nyquil.org (Entries tagged as found online)

Banterist - eBay: Drive Someone Insane with Postcards

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:14:12 -0800

I saw this yesterday and had to share:

Banterist - eBay: Drive Someone Insane with Postcards

At one point in the past my grandmother was getting postcards similar to those from a stranger sent from random places around the world. I don't think she ever found out who it was, but it sure makes for an awesome story. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better use of your money than bidding on that auction.

Blogged with Flock

Hey, You Got Math in My TOOL! No, You Got TOOL in My Math...

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:24:58 -0700

Ever stumble across something that paints someone you respect in an entirely new light? That happened to me today.

Here's what I saw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS7CZIJVxFY.

That (awesome) video shows how Maynard James Keenan incorporated a Fibonacci sequence into the TOOL song (and album) Lateralus, using the spiral it defines to to add meaning to the song (and his philosophy). It blew my mind. Now I wonder just what else Maynard has nestled into the music I love...

I CANNOT GO SWIMMING: from the mouths of babes

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Wed, 09 May 2007 05:53:38 -0700

Is Belinda a bad person?

If so then I am bad too. That is hilarious.

Emma Watson points something out

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:23:45 -0700

If only I could make this one 3-D....

I "stumbled" across it online and just had to share.

The things you find when vanity searching

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 09:38:34 -0700

I just re-found this incredibly stupid bit of pondering that I took part in a few months back.

Two (3) Great Tastes in One

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 07:10:36 -0700

Guy 1: "Hey, you got David Bowie in my Maynard James Keenan!"

Guy 2: "No, you got Maynard James Keenan in my David Bowie!"

Danny Lohner: "Don't forget about me, I'm involved too..."

Guy 1 & Guy 2: "Who?"

Two (three) great tastes in one: Bring Me The Disco King [Loner Mix].mp3.

That mp3 came straight down out of Maynard's podcast and I've linked to where his podcast linked it from, so it seems as if it's OK to share it. A'course, when has what Maynard wants ever affected my sharing things?

Inside the Minds of Hot Young Girls

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 09:53:05 -0800

Based on my brief time spent this morning on <a href="http://www.youtube.infamousx.com/">the Deleted YouTube Video Viewer</a>, I've gained some insight into the minds of hot young girls.

Hot young girls apparently love to dance around their rooms in really skimpy clothes practicing really hot dance moves in front of mirrors. They also go into closets and jump up and down trying to make their boobs pop out of their tops. Also, their brothers sneak into the bathroom while they're showering and film them through the glass. Also, the more of them present, the raunchier they get.

Also, they think no one else will ever see these videos.

I'm really glad hot young girls aren't smarter :)

New Heros

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:30:57 -0800

I have a couple new heroes.

The following link is to the press conference held by the two individuals being charged with the city of Boston's idiocy.

Greatest press conference ever.

target demographic I guess

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 16:19:05 -0700

Most apt RottenTomatoes rating ever.

It's funny because no one actually gets it

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:51:10 -0700

There's been lots of buzz around the blogosphere regarding Randall Munroe's 'sudo' comic. I think that on the whole, Randall's comic is really wonderful -- it's one of my favorites, in fact -- but I think this particular "episode" is a really unfortunate example for people to be praising.

I've seen posts where people are talking about how this particular comic is great because you either "get it," or it is completely indecipherable, which for the most part is true. The problem that I have with it, however, is that nobody actually gets it -- they just think they do.

Here's the comic:

See, in the context of the comic, the "sudo" command seems to serve the function of forcing a user to do something that you don't want to do yourself. Stickman 1 says "make me a sandwich," to which Stickman 2 replies "no." Then Stickman one basically just waves his "sudo" wand to force Stickman 2 to do it anyway.

But see, that's not what the "sudo" command actually does. The user of "sudo" is still doing the actual work, they're just doing it with the permissions of another user. For example, lets say that I want to create a file in a directory owned by user Bob. I ask Bob to make the directory for me, but he says no. So then I decide to go over his head and use "sudo" to make the directory myself, and as far as the sytem is concerned, the directory was created by Bob. But I did the actual work.

So, in the comic, Stickman 1 just walked into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, appearing to any onlookers as if he was Stickman 2. This is not funny.

What is funny, though, is tons and tons of people who think they get the joke, but actually don't. I suspect that Randall did this on purpose, an act which commands of me the following : "Bravo Randall!"

Bad Gods Plug

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:52:21 -0700

Lore's Bad Gods shortform flash animated thingymawhatsits have begun showing up online. You should go take a peek. I promise you won't be sorry^*.

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it based on his description of it months ago, but I really dig what he's doing. There's just something about the limitations he's imposed that really work for me. The little door slides open and you see a brief glimpse of a world which is often times really clever and funny, only to slide shut again before you get more than just a taste of it. I hope the response is good enough that he keeps cranking these things out. Or alternately, I hope people start making these themselves and sending them to him and those begin showing up there. That woould be awesome.

Not only is the content good, but the philosphy behind the content really works for me. In addition to the RSS feed, Lore also provides the full flash source for all the animations and has licensed them under the Creative Commons, meaning that if someone wanted to do something new and different with them, they can go ahead and do it. (You may remember my evil little remix from some time ago.)

The only complaint I have is that the RSS feed -- which is the primary way I view the new entries -- contains the title of each short, acting slightly spoilerish. I'd rather not know that Darth Vader will be involved until that little door slides open, you know? No biggy though.

All in all, the results have been well worth the wait and have lived up to the hyping Lore put me through on his blog. I just hope that when these are over, that isn't the end of it. That'd make me a very sad panda indeed.

*: Promise null and void due to the unpredictability of people using the internet. Your mileage may vary.

spam thoughts

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:42:44 -0700

A while back I disabled trackbacks on my site because of the enormous amount of spam I was getting. Since disabling it, I've now begun to get comment spam with much greater frequency.

Lately the spam comments have included some really amusing little comments, which are undoubtedly designed to fool spam filters.
Here's a few of my favorites:

>Q: What do you say to a New Yorker with a job? >A: Big Mac, fries and a Coke, please! >You will have a long and boring life. >You shall be rewarded for a dastardly deed. >Today is the first day of the rest of the mess. >Beware of a tall black man with one blond shoe.

I've got nothing to add...

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:50:04 -0700

Code Monkey

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:01:27 -0700

If you enjoyed RE: Your Brains, and didn't expend the effort to see what the latest ol' Jonathan Coulton has done is, I urge you to take a second and check out Code Monkey as well. There're no zombies, but monkeys who program are just as good.

I'll try to refrain from turning this into the "look at what Jonathan Coulton did now!!!1" blog, but I can't make any promises.

RE: Your Brains

nospam@example.com (jer@nyquil.org) — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:19:10 -0700

Perhaps you are aware of Jonathan Coulton, his associations with John Hodgman, or even his Thing A Week.

But have you heard his brilliantly hilarious song RE: Your Brains?

As someone who loves both Jonathan Coulton and zombies, I highly recommend the song, which is easily my favorite of his Things A Week. Just click on 're your brains' towards the bottom to hear it -- you know, if you aren't afraid of having it stuck in your head the rest of the day.