Saturday, February 26, 2005
3D Head
While you were outside enjoying your Saturday, I was inside making this:
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/26/2005 09:11:00 PM
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How Does BugMeNot.Com Affect Online Newspapers?
I was reading a Wired News article about The Wall Street Journal becoming irrelevant because of it's online presence or rather lack thereof. The thesis of the article was that in order for the WSJ to keep in touch with bloggers and the online community in general they need to open the doors to bloggers by allowing them to link to specific stories and remove their invasive mandatory registration requirements.
What I found particularly interesting was that Forbes.com "got rid of registration requirements when it discovered they drove away traffic." I can't say exactly how many times I have decided not to use a particular news source because of it's stupid required registration but I can say that it has been less of a problem for me ever since I downloaded the Bugmenot extension for Firefox. Now I just right click on the registration pages and Firefox and BugMeNot take care of the dirty work.
So, what's my point? Well it made me wonder if BugMeNot is actually doing a disservice to the fight against mandatory registration because it's quite possible that sites that have them (like the New York Times and the Washington Post) have NO IDEA how many people aren't logging with their own information like the good electronic sheep they imagine us to be. These news outlets make linking to them inconvenient, invade our privacy, and all the while they aren't even collecting good data - they need to rethink their strategy. I'm happily surprised that Forbes has figured it out; I hope that someone clues the others in.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/26/2005 12:01:00 AM
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Friday, February 25, 2005
The Great Scam
For those with a lot of time on their hands or in my case a lot of homework that needs to be procrastinated then you must read this epic tale of friendship, betrayal, corruption, and deceit. This is the story of one man setting out to pull off the biggest scam MMORPG history. Or at least in Eve history. Or at least in his history. It is also quite humorous.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 11:16:00 PM
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Nature's Nuclear Reactor
This is amazing! A natural nuclear reactor has been discovered in the African country of Gabon in 1972. It has only recently been determined how it worked.
From the article:
"[R]iver water trickling into uranium-rich bedrock acted like the control rods in a modern reactor, increasing the efficiency of fission and causing the uranium to produce a chain reaction. The reaction released heat that boiled the water. Once all the water was gone, the fission fizzled out, preventing a meltdown. Gradually, more water trickled in and the process started anew."
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 11:48:00 AM
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Built in Pizza-order Function in 'Everquest II'
Sony has built in a pizza-order function into 'Everquest II' because you know... sometimes it's just too hard to get up and order it over the phone.
Instead users can click on the online pizza ordering option that's available from within the game, and get a Pizza Hut pizza delivered to their mom's basem... er... I mean, to their apartment.
(via DavidFlores QL)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 01:02:00 AM
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My Photostream
I love flickr.com! It's a fancy photo sharing thing. Here are my RSS 2.0 and Atom Photostreams.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 12:35:00 AM
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Pierced Glasses
A news article about the pierced glasses:
To make pierced glasses, James Sooy first got a bridge piercing and allowed it to heal completely. Then he got prescription lenses - also about $75 - and enlisted help to attach them to the piercing with special screws. The total cost was about $160.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 12:11:00 AM
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I Never Really Liked You Anyway Telus
What is with Skype.com? Everyone is talking about it and I'm thinking it could possibly be the end of my horrible long distance nightmares. I'm told that it costs approximately $16 Canadian for 10 hours anywhere in North America and most of Europe. Nice. Not that I have anyone in Europe to call.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/25/2005 12:03:00 AM
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Thursday, February 24, 2005
"Did you get a copy of the Memo?"
Justice League meets Office Space mashup.
(via Waxy)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/24/2005 11:57:00 PM
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Lightsaber Effect in YOUR Own Movie
It's a how-to guide for adding the famous Star Wars Light Saber effect into your own footage. Very cool effect and maybe something I'll use this summer if I get the New Media Movie Making Camp job again.
(via BoingBoing)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/24/2005 11:46:00 PM
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Sandtastic
Here is an image that I took in Disney's California Adventure a couple of years back (December 2002).
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/24/2005 11:32:00 PM
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Hitchhiker Trailer
It's an, as of yet, unreleased Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trailer. Looks cool.
(Via Waxy)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/24/2005 11:28:00 PM
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Tuesday, February 22, 2005
The True Story of Audion
Cool story about a two person company and their software that almost became iTunes.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/22/2005 05:09:00 PM
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Today is Free Mojtaba and Arash Day
"Free Mojtaba and Arash Day is a day set up by the Committee to Protect Bloggers to create awareness for two Iranian bloggers who are imprisoned in their country."
Seeing as I have become more aware of Iranian culture through my old roommate and some new friends I made at school, not to mention the fact that I'm a pretty big fan of blogging, I thought it appropriate to give a little attention to my fellow bloggers in the Middle East.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/22/2005 09:20:00 AM
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Monday, February 21, 2005
Copyright Criminals
Excellent trailer for a CC-licensed documentary on sampling culture.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/21/2005 04:46:00 PM
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Sunday, February 20, 2005
MSN Forcing Upgrade
A few days ago, when I tried to login to MSN an error message popped up explaining that "A newer version is available. You must install the newer version in order to continue. Would you like to do this now?"
I installed it, as I was forced to but to my surprise the "newer version" was the same version I already had! Well whatever, it's irritating but it's no big deal - I guess. But what is irritating is that at school MSN asked me to upgrade again and this time I didn't have admin priviledges so I couldn't - now that's frustrating.
I can't wait for google to come up with an instant messaging program.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/20/2005 09:12:00 AM
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005
"Vice presidents from Disney don't contact just any old Joe Schmoe off the street."
After reading this Newsday.com article about a scuba-diving dentist that claims Disney and Pixar Animation Studios stole the idea for the hit film "Finding Nemo" from him, I think he may have a case.
He claims he submitted an illustrated manuscript to Disney and talked on the phone about his story with a writer from Pixar. (The two companies have a distribution partnership.)The thing is, before he submitted his manuscript he signed a two-page waiver that said he would be entitled to only $500 if he were to claim that the company used his material without permission or authorization. His lawyer is asking the court to void that waiver.
A Disney vice president told Sternberg in 1996 that although the story had "great potential," it did not fit into the studio's "development slate" at that time, according to the suit.
Seven years later, Sternberg was in a movie theater and saw a preview for the upcoming release of "Finding Nemo."
"I thought, 'Hey, I'm the scuba-diving dentist. Those are my characters, that's my story,"' he told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Wednesday's editions. "It made me sick to my stomach."
One big similarity: Sternberg story has a character named "Nimo."
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/16/2005 10:42:00 PM
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It's Heart and Stroke Month
I volunteered to canvass for the Heart and Stroke foundation again this year, but alas I didn't find very many people home when I went around this evening. I plan to try again tomorrow.
I think that there are a few charities that are important to support and this is one of them. Here some interesting information from the Heart and Stroke Foundation's pamphlet:
It's a sobering thought: almost 40% of Canadians will develop some form of cardiovascular disease and despite [their] best efforts, it remains the leading cause of death. Today, someone in Canada falls victim to a heart attack every 7 minutes.My own grandpa died during heart surgery and so it's an issue that hits close to home. Chances are, there is someone in your family that has had heart problems, so when you see folks like myself out canvassing, please give. If you can't afford to donate a lot, remember even a few dollars help.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/16/2005 08:24:00 PM
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Monday, February 14, 2005
Photos
Here it is, my Flickr album.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/14/2005 11:00:00 PM
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Default Router Usernames and Passwords
I came across a page today that has default router usernames and passwords for commonly used routers. It's a handy reference if you ever need to help someone access their router but they don't know their own default password; it's surprising to me how often that happens.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/14/2005 09:21:00 AM
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Sunday, February 13, 2005
An Actual, Real Life Liger
Here is an actual liger!
"It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic."
-Napoleon Dynamite
The cub is a cross between the female Bengalese tiger and an African lion. The animal resembled a lion cub except that it had stripes, and has been dubbed a “liger”, the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported.
“This was not the result of a scientific experiment,” Novosti quoted zoo director Rostislav Shilo as saying. “It's just that the lion and the tiger live in neighboring caves in the Novosibirsk zoo, and got used to each other. It's practically impossible in the wild.”
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/13/2005 03:39:00 PM
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Saturday, February 12, 2005
And the Nice Guy of the Year Award Goes To....
This guy... oh wait this is the Sucker of the Year award, my mistake.
Funny post about how volunteering to help someone move turned out to be a lot more than he bargained for.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/12/2005 11:08:00 PM
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Pet Star
From the Discovery channel comes one very smart bird.
(via Swimmer's Life)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/12/2005 09:31:00 AM
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Friday, February 11, 2005
Canada West Photos
A couple of weeks ago the University of Letbridge was lucky enough to be able to host the Canada West Swim Meet for the 2004 / 2005 season. Personally I swam a best time in the 50 Breast but didn't reach my goal of getting a National qualifying time in 50 free (I was about 1 second too slow). Anyway the University's photographer got some great images which can be seen here. Yes, that's right the link will take you to pictures that include girls in BATHING SUITS! (That will get traffic up I'm sure.)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/11/2005 07:50:00 PM
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Bed Sales
I took on a new part time job selling beds. Tonight I sold my first bed! I work for "Word of Mouth Beds" here in Lethbridge and the way it works is, the beds are stored in a warehouse that in turn saves money for the customers. It may not be the nicest place to shop but it is probably the least expensive. It's a good deal for both the people shopping and for me because while I help them save money, they help me pay for University. Talk about Win/Win!
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/11/2005 06:28:00 PM
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Wednesday, February 09, 2005
New Great Package - Same Great Taste
As anyone that has been to my blog before today can tell, I have updated to a brighter fresher appearance tonight. I've also added a cool elf icon for IE's bookmarks and Firefox's regular display. There are still some bugs to be worked out, but as far as a much needed update goes, this one has me very satisfied.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/9/2005 11:21:00 PM
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Culture Jam
Today in my "fundamentals of Art Making" class we watched a video called "Culture Jam" (IMDB link). It is a documentary that depicts a group of individuals and their efforts to thwart The Man.
Basically there were three types of culture jamming happening. One group known as the Billboard Liberation Organization took it upon themselves to alter billboards in an interesting or humorous way usually creating some kind of social or political commentary. Another group, through dramatic performance, raided The Disney Store in Times Square and announced that they were from the Church of Stop Shopping. He told the people shopping there not to buy anything because of their bad labor practices. He was consequently arrested. The third Culture Jammer shown was a girl from Toronto that put "no logo" and other anti-commercialism stickers on the ads and buildings around her.
Personally, I tend to think that the billboard guys were by far the coolest. My reasons - which didn't seem to go over to well with the class - were that the Billboard Liberation Organization created a new piece of art that was well thought out and esthetically pleasing. It also was often humorous or thought provoking. They don't believe in actually damaging the billboards and other than "time lost for advertising" there is no harm done. In fact it could be argued that they do the original ad a service because it brings more people's attention to the modified ad.
The girl with the stickers on the other hand is in a lot of ways nothing more than a self-righteous vandal. For example there was a TV advertising something in a bathroom and so she wrote, "Never stop shopping" or something like that on it with a black felt marker and to top it off stuck an Enjoy Debt sticker on the screen. She also stuck No Logo stickers on a La Senza ad at a bus stop. She stuck them right over the woman in the ad's chest and face. Seeing those stickers there doesn't inspire any anti-corporate or anti-consumerism attitude; instead it makes me hate the person that vandalized the bus stop.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/9/2005 05:57:24 PM
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Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Stairway to Heaven Subliminal Messages
Some time ago I received an email from a professor at York University. He asked if he could use part of my Stairway to Heaven backwards site / idea for a class. Here is the conclusion of his experiment.
Jeff-
I have now given my lecture on perception, and the Stairway to Heaven was a real hit. Before I played it backwards, (and after they had listened forwards a few times), I distributed sheets of paper with the "words". Half the class got the Satan stuff, and the other half got my own words, which have nothing to do with Satan or religion. I realized at the outset that my words did not fit quite as well as the Satan ones, but some lines fit very well. The demo went perfectly - those who had the Satan words could "hear" the backwards lines very well, and those who got my words, could hear at least some of my lines well. Interestingly, those who "heard" my words had a very difficult time hearing the Satanic words later on when I played it again.
Thanks again so much for your [help]. It has really helped me make a very important point about the nature of perception and how we actually construct our percepts.
Cheers
Jim
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/8/2005 02:43:00 PM
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Heavy Metal Umlaut and the Wikipedia
This short flash based clip is a scholarly review of a “Heavy Metal Umlaut†article from Wikipedia. Basically he goes through and explains how the Wikipedia changes over time and the patterns typical in such work.
I found the speed at which the "vandalism" was repaired to be particularly interesting.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/8/2005 01:45:45 PM
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Sunday, February 06, 2005
Admit It, You're Wrong Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter tries to tell a Canadian journalist on CBC that Canada sent troops to Vietnam. When he corrects her, she refuses to admit that she's wrong.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/6/2005 11:32:16 AM
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BetterSearch - A Firefox Extension For Enhancing Search Engines
I installed this last night and already I know I'll never go back.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/6/2005 11:31:58 AM
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Teens cookie deliveries crumble into $900 lawsuit
Have the terrorists won? I can't believe this was backed up in court!
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/6/2005 11:30:12 AM
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Steve Seeley Portfolio
This is a great NMED portfolio. Check it out: Steve Seeley's Portfolio.
(Thanks Jason.)
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/6/2005 11:27:44 AM
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Saturday, February 05, 2005
This is How You Remind Me - Someday
Remember "How You Remind Me of Someday"? The Nickelback mashup with Someday on one channel and How You Remind Me on the other? NPR has an interesting interview with the creator.
Can't get enough? Here's How You Remind Me of Someday.mp3.
posted by Jeff Milner at 2/5/2005 11:20:37 PM
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