"We're still 10 to 20 years away from a quantum computer," says Bells Labs' Steven Simon.
AH-hahahaha...oh...oh...that's a good one! Whew! Just like we were going to have rocket cars by the 80s?
Yeah, about that...try 50. Maybe. If we're lucky.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Best. News story. Ever.
Some people say there's no magic left in the world. I say they need to read the story of the odyssey of the plastic duck armada (which, incidentally, would make a FANTASTIC band name...).
Fuck Fox
Hey Fox! Notice who's at the bottom of the list? Notice who is second from the top?
Suck it. Suck it long, and suck it hard.
Suck it. Suck it long, and suck it hard.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
A little peek at the inside of Google
Interesting little peek at how the inside of Google works from a now-Microsoftie. I very much agree with pretty much every suggestion the guy makes. Food should be free at Microsoft, and developers should have much more freedom over what kind of computers they are using. The quick-stop tech support is a brilliant idea as well.
iPhone
Friend: "Hey! I've been dutifully watching your blog for a rant about how the iPhone will suck. What the hell is taking you so long?"
Okay, fine. Here's my take: the iPhone may or may not be awesome. In fact, the interface does look kind of slick (although given that there's a touch screen and nothing else, I have to wonder how long your average iPhone will go without being encrusted with stale peanut butter and beer). But no phone is awesome enough to justify $500. Not until inflation is at the point where pineapples cost $50. No, a $500 phone would have to be able to cook me eggs benedict in the morning (with hollandaise that hasn't curdled, goddamnit), dress me, and give me sound personal and career advice. And give an exquisite Swedish massage when I get home at night. And get me things from the fridge when I'm on the couch. Short of that, there's no phone on earth I'm paying $500 for.
Okay, fine. Here's my take: the iPhone may or may not be awesome. In fact, the interface does look kind of slick (although given that there's a touch screen and nothing else, I have to wonder how long your average iPhone will go without being encrusted with stale peanut butter and beer). But no phone is awesome enough to justify $500. Not until inflation is at the point where pineapples cost $50. No, a $500 phone would have to be able to cook me eggs benedict in the morning (with hollandaise that hasn't curdled, goddamnit), dress me, and give me sound personal and career advice. And give an exquisite Swedish massage when I get home at night. And get me things from the fridge when I'm on the couch. Short of that, there's no phone on earth I'm paying $500 for.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Aroo?
I just got a phone call from a woman named Katherine. She said she was from DirecTV, and she apologized for taking so long to process my rebate request. She assured me that it would show up on next month's bill.
Now, what was the weird part about all this? It was a computer. It was very clearly a computer-generated voice. And yes, she specifically identified herself as Katherine.
DirecTV, I just want you to know: that's fucking creepy. I'm a computer scientist and that's still fucking creepy. Quit it.
Now, what was the weird part about all this? It was a computer. It was very clearly a computer-generated voice. And yes, she specifically identified herself as Katherine.
DirecTV, I just want you to know: that's fucking creepy. I'm a computer scientist and that's still fucking creepy. Quit it.
The myth of clean biofuels
Turns out that bio-diesel is really not much better for the environment than fossil fuels, and in some ways, it's worse. One more reason to be annoyed at all those VW beetles with "I run on biodiesel" bumper stickers. Also, I like the term "bait and switchgrass."
Why is it surprising that fuel from crops is really inefficient? Crops take a lot of land to grow. You can't pack them in very tightly. So, if you really want to run your economy off of them, it should surprise no one that it would take a phenomenal amount of farm land to do so. And it should surprise no one that there's a fuck of a lot of work that would have to go into transforming any given plant into a usable biofuel.
Why are wind, solar, geothermal, and even nuclear so hard? The technologies exist. They're just more expensive. Hey, you know what I bet would reduce the cost? Increasing the market for them (which means there's more money to be made, which means more money will go into research, ...).
Has the idea that you might need to suffer in the short-term to benefit in the long term so completely alien to the public discourse that actually dealing with our energy problems is infeasible?
Why is it surprising that fuel from crops is really inefficient? Crops take a lot of land to grow. You can't pack them in very tightly. So, if you really want to run your economy off of them, it should surprise no one that it would take a phenomenal amount of farm land to do so. And it should surprise no one that there's a fuck of a lot of work that would have to go into transforming any given plant into a usable biofuel.
Why are wind, solar, geothermal, and even nuclear so hard? The technologies exist. They're just more expensive. Hey, you know what I bet would reduce the cost? Increasing the market for them (which means there's more money to be made, which means more money will go into research, ...).
Has the idea that you might need to suffer in the short-term to benefit in the long term so completely alien to the public discourse that actually dealing with our energy problems is infeasible?
A case study in bad reporting
I saw this shocking story on Digg: the FBI has been going around to schools in Massachusetts demanding that students stop traveling internationally or showing interest in other people's work! Oh no! The horror!
Except, if you dig through the articles and actually read the document that FBI published, it doesn't say any of that. All it says is that spies very often engage in espionage after a major life trauma or as part of acting out on a mental illness, and accordingly, here's a list of things to be aware of. Included on that list is "unreported international travel." As in, if some student took a random trip to Dubai _and didn't tell anybody about it_, that might be weird. And I tend to agree.
Also on the list is interest in sensitive research. Now, yes, we should be concerned about the chilling effect of being suspicious of intellectual curiosity, especially from foreign students, but nonetheless...the FBI never recommended a ban on student travel, nor are they saying you should report everyone who is interested in your research. They're just trying to give out a list of possible indicators of suspicious activity, and I would imagine they would expect you to use your judgment. That's what they're supposed to do. They're the FBI. I don't think this is unreasonable, at least not yet.
The lesson: always do your fact checking, and never believe stupid tabloids when they say something sensational.
Except, if you dig through the articles and actually read the document that FBI published, it doesn't say any of that. All it says is that spies very often engage in espionage after a major life trauma or as part of acting out on a mental illness, and accordingly, here's a list of things to be aware of. Included on that list is "unreported international travel." As in, if some student took a random trip to Dubai _and didn't tell anybody about it_, that might be weird. And I tend to agree.
Also on the list is interest in sensitive research. Now, yes, we should be concerned about the chilling effect of being suspicious of intellectual curiosity, especially from foreign students, but nonetheless...the FBI never recommended a ban on student travel, nor are they saying you should report everyone who is interested in your research. They're just trying to give out a list of possible indicators of suspicious activity, and I would imagine they would expect you to use your judgment. That's what they're supposed to do. They're the FBI. I don't think this is unreasonable, at least not yet.
The lesson: always do your fact checking, and never believe stupid tabloids when they say something sensational.
Penguins...of doom!!!
Hehehe...I'm not quite sure why this is so funny, but it is. Actually, no, I take that back...it's funny because it involves giant penguins roaming Peru.
Monday, June 25, 2007
If There Were a God... (6/25/07)
I think I'll start a new theme. I'm going to call it, "If There Were a God..." It's for those things when you think to yourself, "You know, if this all-loving God I keep hearing about actually existed, he would not have allowed this soul-corroding abomination to exist."
...and so, in that vain, I give you: Christian hip-hop. *twitch*
Incidentally, does anyone know if Eminem ever respond to KJ-52? Because, man, did that douchebag ever need to have his ass handed to him. "Knowledge" and "justice"? Miracle of "5" and "2"? Really?
...and so, in that vain, I give you: Christian hip-hop. *twitch*
Incidentally, does anyone know if Eminem ever respond to KJ-52? Because, man, did that douchebag ever need to have his ass handed to him. "Knowledge" and "justice"? Miracle of "5" and "2"? Really?
Your daily douchebag (6/25/07)
Rupert Murdoch.
If you had any delusions that Murdoch wasn't a conniving, evil aussie fuck, abandon them here.
Interesting fact: Murdoch's giving to Republicans, at 56%, only slightly leads his giving to Democrats.
If you had any delusions that Murdoch wasn't a conniving, evil aussie fuck, abandon them here.
Interesting fact: Murdoch's giving to Republicans, at 56%, only slightly leads his giving to Democrats.
Class divisions in MySpace versus Facebook
A really fascinating commentary on the sociology behind MySpace versus Facebook. Long but worth reading.
Bush's legacy
The real long-term harm Bush will have done is the douchebag conservatives he appointed to the Supreme Court who make decisions like this horse shit. "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" really constitutes a dangerous advocacy of drug use? Really? Really?!
What the fuck is the matter with you people?
What the fuck is the matter with you people?
Doritos: Are Chips
You have to read today's Penny Arcade news post...I love their tempered Doritos slogans.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Fucking music meme
Current song I will have to listen to over and over until I get it the hell out of my head:
The Way I Are by Timbaland
The Way I Are by Timbaland
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Knoxville
You know, I came to Knoxville with a lot of preconceptions, those same set of stereotypes that we all have about the South. A cloistered world view. Bible-thumping conservatism. Old women with horrible hairdos.
And then I got here. And I found out: you know what? It's all true. Every last bit of it.
My first experience in Knoxville was waiting for a bad cheeseburger in a Ruby Tuesday and having the television set on a bass fishing channel. It only went downhill from there. It was woman after woman with those weird peroxide fe-mullets with the hair short on the sides, or weird tumor-esque bundles of hair in the front. It was two separate channels on the radio playing conservative shock-jocks with either evangelists or country music in between. For a moment I thought I had finally found a decent station when I realized it was Christian rock. Sigh.
On the plus side, I do get to work next door to a nuclear reactor.
And then I got here. And I found out: you know what? It's all true. Every last bit of it.
My first experience in Knoxville was waiting for a bad cheeseburger in a Ruby Tuesday and having the television set on a bass fishing channel. It only went downhill from there. It was woman after woman with those weird peroxide fe-mullets with the hair short on the sides, or weird tumor-esque bundles of hair in the front. It was two separate channels on the radio playing conservative shock-jocks with either evangelists or country music in between. For a moment I thought I had finally found a decent station when I realized it was Christian rock. Sigh.
On the plus side, I do get to work next door to a nuclear reactor.
Overruled by friends
After a few moments of righteous indignation, I allowed myself to be democratically overruled by a triumvirate of friend, girlfriend, and former roommate, and I removed my previous censorship rant.
Action taken under mild protest, but if I've learned anything it's that I'm probably the least qualified person to make decisions about what's in my best interest. ;)
Action taken under mild protest, but if I've learned anything it's that I'm probably the least qualified person to make decisions about what's in my best interest. ;)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Scalia unclear on distinction between fiction, reality
He...he does know that 24 is fictional, right? And that nothing like 24's plot lines has ever or will ever happen?
It continues to blow my mind that this man was allowed to be a Supreme Court justice...
It continues to blow my mind that this man was allowed to be a Supreme Court justice...
Friday, June 15, 2007
Holy. Shit.
Did you know that Winnie from Wonder Years graduated summa cum laude in _math_ from UCLA?!
*stunned*
Amazing. She just became about an order of magnitude more attractive. Almost makes up for what a twit she was on Wonder Years.
*stunned*
Amazing. She just became about an order of magnitude more attractive. Almost makes up for what a twit she was on Wonder Years.
Nerdery
I just found myself, at 5:30 in the morning, thinking the following:
"You know, the climax scene of Pirates 3 is remarkably similar to the climax scene of Star Trek 6. _And_, both films have that same 'retrieve the protagonist from the underworld' thing going. Huh."
Sigh.
"You know, the climax scene of Pirates 3 is remarkably similar to the climax scene of Star Trek 6. _And_, both films have that same 'retrieve the protagonist from the underworld' thing going. Huh."
Sigh.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Shiny
Sigh. Sometimes I think I should have focused more on graphics, although this stuff is really only useful to people like Pixar...
Leaves...tram...what?
You are cordially invited to nominate potential interpretations for the following utterly baffling sign sighted in Brussels.
My current best guess: "Beware giant, leaf-eating triangles splitting apart tram cars."
My current best guess: "Beware giant, leaf-eating triangles splitting apart tram cars."
Things you don't expect to see on a baby monitor include...
"Huh. I coulda sworn my baby wasn't a man in his thirties. Or, you know, floating in space..."
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Pi is just a theory
Hedonistic, craven, godless math teachers who dare to contradict the word of god! Pi is 3! Teach the controversy!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Engagement rings as contrived, anti-feminist artifacts
Ever wonder what the history of the engagement ring is? Well, look no further than a bizarre confluence of DeBeers marketing (surprise!) and outmoded ideals of femininity.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
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