Php.net
Google.com
reddit.com
Wikipedia.com > English
I believe SOPA is dead, PIPA is next.
Marc said about 2 hours later
Good post GJ. Another good read on the technical aspects of the bills (broken down from things taken directly from the bill): http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html It's actually not too technical, and I recommend reading it as it makes clear exactly what would be expected of your favorite internet sites and why it's so bad.
These bills are unbelievably dangerous to the well-being of the internet. They in no way aid in the ability to stop piracy, so being against them in no way means you're supporting piracy. If you read all about this and are against it, seriously call your senator(s). Both of the NC senators are for the SOPA and PIPA bills and I haven't been able to get through the phone system yet (hopefully a good thing). I know Kirsten Gillibrand from NY is also in support (potentially Schumer too). If you need numbers to call, check out this site: http://lifeaftersopa.cheezburger.com/
Marc said about 2 hours later
SOPA isn't dead, it's been shelved until February. PIPA is just as dangerous though.
Geoff said 1 day later
I think Obama said he would VETO it if it came across his desk. Or so I heard, never know what is the truth now a days. I'd be surprised if these actually were put into law. Not to say they won't try again eventually.
GJ said 1 day later
Obama would veto it as it sits now, but he would be ok with certain changes. I'm not convinced there's much worth saving in the bill.
This video says everything I've always thought about the penny. I have probably 50 cents worth of pennies in my cubicle (which equates to about 1 square foot of desk space and in a cubicle that's a lot of space!). If I could use pennies in vending machines, I might be ok with keeping them around. The last time I moved cubes at IBM, I scattered my previous pennies in various places throughout the cube. I check every now and then to see how many have survived their hiding spot.
Also: I'll admit it, I throw pennies out.
Parsla said 1 day later
Pennies are good for riding the mechanical horsie at the grocery store (I think that's a Michigan thing, though).
GJ said 2 days later
This guy who does the video has many other amusing ones--check out the one on daylight savings time.
Marc said 2 days later
The daylight savings time one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aWtseb2-4) was good. For most people, the clock switching isn't a big deal, especially now that most of our gadgets do it on their own. A couple years ago people flipped out when the iPhone forgot to wake people up the day after daylight savings time kicked in. Any programmer in the world knows exactly how such a "stupid bug" happens. :) Then there's Microsoft, who seems to introduce that bug every other year. The one thing that video failed to mention was that the rules of who participates, and what timezone they participate in, tend to change more frequently than anyone would like.
GJ said 2 days later
I did love the bit on Arizona. That was freaking hilarious. He left out Indiana, however--last I checked, they don't do DST either, but last I checked was probably eight years ago, so it may have changed since then! :)
Geoff said 4 days later
Great Video, and yes Arizona sucks. I had called in an hour early to a phone conference because the damn state doesn't follow the rules like the rest of the nation.
GJ said 4 days later
No, the rest of the country sucks. Daylight Savings Time sucks donkey b....well, it stinks.
Steve said 5 days later
parts of Indiana follow it, parts don't. Not as bad as Arizona, but....
Geoff said 5 days later
well something sucks, us or them, take your pick.
GJ said 6 days later
Ah, I see the either/or fallacy argument is alive and well.
Geoff said 6 days later
well you didn't make much of an argument for the dismemberment of DST, so I feel me response is sufficient. If you'd like to elaborate on, "sucks donkey b", I'll welcome it. I would probably agree with you as I don't benefit from DST, we have no sun in the winter regardless and I do all my shopping online pretty much.
GJ said 6 days later
DST provides no appreciable cost savings, and may actually cost more money due to its haphazard implementation around the US and worldwide. For humans that spend far more time inside than out (most of us, these days), perceived hours of sunlight is of dubious benefit. Changing time suddenly like what is done for DST also has a demonstrated negative impact on person stress levels.
Thus, DST should be dropped.
Geoff said 6 days later
That is one way to look at it.
Is it possible DST is some kind of ploy by the US Government to deter our quest in the search for extraterrestrials? This non-sensenical theory could be the perfect guise for secret agents deliberatly interfering with the public's ongoing investigation into the 'greys'. We must do everything in our power to eliminate such barriers like DST, SOPA, PIPA, PETA, and the Santa Maria. Caution is advised.
GJ said 7 days later
What weed you smokin', boy?
Geoff said 9 days later
Wisdom teeth surgey, $1100. Codine, $12. High on Drugs, Priceless.
Wow. I had no idea how much of the universe has been mapped. Really makes you wonder how significant/insignificant our lives are. That said, enjoy your life while helping others enjoy their lives as well.
If you haven't seen this yet, well, hit that play button. This is Don Cherry and Ron MacLean from Hockey Night in Canada. Don is the between periods "color" guy, to say the least.
You've probably never seen Don Cherry, nor Hockey Night in Canada. Anyhow, Don does commentary between the 1st and 2nd periods where he plays the part of the blowhard, yammering on about something he has a strong opinion about. He also tends to talk with his hands rather excessively. At some point, some wise soul thought to themselves, "Hey, it almost looks like Don is playing the piano!" and shortly thereafter, this individual married a segment Don did recently to piano notes the wise soul recorded himself, and created probably the funniest damn video I've seen in at least six months.
Steve said 4 days later
That's funny. I have always enjoyed Don Cherry when I used to get stuck watching Toronto Maple Leafs games because one of my old roommates was a Canuck from Toronto.
Parsla said 4 days later
Never seen Hockey Night in Canada? How is that possible? Even I know who Don Cherry is ...
I used to enjoy watching a CBC show called 'Little Mosque on the Prairie', a sitcom based in small-town Saskatchewan with a growing Muslim population. In one of the first episodes, before they had their own building and were gathering to worship in City Hall, they were using hockey boards - ads and all - to separate the worship space into the men's and women's areas. Why? Because nothing separates Canadian men and women better than Hockey Night in Canada....
GJ said 4 days later
LOL, Darcy is a Leafs sufferer. And we watch HNIC every chance we get, but have no CBC. :( Heard nothing but good things about Little Mosque.
Marc said 4 days later
lol, this video fulfilled all of my expectations based on the post title.
Geoff said 5 days later
This goes to show how little I pay attention to Hockey. I just love to play it.
This is a cool article about an MIT project that uses some trick photography to essentially get a slow motion video of light being projected onto an object. Good (and light!) read.
Can't get this embedded in the blog--some boring weekend I'll recode this whole thing. Yeah, sure I will. Anyhow, click here for this awesome starling formation video. You won't be disappointed!
I'm not sure, but he has TONS of videos on YouTube of previous year's versions.
Geoff said 5 days later
I'll post my house video after tomorrow. My house is pretty cool this year...can't say it will be as slick as the video above, but overall, it's cool. Kids will like it. Got some cool pumpkin carvings too!
GJ said 6 days later
We didn't do it this year--too busy, and we had a whopping six visitors. There are like no kids that live around here anymore. :(
Geoff said 6 days later
ouch, that stinks. Michelle posted video of our house on Facebook. Here it is (I hope)
We had tons of kids...probably a few hundred kids. Went through over $50 worth of candy. House was a huge hit, though I think I heard a few next door neighbors cussing at me ;)
GJ said 7 days later
Cool!
Marc said 7 days later
Looks awesome! I didn't even get a chance to carve a pumpkin this year lol.
Geoff said 7 days later
yeah we are becoming an attraction and it is to be expected that the Hallowindow be up. I'm hoping he has some new material for next year. It was a fun time...though we did have someone steal the hatchet from our ghost in the front yard. Darn teenagers.
Steve said 8 days later
Spectacle it was! Next year, I think I might drive all the way out just to see your house in person! Awesome job Geoff and Michelle! Glad to hear it was just the hatchet, and nothing too major.
Marc said 8 days later
Hiring a real life serial killer should give you new material and provide security of your decorations. Win-win.
Geoff said 8 days later
I like it Marc, I like it! Thanks for the feedback guys!
Phil's a very entertaining speaker, got to see him in Troy a few years back while promoting his latest book, Death From The Skies. You can also find him at the Bad Astronomy Blog.
Steve said about 7 hours later
Very cool, and timely too! I had the pleasure of seeing an asteroid re-enter the atmosphere last week, while walking the dogs. It was the most incredible thing I ever saw in the night sky. It looked like two pieces of a firework coming down. Not quite as impressive as what someone videotaped in this clip, but incredibly freaking awesome anyhow. Not your typical shooting star, these things had sparks trailing them just like the ones in this clip.
Marc said 2 days later
Cool video!
I saw one of those green trailing meteoroids when I was driving home from RIT on the thruway one night. It happened very fast, but it was such an amazing sight. The whole sky lit up green and that thing was cookin'. I was really really hoping it was an alien invasion, but a quick Google search just let me know I witnessed a relatively rare cool site.
Check out this video--this tornado formed right by the Thurway, about six miles south-west of our house. Guess which direction it went from here?
Yep, we did some basement time--but it apparently visited the other side of Glenville. Anyhow, enjoy the "oh my gods" below...and the real (though not very big) tornado on film.
However, we were outside as the storm approached--the sky got *really* dark, *really* fast, and we zoomed inside. Within a minute or two, Trevor announced that his iPod was telling him that a tornado warning had been issued for Glenville, so we headed to the basement for about 10 minutes. The tornado dissipated in West Glenville and got no further.
But yeah, it was small. The one in the video was very close to the gal who made the video. Most we get are EF1s, with a few EF2s thown in for extra fun. We had a big one in Stillwater back in 1998--that was an EF3.
