fact is, our troops, who have served heroically, who deserve better, deserve leadership that is up to their sacrifice — period."
- John Kerry

Finally, don't let this happen to you.
Entry Links
Criminal
Sep. 14th, 2006 @ 12:31 am Dreams and Delusions
Current Mood: okay
Tags: , , ,
Last year, I had this recurring stress dream, where I was cross-registered for a class (at MIT, I think), but I was too tired to make it too class or do any of the work or even look up any of the assignments (this rather scary aware-but-unable-to-move feeling). Sometime last week, I had a dream in which I looked at my grades, and saw that I had gotten a C in that class. (I don't know what to think of that ending, except it's funny...)

Huh... I wonder what these guys will do now that the world has failed to end...

DDR is a pretty good cure for random depression. Feeling bad when things are going well sucks...
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Wings
Aug. 8th, 2006 @ 05:18 pm Accumulated Fragments
Current Mood: bouncy
Links to share:
Entry Links
Junpei
Jul. 23rd, 2006 @ 12:26 am Nifty Clips
Current Mood: chipper
Tags: , , ,
I haven't done a links post in a while, and I've got a bunch of accumulated niftiness to share. To start with, here are some videos for your viewing pleasure:

First, there's the trailer for Valve's new puzzle game Portal. I can't wait for this one to come out, it's full of mind-bending goodness.

Second, here's the trailer for Mass Effect, a revolutionary state-of-the-art RPG from BioWare (or so it seems). If it's half as good as the demo makes it look, I may have to shell out the cash for an XBox360.

Third, here's a short clip entitled This Explains EVERYTHING. It does.

Fourth, an excellent Pump It Up freestyle routine by a dude called Smidget. Pure awesome.

Finally, here's one of the funniest things I've seen all summer. If you're a Monty Python fan, watch it.
Entry Links
Silly Dance