Friday, October 28, 2011

Japanese Little Girl Death-ish Metal

At first I wasn't sure if I considered this an abomination or not.

I've since decided that this is just goddamn hysterical. Thank the gods for Japan and its endless font of weird.



(via The Daily What)

Sonic Screwdrivers and Action Movies



(via Topless Robot)

Genki Sudo



I first saw videos of these guys on the glorious WTF Japan, Seriously? website.

Then I saw another. Then another.

These guys are something else. The music is okay, but the choreography is unbelievable. It's just unreal. The level of muscle control these guys have boggles the mind.

And the expressions of people in the background of their videos is priceless.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Farcebook

I'm one step closer (or one step away, I guess) from deleting my Facebook account.

To be honest, I've been thinking about this for a while now. I resisted Facebook for a long time. I wound up establishing a Facebook account reluctantly and for stupid reasons. I kept it under tight rein for a long time, adding friends slowly and carefully, and taking advantage of as much of Facebook's inadequate privacy settings as I could.

I put up with Facebook's constant fucking around with their UI and their meddling with their settings. I put up with their crappy interface. I did all this mainly to converse with a few people with whom I can't otherwise interact normally.

I've been wondering if it's been worth the effort, really.

Today I just found out that another of Facebook's crappy privacy settings hiccuped and started exposing stuff I usually have on lockdown. I'm pretty good about not posting very private stuff. My account info is mostly a tissue of lies and I do my best to nuke any photos of myself.

That said, I get pissed when photo albums I have, regardless of how private they are, somehow slip past the net of security settings I have.

And they did.

I reset the settings. I have no idea if the setting is holding. I'm going to sleep on this. Odds are I'm going to nuke the account tomorrow. I may change my mind. We'll see.

Fucking Facebook.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Getting Belted

I own an 686 Tool Belt, despite never having snowboarded in my life.

Why?

I like having tools handy and like clever gadgets. I'll admit that I like the idea of wearing something like this when I fly. The screwdrivers that make up the belt are generally under the length that makes the TSA twitch and only a crazy person would ever think this could be a "weapon".

Then I read Cory Doctorow's experience wearing such a belt in a UK airport.

Jeez.

The UK is the only country I've ever flown through that's even more batshit crazy with their security measures than the TSA. I'm sure someone thought they were logical at one point, but they've just devolved into utter madness.

Last year I few out to Europe and had a brief stopover in Heathrow. My TSA-approved bottle of contact lens solution was too big for Heathrow's security people and they made me toss it. This was after they scanned everything with some sci-fi device to confirm the rest of my liquids were not dangerous.

Why? Blind adherence to a stupid rule. The container fit in the supplied plastic bag Heathrow's security wonks provided me. It was just arbitrarily "too big" for one of the security wonks to let me carry without harassment.

I guess they were afraid of me cleaning my contacts.

Could be worse. Their security didn't otherwise hassle me (I can be a fantastic liar and I faked sympathy and understanding to just get through the herd of crazy). Others I traveled with got patted-down, while I was physically-unmolested.

I even saw Heathrow's security wonks pat down a five-year-old.

A five-year-old. Dangerous looking five-year-old. Terrifying romper the little demon was wearing. Could've been worse, I suppose. He could have been armed with a teddy bear or some such.

I bet they would have confiscated it, too.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Stein of Science Hack

I love, love, love my Stein of Science.

Strictly-speaking, I should say STEINS (plural) of SCIENCE, as I own more than one.

That's how much I love them.

If I had anything that might, in the right light, at a distance, remotely be considered an issue, it might be how the upper-part of the grip for the stein can dig into my fingers, especially when the stein is full of liquid (such as beer).

With the weight of the ruggedized stein, it can leave a bit of a dent in my finger. This is hardly an Earth-shattering issue, but it's something I think about from time-to-time.

Then, one day, I discovered a possible modification: sugru.

Sugru is a kind of putty that hardens in a few hours in whatever shape you've molded it. I saw some on the crack purveyors of ThinkGeek and thought "hey, maybe I can modify my Stein(s)".

My sugru shipment came in Friday. I took my steins aside, applied some sugru, and now have a soft, colorful, moulding on the inside of my stein's grip.

I wish I had more artistic skill. I just glommed on some sugru on the inner grip, but in retrospect, I bet I could have done something fancy. *sigh*

Of course, now I have fewer excuses to put the blessed thing down...

[Edit] I've been told by a friend that my artistic skills are somewhat lacking. Specifically I was told that my application of sugru on my Stein of Science looks like used chewing gum applied to the handle.

Hm.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Lovecraftian Anime Music Video (NSFW)



Full disclosure: This is NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

That said, this is an amusing hybrid between really disturbing hentai and Lovecraftian brain-melting awesome.

In brief: this is deeply fucked up. You're welcome.

Quakin' in our booties

If you're anywhere near a media source of any kind and live anywhere near the San Francisco Bay Area, you probably heard we had a couple of mild quakes yesterday.

Per the USGS, there was a 4.0 around 2:40pm followed by a 3.8 about 8:16 pm or so.

It's my first, second, and third instincts to mock the hullabaloo over this. Anything under a 5.0 is pretty minor and yawn-worthy. I honestly thought the 4.0 was construction work taking place in my office building. I largely-ignored the 3.8.

In retrospect, I think I was entirely too blase about this. If either quake had been stronger, I wouldn't have taken precautions for any kind of cover and that might have sucked.

The quakes hit along the Hayward Fault. For non-Bay Area people, that fault is probably the worst fault for the Bay Area to have issues with. When that bad boy snaps on a 5+ level, things are not going to go well for this area. I've looked up the likely spots I'll be should a major (say a 7.0) quake hit on the Hayward Fault.

Odds look pretty grim that any area I'll be in will be even remotely safe.

*sigh*

I've got all the requisite disaster kits. The joy of being a paranoid is that the Voices prompt you to be ready for earthquakes as well as comets, Men in Black, cyborgs from the future, and all that.

My plan for the cyborgs from the future is to trip the nearest person to me and run like hell. Just so you know.

But back to the quakes... yeah, they were a bit startling, but I can't help feeling a bit amused by all the attention paid them. A 4.0 is a bit startling, but it's not like anything was... oh wait. I haven't checked my desk.

OH MY GOD! MY UNDEAD NINJA FIGURE FELL OVER! IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE QUAKE!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm done. Happy Friday.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Wallet Time

I just acquired CountyComm's Traveler RFID Wallet.

I'm very pleased with this purchase.

In a nutshell, the wallet uses mylar lining to block RFID signals. This pleases my paranoid side. It's also made of ripstop nylon, so it's supposed to be hard to tear or damage.

Time will tell if that's the truth.

What really sold me on it was the number of pockets and the durable zipper to seal the whole thing. I sometimes have a lot of random cards and crap in my wallet. It's nice to be able to seal the damn thing up.

Too bad I don't have room for cash. Heh.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Spewing of Data: 10-18-2011

So those three hikers who got jailed by Iran? They're getting a headline for supporting Occupy Wall Street.

It's nice they're keeping busy and all. I'm all for supporting the OWS folks, but these hikers don't - in my opinion - need any more media coverage.

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I'm on an Irish/Gaelic/Celtic music kick again. Bwah. I've just listened to Gaelic Storm and Wicked Tinkers music since I woke up this morning. I'm slightly-addicted to "Nil S'en La" (a track from yet another album I can't recall the title of). I'm a sucker for a group of lady singers doing the Irish music.

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Yet another year and I can't think of a Halloween costume.

No that's not true. I'm not inspired to put in any effort to come up with a Halloween costume.

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'Nuff said.

(xkcd)

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Jumping back on to the topic of the OWS protestors, the EFF has advice what to do with your phone in protests.

Good times.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Cool Bike Bag

Saw this Bike "Blacksmith tool case" on The Gadgeteer.

I find myself drooling slightly at the thought of having this to adorn my worn, but much-loved, bicycle. That said, I'm not sure I'd actually get it. I'm already twitchy about leaving my bike locked up in random places. I'd be constantly-freaking out over the thought that some asshole would steal this glorious-looking piece of leather awesome.

*sigh*

Salon, the CIA, and 9-11

In case you thought all the news over the famous intelligence failure that led to the 9-11 attacks was over...

Salon has a good article on the FBI vs CIA in-fighting that led to law enforcement dropping the ball and the 9-11 attacks taking place.

If this article is any guide, sounds like George Tenent really fucked up.

Of course, Tenent gave us the whole "weapons of mass destruction" bullshit that justified the invasion of Iraq, so there's that.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Wedding of River Song - redux

So my last post was more spoiler-y recap and less personal reactions.

I needed to sleep on this and digest my thoughts.

Spoilers...

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Likes:
* The Doctor's overall reactions. Playing everyone nicely. Never showing excessive sentiment towards River (despite the marriage). The great bluff.
* Amy as a secret agent.
* Rory. He just exudes badass.
* Dorium as a head.
* Live chess.
* Faking the Doctor's death.
* Amy Pond realizing she's a mother-in-law. Expression: priceless.
* Amy and River having wine and comparing notes. It was a cute moment.
* Amy's final words to Madam eyepatch.

On-The-Fence:
* Using the Tesselecta to impersonate the Doctor. It was a clever cheat, but a bit forced and contrived.
* The big time mash-up. It was fun, but too implausible and weird.
* The big question. Really?

Dislikes:
* The "SOS" to the Universe. Okay, that's been done to death. And it was a ridiculous, pointless, stupid plot element.
* The "wedding" of the Doctor and River. There didn't appear to be any point for that. It was so utterly random that it was like having a safety-pin jabbed into your side.
* The undefined scale of power of the Silence. If they can affect any living thing, including Time Lords, why didn't they take over Gallifrey?
* The excessive, mawkish sentimental bullshit.

Overall, I liked the episode. It was satisfying provided I stop picking at the plot holes. Unfortunately, my OCD prevents me from leaving it alone, so it will continue to bug me.

Still, it was far better than I expected, given the lackluster performance of the episodes that followed "A Good Man Goes to War".

Saturday, October 1, 2011

A Grand Wedding Song

And just like that, I've seen "The Wedding of River Song".

Twice.

Spoilers.

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The Doctor is going to his melodramatic appointment with death that's been the theme of this season.

There's something a bit amiss, though. Time is mashed together with Winston Churchill as the Holy Roman Emperor in a world of skyscrapers, steam engines, and balloon-suspended cars while pterodactyls torment parks and the Pyramids have been inducted into the military's service.

The Doctor (known as Churchill's "soothsayer") is dragged by Roman Centurions to explain to Churchill why it's always 5:02 pm on a specific date.

And the Doctor begins his recap...

The Doctor, after the last episode, tracks down information on the Silence by picking the ruins of a Dalek (it's implied the Doctor took out said Dalek, but never stated). The Doctor crosses path with the Tesselecta, the humanoid, shapeshifting, time-travel vehicle crewed by miniaturized people. They, too, are investigating the Silence.

The Doctor's path takes him to a space viking who leads him to a gruesome storage area where the head of Dorium Maldovar (decapitated by the Headless Monks in "A Good Man Goes to War") is stored.

Dorium explains that the Silence want to kill the Doctor so he can't go to some place and be forced to answer the "first question". Answering that question means the Silence must fall.

Flip back to the present. It turns out the Silence are back and trying to kill the Doctor and Churchill. The Doctor realizes this as marks start to appear on his arm... a running tally of the Silence he's seeing and then forgetting.

The Doctor then reveals that he went to his appointment with death after talking to Maldovar. He sends out his invitations and walks right up to the space-suited River Song. He tells River he forgives her and waits for her to shoot him. She doesn't. Time starts to disintegrate...

Flip back to the present again. The Doctor and Churchill are surrounded by Silence. The pair are rescued by mysterious soldiers led by a familiar redhead with an eyepatch: Amelia Pond.

Amy is now some kind of spook who remembers the two timelines. With Rory as her faithful captain, she is working with River Song to use technology stolen from the captive Madam Kovarian so they can see, and capture, Silence.

A number of things unfold:

* If the Doctor and River touch, time restarts and goes back to the moment when River is being forced by the weird spacesuit to kill the Doctor. The Doctor wants this. River can't live with it.

* The eyepatches worn by Amy's people, are copies of those worn by the agents of the Silence. They let someone see a Silent and remember doing so. They are, unfortunately, also booby-trapped...

* The Silence are not prisoners... they were waiting to kill the Doctor.

Long-story short:

* Amy leaves Madam Kevorian to die from the treachery of the Silence, essentially killing Kevorian.

* River and Amy have cobbled together some kind of nonsensical time-transmitter-thing to ask the Universe to help the Doctor. Don't ask. It doesn't even try to make sense.

* The Doctor marries River. Why? Not really clear, but roll with it. The Doctor appears to tell River his "real name".

* The Doctor and River kiss. Time restarts with the Doctor slain.

The scene shifts to Amy getting slowly drunk. The Doctor is gone and she is devastated. River appears, having just finished the adventure with the Weeping Angels at the Byzantium. Amy bemoans wanting to talk to the Doctor...

And River reveals to Amy (and, a few moments later, Rory) that the Doctor, while present for his "death", was not slain. The Doctor who was shot and "killed" was the Tesselecta with the Doctor on-board.

The Doctor has faked his death and decided to start operating from the shadows. He returns Maldovar's head to its place in the tombs and the two talk. Maldovar then shouts to the departing Doctor the question that must never be answered:



Again. Spoilers.

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Doctor who?