No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.
Monday, July 31
Obsession
Via
LGF, the film
Obsession on
Google video.
It's 77 minutes long, and parts of it are extremely distressing, but if you care about what's going on in the world today you need to see it. Even if you've been following the stories, you need to see it.
Update: Watch it all, too. The best scenes come at the end.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
07:33 AM
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Stephen "Vodkapundit" Green wrote a piece last November on "The Arm of Decision," making the point that the kind of war we're in requires an effective media war -- one that we haven't really waged very well yet. This video is one of the most effective summaries of what we're up against that I have seen, and is a great weapon to use in the media war. Thanks so much for posting it.
Posted by: JohnL at Tuesday, August 01 2006 11:40 PM (aM8Nm)
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Saturday, July 29
Say What?
"
UN members reach Mid-East deal"
Uh, what? Israel has expressly rejected a UN peacekeeping force (not suprising, that); the US isn't pushing for a ceasefire, and the countries that are pushing for one are of no consequence. (France, for example. Spain.)
So what "deal" could have been reached?
UN Security Council members agreed today on a statement expressing shock and distress at Israel's deadly bombing of a UN outpost in Lebanon and called for Israel to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.
The statement, distributed to council members, is weaker than one proposed by China and other nations and is expected to be read at public meeting today by France's UN ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere.
Y'know, when I was reading Keith Laumer's
Retief novels, I thought he was making stuff up, or at least exaggerating for the purpose of humour.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
09:50 AM
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Kind of surprising they're saying anything, considering all the reports of the email one day before from one of the UN people killed, stating that Hezbollah was firing rockets from their position.
Posted by: TallDave at Sunday, July 30 2006 12:23 AM (H8Wgl)
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You know, I had the same reaction to the Retief novels. How wrong we both were.
Posted by: ubu at Sunday, August 06 2006 11:42 AM (V7ApX)
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Weeeeee!
You can get a dual Xeon 5160 (that is, 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo) server from Dell with 16GB of memory and 4 300GB SAS disks for $10,000 (US).
That offers 90% of the SpecIntRate performance of a fully-loaded Sun E10K. (Assuming I've done the conversion right.)
If you happen to be looking for a compute node (say for a large-scale blogging app) and don't need huge amounts of memory or storage, you can get it for half that price.
Interesting point: The 3.0GHz chip is only $500 more than the 1.6GHz version. A dual 1.6GHz system is about the same price as a single 3.0GHz.
Oh, and AMD have responded with huge price cuts on Athlon 64 X2s. Not so painful if you bought one of the cheaper versions like the 3800+, but if you recently shelled out for a 5000 or an FX, ouchie.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
12:47 AM
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Picked up 4200+ for $330 today. Definitely feeling no pain.
The 3800+ can be had for $250. Yow !
Posted by: Andrew at Sunday, July 30 2006 02:29 AM (P5BFK)
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Proud owner of the X2 3800+. Entire computer cost $700, so I'm not all that concerned about the price of the chip going down a smidge.
God, I love this beast...
Posted by: Wonderduck at Sunday, July 30 2006 03:42 AM (zBXYv)
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Gee, the Dell only costs $10,000 - plus $100,000,000,000 worth of aggravation dealing with their customer "service". Unless you are a huge corporation spending millions on computers at one time, Dell doesn't care about your business. I know; I've owned three Dells, and this one is my last. I was happy enough with the first one that I bought my second Dell without even checking out the competition. And when the hard drive started failing on warranty, I told them "I was thinking of getting a bigger one anyway; you don't have to replace it." Now just imagine what it took to convert me from that attitude to my present decision that, even if I end up with a crapbox that fails twice a month, it can't be worse than a Dell.
Posted by: the Wandering Author at Friday, August 11 2006 06:50 PM (zB9yr)
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Well, now Apple have the same thing, only cheaper and prettier. :D
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sunday, August 13 2006 03:39 AM (dluiY)
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Thursday, July 27
Cthulhu Fhtagn!
I've been trying to get networking functioning in virtual machines (this time, using Microsoft Virtual PC) on my notebook again.
Gah.
I've decided to just enslave myself to Cthulhu. The end result is the same - your brain and soul get eaten and you become a walking zombie fish-monster - but it's quicker and less painful.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
07:29 AM
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Erm, just use the virtual switch, set it to use the ethernet port on the laptop. Then share / bridge your ethernet and wireless connections so the laptop is performing NAT... always worked for me!
Better yet use VMWare Server ... much more sensible.
Posted by: Rob at Thursday, July 27 2006 08:40 AM (7tZpo)
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Better yet use VMWare Server ... much more sensible.
Oh. Yeah.
I tried the beta and ran into some problems and then forgot about it. Time to grab a copy of the real thing, I guess.
The problem is, sometimes my notebook is on WiFi. Sometimes it's on ethernet. But a lot of the time it's not on any network at all, and while Windows doesn't care, VMware Player and Virtual PC don't like it one bit.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thursday, July 27 2006 10:16 AM (rqPrl)
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Got VMware Server installed now, and they've fixed the problems I had with the beta. I'll see if I can persuade it to do networking properly next. :)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thursday, July 27 2006 10:24 AM (rqPrl)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Thursday, July 27 2006 05:10 PM (+rSRq)
5
Bah! They didn't even assign distinct functions to CR and LF!
NUL would be another good one. ;)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Friday, July 28 2006 12:43 AM (FRalS)
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Wednesday, July 26
John Howard, Zionist
The problem in the Middle East is there is never an attempt to bring about a long-term settlement. The fundamental cause of the current outbreak is the refusal of the entire Arab world to accept Israel's right to exist.
(
The Age)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
04:32 AM
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Wanna trade leaders?
Regards,
America
Posted by: Kathy K at Wednesday, July 26 2006 09:13 PM (dNfbD)
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Thanks, but we'll pass. ;)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thursday, July 27 2006 03:46 AM (FRalS)
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Monday, July 24
Argumentum Per Absurdum
The
argument from authority is a well-known logical fallacy. It goes something like this:
A: ... and so, from samples returned by NASA and spectroscopic analysis, we have determined that the moon is made of green cheese.
B: That's total nonsense. The spectroscopic analysis data is available here and chemical and physical analysis of the returned samples is here. And here is a bibliography listing over 700 studies of lunar composition, based on physical, chemical, spectroscopic, gravitational, electromagnetic, and visual data. Not only is the moon not made of cheese, it's not even organic. Oh, and it's not green.
A: What do you know about it? Professor Frink proved all of this in his book, La Lune Du Fromage. And he's got a PhD.
B: Yeah, Frink has a PhD. In medieval history.
But to take it that step further, what you need is something like this:
C: You "skep-tic" morons are alike. Professor Frink is a scholar and a gentleman, and his views on lunar composition are the talk of Helsinki.
B: Yeah, right.
D: Did anyone notice that C only joined the forum today, has made only one post, and is using the same IP address as A?
B: How about that. And get this - the IP traces to Frinktown University's Medieval History department!
B&D: Bwahahahahaha!
E: Having fun, skep-tic morons? Can't address the issue, so you resort to ad-hominem attacks!
The circle is complete.
No links. But you know what I mean.
Update: Okay, I said no links, but this theory needs to be brought to wider attention.
Update: Further philosophical insights into this vital topic of the day from WuzzaDem (thanks Steven!) and Riehl World View.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
09:58 AM
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Another Victim
Of the demon that is
Azumanga Daioh.
P.S. Pictures are borked.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
09:20 AM
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I told him, "Steven, you'll love this show," and he was all like "Kimura blah blah blah," and I'm like "believe me, you'll love this show despite him."
For months.
So I'm getting a real kick out of the fact that he does, in fact, seem to be loving
Azumanga Daioh.
Color me proud.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, July 24 2006 12:14 PM (zBXYv)
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Well, I was hopeful too, but apparently Steven wasn't enlightened yet. Osaka grates? Please. But I remember seeing a review once for some manga.ru place or such, where the reviewer yawned on the job until episode 23 where he saw the light. So it may yet click. Or not. I was going to wait a few more days for the summary, and then a few more days for history_xxx.html file to appear.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Monday, July 24 2006 09:03 PM (9imyF)
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I don't disagree with Steven at all about Osaka and Tomo. They're easily my least favorite of the bunch.
"Oh, but Osaka's so spacy and funny and..."
She's not funny. She's dumb.
"Oh, but Osaka's..."
She's dull. There are two or three bits of her that I like: the soap gag, the 'magic talisman' gag, and the ponytail gag. Everything else, I can take a miss on.
And Tomo is just annoying.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, July 24 2006 09:19 PM (7+BNY)
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I suppose I have to explain the Zen here, as much as it can be explained.
Tomo is my least favourte character, because she is obnoxious, good for nothing, loud, tactless, stupid, selfish jerk. I can't stand people like that and the type is sadly far from rare.
However, in the anime, she is a part of the carefuly crafted ensemble and has to be taken as such. Ditto Osaka, who may be more sympathetic to some or many viewers. It is not a question of her being dull (in your deeply personal opinion, anyway).
The cast is designed with many considerations. In particular, I noticed that every viewer picks a favourite for their special reasons, the one who speaks to them in an intimate way. Steven zoomed onto Sakaki very quickly, and why? Because she's the only character who transforms (or "develops"). A reason not worse any other. My favourite is Yomi, because she's sane (and a host of other secret reasons which I'm not going to commit to blog comments).
But conversely, someone has to fall out the bottom. It's just the way it is.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Monday, July 24 2006 11:16 PM (9imyF)
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I agree, it's an ensemble show that should be taken as a whole. Please note,
Azumanga Daioh is my favorite anime of recent vintage, and might be my favorite of all-time. But I could still do with much less Osaka and Tomo, ensemble or no.
And, for what it's worth, Yomi is #2 on my favorites list, just behind Kagura.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Tuesday, July 25 2006 12:46 AM (7+BNY)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tuesday, July 25 2006 12:52 AM (FRalS)
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Osaka forever! Her attempt to wake up Yukari on the last trip - perfect!
Sakaki, Osaka, Chiyo, and Yomi for me.
But rather than conduct the intra-factional squabbles here about what is best in AD (A:to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women... wait. No.) let us celebrate the convert of another to our (sometimes) ecumenical cult. There is room for Osakites, Yomites, and even Tomites here.
And Wonderduck, boy howdy do I know how you feel.
Months.
Posted by: HC at Thursday, July 27 2006 11:22 PM (HmhM4)
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I think we ought to be cautious with the triumphalism, for several reasons.
#1. It seems to me that Steven is not ready to accept the gospel, or whatever is the appropriate religious metaphor is. Even if he does, it's going to be victory of Messiers Azuma, Wada, and Nishikiori and not ours.
#2. He visits these pages as well and his contrarian spirit may be reawaken. I certainly start biting on the bridle when I see every blogger praising Haruhi Suzumiya - and their posts aren't even directed at me personally.
#3. People gloating now are going to look very silly when things do not turn out as they expect and the 4.5 stars aren't assigned.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Friday, July 28 2006 05:19 PM (9imyF)
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I quite liked
Haruhi Suzumiya. But if someone doesn't like it, I can understand that; it's quite possible for two intelligent, decent people to have differing opinions on the subject.
But if they don't like
Kamichu!, it's war.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, July 29 2006 12:44 AM (FRalS)
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My
Kamichu! credentials are impeccable. I watch it on R2 DVDs.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Saturday, July 29 2006 01:08 AM (9imyF)
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Tuesday, September 12 2006 02:02 AM (9imyF)
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WAR!!!
Well, he didn't say he didn't like it. In fact, he said the first three episodes are "superb" and "amazingly good". Episode four
is weird. And I've only seen up to episode six, so I can't really address whether the rest of it is disappointing.
One thing - Steven was expecting (or at least hoping for) a strong overall plot; I wasn't. I assumed it was a slice-of-life story, so I might not be disappointed the way he was.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tuesday, September 12 2006 04:15 AM (FRalS)
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The bad news is, Fuujin Monogatari pulls exactly the same stunt. They start with a story and then just switch tracks into the slice thing completely. However, they left no hooks, the show actually ends.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Tuesday, September 12 2006 05:33 PM (9imyF)
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Saturday, July 22
Feh
Not a DDOS attack this time; not as such, anyway.
We've been getting flooded with trackback spam, 2500 per minute at peak periods. This seems to have been causing Apache to go nuts. Or seemed to be the cause, at least. I zapped all the trackback scripts last night after rebooting the server after the latest Apache episode, and went to bed.
And then Apache locked up again.
Long story short: We're moving to new servers. That will give me a chance to rebuild everything properly, which is rather hard on a busy production server that is the constant target of DDOS attacks, hacking attempts, spam floods, and every other noxious event known to the 'net.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
10:54 PM
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Do you know when Kei & Yuri get a new
Lovely Angel, Pixy?
Posted by: Wonderduck at Saturday, July 22 2006 11:26 PM (zBXYv)
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Crepe. When I moved to Chiyo-chan, I lost your e-mail addy, Pixy ... could you please drop me a line? I have a few anime files that I think you'd like.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Saturday, July 22 2006 11:30 PM (zBXYv)
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Kei and Yuri will be retiring. The new servers are named Akane and Nabiki, which at least gives me room to add more...
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, July 22 2006 11:47 PM (rqPrl)
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Ack!
Now, to give you nightmares, imagine what spam will be like in 20 years, when processors are 1 million times more powerful.
Posted by: TallDave at Monday, July 24 2006 04:17 AM (H8Wgl)
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Yuck
Last October/November, I built a statistical trackback spam filter called Snark. It worked very well, blocking about 99.8% of spam without requiring any attention from me, until its data files got wiped by accident during the DDOS attacks last month.
When I got Snark up and running, we were getting on the order of 10,000 trackbacks per day. Almost all spam, obviously, but Snark made short work of those.
In May, the last full month of Snark operations, we received nearly two million trackbacks.
So far this month, we have received four million trackbacks. It's gotten so bad that at the peak of a spam flood, just firing off a CGI script to log the requests was enough to melt Apache.
Yergh.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
10:37 AM
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FOUR MILLION trackbacks? Geesh, popular, ain't cha? ;-)
Posted by: Old Grouch at Saturday, July 22 2006 08:56 PM (hyQIL)
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Rename your trackback script and get everyone to do a rebuild... (it will help for at least a little while).
Posted by: Kathy K at Monday, July 24 2006 04:15 PM (nXzn3)
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Duh
So I was scratching my head, wondering why my POST-Redirect-GET wasn't working. All I should have to do is to set the location header, set the return status to 303, and go. But all I got is a blank page, no matter what I tried.
...
Okay, yeah, it might help to actually set the status field rather than creating a new "Status" header.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
12:16 AM
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Friday, July 21
Banned In India!
And Saudi Arabia. And Pakistan. And at one point, South Korea. As
Vinnie says:
Why couldn't we have been banned in Turkey instead? It would have saved alot of headache.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
11:45 PM
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Thursday, July 20
Word of the Day
Condemnuum, n. A spectrum of activities which at one end would hardly raise an eyebrow at a debutante ball and at the other would make a hyena blush.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
04:23 AM
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I wonder if debutante balls are the best starting point, for exemplifying the very soul of decorum.
Cool neologism, nonetheless!
Posted by: The Sanity Inspector at Thursday, July 20 2006 11:09 AM (uw+0A)
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You needn't wonder - in most cases, they exhibit all the usual characteristics of any event which involves young people and large quantities of alcohol or other intoxicants.
Decorum, although not entirely absent, is not what one might call the dominant character of the event.
Posted by: HC at Thursday, July 20 2006 12:26 PM (E1/LX)
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Wednesday, July 19
I Hate CSS
To add insult to injury, the only browser that seems to work properly in this case is IE. That means my CSS is broken, of course.
Update: When starting with a "known good" version of something and attempting to develop a new system from there, it may prove worthwhile to verify that the "known good" version is, in fact, good. (Which it wasn't, though I'm not yet sure precisely where the problem lies. However, my cleanroom CSS doesn't exhibit the poopy behaviour of the borrowed CSS, so it's in there somewhere.)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
04:33 AM
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Is MuNu down, Pixy? It's 1548 on 18 July (CDT), and many of the MuNu blogs do not work. MyPetJawa does, as does your blog, but Munuviana is inaccessible and so is American Geek.
Just askin' . . .
Posted by: Dave at Wednesday, July 19 2006 04:49 PM (6GFTi)
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Oh . . . never mind. Everything seems to be working again. That was strange . . .
Posted by: Dave at Wednesday, July 19 2006 04:52 PM (6GFTi)
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My pet CSS peeve involves margins & padding, and the way in which different browsers handle them differently. Most of the time it's possible to work around the differences by specifying the values explicitly, but some things just will not look the same in two browsers, no matter what you do.
A close runner-up involves the fact that it is inordinately difficult to do relative positioning (e.g. "align the bottom with the bottom of the parent").
Posted by: RiotNrrd at Thursday, July 20 2006 08:24 AM (uyRJS)
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Blasphemy! No one should hate CSS, only IE.
;-)
Posted by: agent bedhead at Friday, July 21 2006 05:16 PM (xV63t)
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Couldn't agree more. Everybody should hate IE.
Posted by: Shawn at Tuesday, July 25 2006 07:25 PM (1nHnP)
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