kaseiffert

Its done... a bittersweet thing for me. I have set up a WordPress blog over on my own network. Assuming it all continues to run smoothly, this should be my last Live Journal Post. Please update your bookmarks to the following.

net-K.us/blog

If you receive blog updates via rss, or atom feeds, please use the following feed from now on.

http://net-K.us/blog/?feed=atom

I will miss you Live Journal. You have been very good to me, educating, and introducing me to the world of blogging, and ultimately inspiring me to create my own. *sniff* its sort of like a bird leaving the nest...

ok enough sentimental crap, go over to the new site and give me some feedback!!!

Here is one to fuel my liberal friends... as it rightly should.

Most Americans don't know Canada is their biggest oil supplier

[rant]

So it seems to me, that the price of middle east oil should not have that great of an impact on us. Yet the media perpetuates the myth, and the American Oil Companies are only too happy to keep trying to find the increasing american tolerance of price.

Combine this with the recent news, that American Oil Co's are reporting record profits and it all starts to look a bit too much like a conspiracy, or at the very least collusion on some level.

It also says to me that we really need to explore more Alaskan oil opportunities while we continue to push the government for the energy alternatives that have been around for a while as well as the emerging ones.

I do realize that a sudden switch away from oil would devastate the economy, but we need to see more government backing of the alternatives if we are ever to make the migration....

Ok enough of this.....

[/rant]

A new invention or idea I guess... was patented recently.

Invention: Password-protected bullets

its a bit misleading, since its really the clip that gets passworded, but the idea is that you either have to enter a passcode, when loading/reloading, or have the right fingerprint or the gun won't fire. A nice thought in theory, but can you just see Jack Bower having to worry about case sensitivity when reloading in a fire fight? heheh

Actually if this could be made reliable with biometrics it has potential, for protecting hunting weapons from being accidently fired... but unless it can be set for multiple approved users, this will suck for home defense.... even if it can be set for multiple users it still limits the options of the home defender he he/she wants to pass the weapon off to a guest etc....

ok while we wait for me to set up wordpress and make the switch to that server..... why not some more interesting news.


I had no idea but apparently Japan has a fertility issue.... and the root cause?

"Japanese people simply aren't having sex"
So if your single... go help a brother, or sister out would ya? ;)

Apparently while I was in Vegas last week, my Live Journal Paid account expired. No big deal I was planning on hosting my own word press server soon anyway, and I didn't think I was using any of the "paid" features of Live Journal.

Apparently I was using one of them..... all my remote sites that showed my LJ content have stopped showing content. they now just show a link to the LJ site.

If you got my content via RSS feed you should be fine, or if you linked to my LJ page you should be fine.... However if your using

http://kaseiffert.is.dreaming.org
or
http://wolfmank.blogsite.org
or
http://net-K.us/blog/

You will have an extra link to click to get here....

I guess I'll have to get the wordpress server going faster than I thought. :)

Heh hardly, but if the RIAA sees illegal music sharing as "flat" its because of the success of legal services like itunes, and allofmp3.com keeping the pressures on the industry to keep the cost of downloads low and affordable.

USATODAY.com - RIAA chief says illegal song-sharing 'contained'

I believe with the success of individual music files for $0.99 or less, and the ease of use of these services. 95% of us are more than happy to use the legal means of music collections. TV and Movies are where the Piracy is now, and we are starting to see strides in that direction as well.

Many TV shows are being made free for download after airing, an effort I applaud , but movies, being such large files are really only efficiently distributed through a system like bit torrent which, shars the bandwidth among all the users at once. What the movie industry needs is a High Def Codec that shrinks the file sized down to something like an mp3. Some accidental discovery, will happen sometime soon.... and we will have mpeg 8 or something that preserves all the quality and keeps the file small enough, that its reasonable to pay $1.99 for a movie.... until then...

Arrrg Yeeh Matey.

To all the women that think their butt is too big...

News in Science - Seasons change your body shape.

Just tell everyone your not in season... ;)

ahh device convergence.... sort of... this devices doesn't do what multiple devices would do, so I guess its not really a convergence... but well anyway... you'll see soon... if I ever get to the describing part.

Take the best part of a portable DVD player... the portable fold out screen and the the best part of your 5g iPod, well all of it and mash them together. What do you get ? This...

Sonic Impact K1 brings a 70inch screen to your iPod

Its an iPod dock that also happens to include a 7" widescreen display, and its own touch controls. Basically slip in your ipod and watch those 100% legal movies and videos you have archived there without the squinting. I am also assuming this can power your iPod from its own batteries thus eliminated in the problem of not having enough juice to watch a whole movie thing as well.

Its expected to run for $300 or so, which isn't bad considering your total outlay for iPod and portable display system would be $550. I little steep when compared to a true portable dvd player but... then you'd have to lug around a bunch of dvds...

Even since Belkin started making more than overpriced cables, I have not been a fan. The first product of theirs I actually use on a regular basis (Nostromo Speed Pad) I figured I only really liked because its company had bee acquired by Belkin. But it seems when it comes to iPod accessories this is just not the case. Belkin just seems to make quality products, and now they have come out with one I have been waiting for.

A Ring Belkin's TuneTalk Stero does 16-bit iPod recording - Engadget

Why have I been waiting for this? I'm not sure, I have no real need to get one of these but I think its one of those things those of us in the Apple culture need. I mean we invented podcasting, why should we be able to record one on our iPod... it only makes sense. and now we can. Perhaps I'll get one so I can start taking my own sound samples... hmm well whatever I use it for, its here, and it looks good.

You probably all heard of the brittish company that created a special high pitched sound that only teenagers could here to drive the "hooligans" off of their property? No well maybe its just me that into these things... anyway, it seems the teens have turned the tables, taking a variant of that orginal "mosquito" sound and turning it into a ringtone. They use this ringtone on their phones because adults can't hear it, thus letting the teens know of a new call, or text message whithout people like teachers knowing about it. Good for places that cell phones are banned... ;)

A Ring Tone Meant to Fall on Deaf Ears - New York Times

A link to the actual mp3 ring tone is in the side bar of that article. I gave it a try and was sad to report that my 35 year old ears heard nothing... but our summer intern, of a mere 19 years, was highly annoyed at my blasting it at full volume, in the office. No one else heard it at all.

There has to be a way I can use this..... If you have ideas, post them in the comments section below.

It seems the RIAA/MPAA the bastions of all that is good and moral in our world (yeah.. right) are taking a lesson from another industry, pornography.

The Pornographers vs. The Pirates

Porn always has always lead the main stream media in finding new distribution channels, its interesting to find them in the same position as the "good boys."

I don't know weather to be excited about this, or scared as hell.

Illumino is starting to market software to help you find experts in different areas among your friends. The idea behind it is sound, before you head out to Best Buy or that discount website to make a purchase on say new computer, or whatever. You could put the request into the illumino software and see if what you want to do is a good idea or not. Its a brilliant concept.

Software to Look for Experts Among Your Friends - New York Times

The frightening thing is how this software determines you as an expert in any subject.

The Illumio software is installed on users' PC's, where it is connected through a software interface to either Microsoft or Google's desktop search programs that index local user content, including documents and electronic mail.

ooohkay... so this software (currently only available for windows), indexes my hard drive and decides on its own if I am an expert... ok first of all, I consider my self somewhat of a computer hardware expert, that doesn't mean I store alot of hardware info on my computer... or even email alot about it.... so is this software going to realize that may be an area of expertise for me? And 2... wtf is it going to do with the info that is on my hard drive? No thanks, I'm not sure I'm ready for public indexing of all more stored documents.

Stem cells are an important pard of medical research and in my opinion the future of humanity. So much good can come from them. However the issue is fraught with political and religious fervor because of the fact that we could only get them from human embryos.

Well it seems 3 different research teams have found new sources of the cells.

Damn Interesting >> New Sources for Stem Cells

Apparently adult testicles *gulp* have similar cells in them, as does the menstrual blood stream. Kind of gross to think about for sure, but if this does prove a viable alternative then perhaps all the hullabaloo can stop and we can get on with researching/improving the overall quality of life and the cure to many horrific illnesses.

Its about time... it seems that Texas is considering raising speed limits of nome of its major intestates from 75 mph to 80 mph.

Texas to raise speed limits to conform with driver habits | Leftlane News

With car tires, suspensions and engineering getting better with each model year it only makes sense that the safe speed limits should go up. I've owned a 66 ford, an 86 Olds, a 91 Hyundai, several Jeep SUV's, and now an 05 Dodge Magnum. Every time i get a new car it handles better, its smoother, and easier to handle.

Sometimes, even if there is news to talk about.... I have to just post something useless and cool.


The following is a link to a water balloon being popped in slow motion.

A Water Baloon Video on Metacafe

Its freaking mesmerizing...

It's here... Apple announces the MacBook, the intel replacement for the iBook. And it has more bang for its buck than I would have given Apple credit for...

Apple - MacBook

It is a 13" widescreen, available in either white or black. And it comes standard with a 2ghz Intel Core Duo. I figured it would be a Core Solo for sure, but no for the starting price of $1099 you get a nice speedy Core Duo chip. Built in iSight camera standard, I figured that wouldn't make the MacBook either.






Very competitive, Very fast, very good move Apple. If I could manage a notebook that small again I'd consider it in a heartbeat. I may still... amazing the that pro series cost more than $1000 more for not that much more hardware.

By they way it looks like Apple is consolidating its notebook line. It looks like the MacBook Pros will be in the 15" and 17" versions. The MacBooks will have the 13" version. No more size duplication and two versions of each notebook, like the Powerbook and iBook were.

Now make the mini's sub $500 damn it.

"The biggest military computer hack of all time".... Thats what they are calling what Gary McKinnon did to the US Government. He claims he was doing nothing but searching for proof of Alien life.

I was just hunting UFOs, says Pentagon's UK hacker - Yahoo! news

McKinnon claims many of the servers he was using contained no passwords, and very little security. He also hints that he found out some good info, but claims the times is not right to disclose it. McKinnon is up on charges of Terrorism as well as the usually hacking charges, and may be sent to Guantanamo Bay.

Since the government will not tell us what he say or did, we really only have his word. This could be the setup for a huge bestseller written from prison... or it could be legit. Whatever he says he found, alien life or other info, he better come out with some hard proof.

I read this article a couple of days ago, and it took me a while to realize just how brilliant and stupid this is.

New online service lets users swap CDs - MSNBC.com

La la Media Inc. has launched an new music trading site. One they hope will be perfectly legal. Here is the quick version of how it works. You list your library of music CD's, actual music cd's only please, nothing home burned, and other people do the same. You see a cd in someone else's collection you'd like, you order it, pay $1 plus postage and the guy who has it mails it to you. You get the real cd, 100% legally. Now someone sees a cd in your collection they want, request it, you get $1 credit on La la Media, and you mail it off to them. Now La la media of course recommends that you erase/destroy any digital copy of the original cd you have. But who is going to check? La la Media can't be held responsible for the actions of their customers, and its complete legal to sell used cd's.

Brilliant!

Its so ridicules that it has come to this... this is what the RIAA is forcing us to do, just to do what we have always done, share our music with those who are interested. Soon I swear they will ban every means of actually marketing the music and drive themselves out of business. But maybe thats not such a bad thing, nobody ever said a revolution wouldn't have casualties. When will the big record labels realize that we aren't going to be left for dead on the battlefield, they are.





la la

Stirb nicht vor mir // Don't Die Before I Do Feat. Sharleen Spiteri from the album "Rosenrot" by Rammstein

Here is the what's on my ipod post. The review I thought I would have done a few days ago. My music choices are an open book thanks to Live FM. If you want to know what I'm listening too or what my music preferences are you can check it all out on Live.fm.

My Last.fm user page

Last.fm is one of those cool community driven web 2.0 thingies. This one is concentrated on music. You download a bit of their software to you computer (mac or pc) and it tracks what you listen too (on your computer and/or iPod) and reports track info back to live.fm. Only the track info is reported, this is NOT a music sharing site. Last.fm then lets you find friends with similar tastes, look at what they are listening too, and it even makes recommendations of music you may like. Its all free and its a great way to find new music to listen too. They even have their own music player so you can sample other people's tastes, and preview new music. Its all free, includes a blog and a ton of other resources. Go check it out, and if you got the info from me then be sure and make me a friend when you sign up. ;)

Now music is cool but to be honest I don't generally listen to muscic on my iPod... no its true. I am addicted to the whole audio/vidio podcast phenomenon. So I thought I'd list for you what my current fav audio and video podcasts are.




Video Podcasts


Channel Frederator

New Original Cartoons, every week on you iPod. Sure some of them suck but usually I am blown away by at least one a week. I am particularly fond of the music video ones they get.

VOD Cars

Amazing production quality and looks at the hottest cars on the road. If your into cars at all, this is a must subscribe.

Rocketboom

A daily (yes daily) "news magazine style" show covering tech based interest stories. Hard to describe and harder to keep up with since it daily but if you do some train/bus or other type of passive commuting this is a very cool daily video to have with you.

TiKi Bar TV

3 Characters at a basement tiki bar find new adventures and problems every episode that can only be solved by mixing and drinking exotic drinks. One of the most original vid-casts out there.


Diggnation

Reviews of some of the top stories of the week on the social news site Digg.com. Hosted by Diggs founder and former Tech TV host/hacker Kevin Rose along with Alex Albrect. The pair go over interesting stories of the week and review both beer and tea along the way. Episodes do tent to be long 45 min at least, but the natural chemistry of Kevin and Alex make it a good watch. (Audio version also available.)

dl.tv

Digital Life TV hosted by former Tech TV host Patrick Norton and Tech TV Lab rat Robert Heron review the latest and greatest in gadgets and tech.




Audio Podcasts


Comedy365

Over 1.5 million downloads can't be wrong. Brittish podcasting duo Sowerby and Luff run a daily comedy podcast. Everything from amusing banter from brittish pubs or coffee bars, from full blown sketch comedy. Great stuff that I tend to listen too at night when I'm winding down.

Infected by Martin Sargent

Inane ramblings by former Tech TV bad boy Martin Sargent and his very odd friends. Usually entertaining. ;)

this WEEK in TECH

Tech Guru Leo Laport hosts round table discussions with many former tech TV ers and other industry notables, including: John C Devorak, Kevin Rose, Patrick Norton, Steve Wozniak, Robert Heron, Alex Lindsay, and too many more to list. Good news, good comments, and discussion with some of the people that shape the world of tech.

The Nate and Di Show

When I first listened to this podcast I figured it was destined for deletion, but being too lazy to actually unsubscribe episodes kept showing up, and eventually I was hooked. NaD as they are known to loyal listeners are self proclaimed stoners from South Carolina that rant on about their own life, news and whatever seems to pop into their heads. My favorite episode so far was the one where they made chocolate chip cookies on a spoon with a lighter. Other favorites include rescuing their pet bird from the couch using a vacuum cleaner and the pregnancy test episode. Give them a few episodes and you'll be hooked.oh I assumed I

The Chowdown

Joe Encarnation and DJ Baby Daddy host this music based podcast. Joe gets local DJ's to come to his home over and spin and mix all sorts of beats, by feeding them. Get some good underground club music and good recipes in one bi weekly download download.

2old2type Radio

The new podcast by the guys that do 2old2play, a website for gamers over the age of 25. The podcast is a bit rough still as they need a dedicated producer to adjust levels and stuff but, its well on its way. Both the podcast and the Website are worth a look if your into Console or PC gaming.




Myth bustin time...


OK the last thing I want to bring up on this entry is that I hope you all know that you don't need an iPod to enjoy this stuff. Heck you don't even need iTunes. Any computer that can read this will do fine for downloading and listening to these files. You can also transfer the files to any portable audio and video device. The Joys of the Podcast are not limited to the iPod. If you need help, checking these out, drop me a note.

No I haven't forgotten about you.. I have, both fortunately and unfortunately, I have deeply involved in a new project at work involving Linux and Windows. This project has also spread to my home system and a potential new personal project.

Today or Tomorrow I will be posting some reviews I have been sitting on for a while to fill the gap. Hopefully next week I will be back to the tech news/reviews.

004 from the album "XXX (Disc 1)" by Fermin Iv