posts brought to you by the category
“home”
Das eez kaput! Sometime around 2002 I spaced the entire
database table that mapped individual entries to
categories. Such is life. What follows is a random sampling of
entries that were associated with the category. Over time, the
entries will be updated and then it will be even more
confusing. Wander around, though, it's still a fun way to
find stuff.
I don't know Cameron personally though he seems like a perfectly nice fellow.
What precisely drives this ever-faster flow of tripe about weblogs?
Subject: Re: Sam Ruby: Anatomy of a Well Formed Log EntryS
From: Aaron Straup Cope
To: Kellan
Date: 17 Jun 2003 08:41:53 -0400
<snip>
> Just in care you were, you know, wondering what a weblog was :)
</snip>
It frankly baffles me (actually what really baffles me is why they
removed the Emacs key-bindings from Evolution 1.4 but that's another
story.)
What precisely drives this ever-faster flow of tripe about weblogs being
"revolutionary"? I'm sorry but I just can't talk about weblogs the same
way I might about, say, the wheel or, more recently, electricity.
About the only comparison you can make between wheels and weblogs is
that there isn't much you can say about them, when you get down to the
brass tacks, and that is precisely what's so special about them.
Wheels are round and that's their killer-app, so to speak. We've gussied
them up with things inside them, we've gussied them up with things
around them; but nothing has changed their fundamental nature: they're
round and they travel well. End of story.
The Post-It Gallery
Dick Gordon : "If it works out, we'll be hosting The Connection from Baghdad next week."
Me : ASCOPE::Class::Text.pm 1.0
Are you smoking crack, or something?
Beware giant terrorists roaming the streets.
The APXL (Apple Keynote) Schema
mod_pubsub
is an attempt to write an Open Source Apache module which implements asynchronous publish and subscribe messaging.
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : handmelon
Proper word for American football, as it is played more with hands than feet and the "ball" is melon-shaped, instead of being of proper spherical shape balls should be.
ex. Handmelon is a sport popular only in the United States.
The dictified dictionary.com word of the day is : zeitgeist
Zeitgeist \Zeit"geist`\, n. [G.; zeit time + geist spirit. See
{Tide}, n.; {Ghost}, n.]
The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral
state or temper characteristic of any period of time.
web1913
Zeitgeist
n : the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age
or generation [syn: {Zeitgeist}]
wn
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : ramping like a hose
Going crazy; over-processing; suffering from too much work and poor support.
At least, that's what we think it means....
ex. "The (130-nanometer) process is ramping like a hose," said Frank Spindler,
Vice President of Intel's Mobile Products Group.
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : kabash
Killed, brought to and end, finished.
ex. The project was finally kabash, and all were relieved.
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : joust
Playful fighting or sparring.
ex. They are not really angry. They are just jousting with each other.
see also : joust dict-ified
The dictified dictionary.com word of the day is : descry
Descry \De*scry"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Descried}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Descrying}.] [OE. descrien, discrien, to espy, prob. from
the proclaiming of what was espied, fr. OF. descrier to
proclaim, cry down, decry, F. d['e]crier. The word was
confused somewhat with OF. descriven, E. describe, OF.
descrivre, from L. describere. See {Decry}.]
1. To spy out or discover by the eye, as objects distant or
obscure; to espy; to recognize; to discern; to discover.
And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel.
--Judg. i. 23.
Edmund, I think, is gone . . . to descry The
strength o' the enemy. --Shak.
And now their way to earth they had descried.
--Milton.
2. To discover; to disclose; to reveal. [R.]
His purple robe he had thrown aside, lest it should
descry him. --Milton.
Syn: To see; behold; espy; discover; discern.
web1913
descry
v : catch sight of [syn: {spot}, {espy}, {spy}]
wn
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : defenestrate
To throw someone or something out of a window.
ex. If this computer crashes one more time, I'm defenestrating the piece of junk!
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : ambimoustrous
Equally adept at using a computer's mouse with either hand - often in reaction to early-onset RSI.
ex. Oh, Paul's mouse is always on the wrong side of the PC - he's not a leftie though, he's ambimoustrous.
The dictified dictionary.com word of the day is : surreptitious
Surreptitious \Sur`rep*ti"tious\, a. [L. surreptitius, or
subreptitius, fr. surripere, subripere, to snatch away, to
withdraw privily; sub- under + rapere to snatch. See {Sub-},
and {Ravish}.]
Done or made by stealth, or without proper authority; made or
introduced fraudulently; clandestine; stealthy; as, a
surreptitious passage in an old manuscript; a surreptitious
removal of goods. -- {Sur`rep*ti"tious*ly}, adv.
web1913
surreptitious
adj 1: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to
avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a lurking
prowler"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a
surreptitious glance at his watch"; "someone skulking
in the shadows" [syn: {furtive}, {lurking}, {skulking},
{sneak(a)}, {sneaky}, {stealthy}]
2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods;
"clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger
activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner
intrigue"; "secret missions"; "a secret agent"; "secret
sales of arms"; "surreptitious mobilization of troops";
"an undercover investigation"; "underground resistance"
[syn: {clandestine}, {cloak-and-dagger}, {hole-and-corner(a)},
{hugger-mugger}, {hush-hush}, {on the quiet(p)}, {secret},
{undercover}, {underground}]
wn
The Connection : Language and the Internet
Me : Weblogs, Theory and Practice 1.1
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is nascent
| source : web1913 |
Nascent \Nas"cent\, a. [L. nascens, -entis, p. pr. nasci to be
born. See {Nation}, and cf. {Naissant}.]
1. Commencing, or in process of development; beginning to
exist or to grow; coming into being; as, a nascent germ.
Nascent passions and anxieties. --Berkley.
2. (Chem.) Evolving; being evolved or produced.
{Nascent state} (Chem.), the supposed instantaneous or
momentary state of an uncombined atom or radical just
separated from one compound acid, and not yet united with
another, -- a hypothetical condition implying peculiarly
active chemical properties; as, hydrogen in the nascent
state is a strong reducer.
| source : wn |
nascent
adj : coming into existence; "a nascent republic" [syn: {emergent},
{emerging}]
Cory Doctorow : Yours is a Very Bad Hotel
BBC : "The US Government has bought all rights to all the pictures of Afghanistan
and surrounding areas taken by the privately operated Ikonos high-resolution imaging satellite. ...Under the terms of the contract, Space Imaging, the company that operates Ikonos, will not "sell, distribute, share or provide the imagery to any other entity"."
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is imprecation
| source : web1913 |
Imprecation \Im`pre*ca"tion\, n. [L. imprecatio: cf. F.
impr['e]cation.]
The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon any one; a
prayer that a curse or calamity may fall on any one; a curse.
Men cowered like slaves before such horrid
imprecations. --Motley.
Syn: Malediction; curse; execration; anathema. See
{Malediction}.
| source : wn |
imprecation
n : a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult);
"he suffered the imprecations of the mob" [syn: {malediction}]
I am surprised at how much I dislike
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is patrician
| source : web1913 |
Patrician \Pa*tri"cian\, n. [L. patricius: cf. F. patricien.]
1. (Rom. Antiq.) Originally, a member of any of the families
constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman
citizens, before the development of the plebeian order;
later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege
conferred, belonged to the nobility.
2. A person of high birth; a nobleman.
3. One familiar with the works of the Christian Fathers; one
versed in patristic lore. [R.] --Colridge.
| source : web1913 |
Patrician \Pa*tri"cian\, a. [L. patricius, fr. patres fathers or
senators, pl. of pater: cf. F. patricien. See {Paternal}.]
1. (Rom. Antiq.) Of or pertaining to the Roman patres
(fathers) or senators, or patricians.
2. Of, pertaining to, or appropriate to, a person of high
birth; noble; not plebeian.
Born in the patrician file of society. --Sir W.
Scott.
His horse's hoofs wet with patrician blood.
--Addison.
| source : wn |
patrician
adj 1: of the hereditary aristocracy or ruling class of ancient
Rome or medieval Europe; of honorary nobility in the
Byzantine empire [ant: {plebeian}, {proletarian}]
2: belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or
aristocracy; "an aristocratic family"; "aristocratic
Bostonians"; "aristocratic government"; "a blue family";
"blue blood"; "the blue-blooded aristocracy"; "of gentle
blood"; "patrician landholders of the American South";
"aristocratic bearing"; "aristocratic features";
"patrician tastes" [syn: {aristocratic}, {aristocratical},
{blue}, {blue-blooded}, {gentle}]
n 1: a person of refined upbringing and manners
2: a member of the aristocracy [syn: {aristocrat}, {blue blood}]
Mike Richter : Primer on CD-R
"The following is intended to be parts of a primer on recordable Compact Disc formats. I have favored simple expression over technical detail. For that, I urge you to check other resources, as found in the URLs. In particular, the information from vendors is authoritative, where the following is not. The focus is on PC's and Windows; those with Unix or Mac systems are welcome to translate to the extent possible. (I try not to write about things I don't know.)" also available as a
159-page PDF file.
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is apologia
| source : wn |
apologia
n : a formal written defense of something you believe in
strongly [syn: {apology}]
Dave Cross : Creating Data Output Files Using the Template Toolkit
On the potential advantages of the MySQL filesystem hack :
"Why not to share /mnt/mysql with SAMBA and let marketdroids modify directly SQL database? They will be happy if they can directly write text into database (which meanwhile can server web in realtime) or use cut & paste do drop image into car sale ad. This much easier way making content management then having hundreds lines of code in Perl or PHP just to put image in database."
YULblog : New research centre puts Montreal on leading edge of art and technology
It's not as though no one else produces crap.
Andrew Wooldridge : Infinite Extensibilty with XBL
"The point here though is not so much this new tag we created, but the fact that I could create whole new functionality in the browser without a stitch of C++ code! XUL gives you a lot of power in creating user interfaces for your web applications but only contains a limited set of UI widgets for you to build on. XBL gives you a whole new toolset to build up your own widgets -- with their own specialized behavior -- that can allow you to create interfaces of whatever complexity you desire!"
My mom posted pictures from Laos the other day
Joust
"lets you create really, really spiffy JavaScript index menus that function just like Windows Explorer (or Mac Finder) folder hierarchies." via
more like this
Salon : To heck with hacktivism
"The truth is that while the hacktivist slogan, "The revolution will be digitized!" is certainly catchy, most techno-protestors have yet to prove themselves anything more than pests. Disorganized and occasionally reckless, many are content to deface Web pages with "Break the Bank!" graffiti; they are not engaging in powerful acts that might set the mandarins of globalization aquake in their boots." I was talking to someone, this evening, about being part of the hardcode scene when I was in high-school. I'm not sure how much any of us really thought about the complexities of some of things we raged against. For alot of people talk of smashing the state was just another way to be hardcorer-than-thou; a practice best evidenced in massive and prolonged drug taking. But there was an awareness of events in the world and an expectation, even if you were too stoned to talk straight, to question the forces and motivations behind them. We may have talked the talk more than anything but I think it was a valuable exercise intellectually and it was a good step more than some of the other people I knew were doing. see also :
Talk Minus Action = 0! The strange history of Joey Shithead and D.O.A.
XML for <SCRIPT>
"is a simple non-validating XML parser written in JavaScript. This was written partly as an exploration of the issues involved in coding parsers for XML, and partly to see how useful such a parser would be for version three and four browsers."
NY Times : The Pressure To Take It Off
"Rosie Perez, whose first film role, in "Do the Right Thing," had such a memorable nude scene that a decade later she's still living it down (or up), convened a round table of some of her friends and colleagues, inviting a reporter to participate, to talk about the pressures, rewards and plain facts about getting naked in public."
Wired
"[I]f every wired household will need to hire a network security consultant to keep their smart TV and intelligent toasters safe from viruses, implementing the "always connected" future will present some practical problems." Let's just hope that, as a society, we can be a bit more mature about this than children in a candy store. Personally, I loathe the idea of ever using a modem again, but I would manage. This is all cool stuff but if "network security" means giving up some of the fundementals that we rely on ( read: take for granted ) then I think we need to take a long hard look before we do anything. see also :
People for Internet Responsibility and
John Jannotti : Network Services in an Uncooperative Internet.
PalmVNC
"is an implementation of the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) protocol ... [it] allows users to access a remote computer desktop via Internet or Intranet, i.e. to view and control all applications, to collaborate with a person currently working at this desktop." via
slashdot
Jeffrey Simpson on The Rant
"The ad, trying to be distinctly Canadian, is more American than the Americans. Can you imagine how high Canadians would ride on their horses of moral indignation if an American ad ever did a similar riff on the United States versus Canada? But then it would never, ever occur to an American ad agency to bother, since Americans are already convinced theirs is the best country in the world, and the fastest way of losing an American audience is to mention the word 'Canada.' " Meanwhile, The World wonders
what are those wacky Canadians getting so excited aboot? (real audio)
Kudos to the Deepleap gang
for saying things like "Unix is the platform that Deepleap runs the best on. Bet you've never heard anyone say that before!"
I would feel bad about this
if they hadn't already started making such shitty ice cream years ago.
Tangentially related, my friend Alexander
is convinced that there is something in the cups or the beer --or both-- at the Molson Center that causes the former to begin dissolving when it comes into contact with the latter. Just in case you needed another reason
another reason not to drink big corporate beer. Meanwhile, congratulations to the Canadian Women's Hockey Team for
winning a sixth consecutive World Championship and demonstrating that, despite Buffalo having won this afternoon, there is still some small justice in the universe.
Web PDF Viewer
Spits out HTML or PalmOS Doc files. Sweet!
LeoCAD
"is a CAD program that uses bricks similar to those found in many toys (but they don't represent any particular brand). Currently it has a library of more than 1000 different pieces..." mmmm....bricks.
Julia Hill gives new meaning
Tod Maffin : 15 megabytes of fame
Every six months or so, the Internet bestows fame with the spontaneous randomness of a tornado. It's as if a secretive awards ceremony is held underground somewhere –Moose Jaw, I figure– and word is sent throughout the land: '[bleep] is The Chosen One. Tell all.' "
Andy Oram on the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act.
"If the [CIAA] is passed ... litigators will probably have to claim that linking is a form of copying, a slippery slope we don't want to start down."
Saturday Night : Call Him Nardwuar
"One guy wrote 'Nardwuar, you are the litmus test for humanity. Anyone who gets upset by you is a jerk. Those who find you wonderful, magical, and hysterical are all those things inside.' " I'd like to think that Nardwuar maybe goes a small way towards exonerating Canada for having unleashed Bryan Adams, Celine Dion and
Alanis Morissette on the world.
Also in Montreal
Cerebus.org
We are one people, one resolve, one orgasm.
Maybe Mr. Nice Guy would be happier
People like to be entertained
Are you a film-maker?
O'Reilly's MySQL & mSQL
<a href = "http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/msql/chapter/ch10-beta.html">beta sample chapter</a>
Philip Gourevitch & James Young
on "The Holocaust in American Life".
Cowboys Junkies : Live From the Archive
Courtesy of the nice people at the <a href = "http://www.virtuallycanadian.com">Virtually Canadian Broadcasting Network</a>. Archived and upcoming shows are listed <a href = "http://www.virtuallycanadian.com/Shows/LiveArchive/">here</a>. real audio.