Chaotic Static

100 Photographs that Changed the World

2004-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

As an amateur photographer, this was a great find. It is amazing what ipact these photos still ahve today! 100 Photographs that Changed the World by LIFE
The Tiananmen Square photos is one that I will remember. The power of one.

Jaws in 30 seconds with bunnies.

2004-09-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Humor break! Jaws in 30 seconds re-enacted with bunnies.

The Godfather horse head prop pillow

2004-09-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Nothing says revenge and gives you a good nights sleep all in one like The Godfather horse head prop pillow.

Tourist's crime? Toting bookmark

2004-09-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

To all of you bookworms out there... Beware! It may be illegal in this country to carry a bookmark on to a plane!

Hillsborough: Tourist's crime? Toting bookmark: "TAMPA - For the past month, Kathryn Harrington has stared down the possibility of a criminal trial, a $10,000 fine and the stigma of being deemed a security risk at Tampa International Airport.
The reason? She had a bookmark with her as she passed through airport security screening"
The stupidity of this is the TSA may consider the bookmark a weapon and she still may have to pay the fines.

Utah grounds low-flying Santa | The Register

2004-09-21T10:04:00.000-07:00
Utah grounds low-flying Santa | The Register: "Xmas 2004 looks like being a grim affair for Salt Lake City's kids after the city's airport board decided to revoke an exemption which allows Santa Claus to fly below 2,000 feet over the city on Christmas Eve, Reuters reports."

What I want to know is how they intend to enforce the law? Who has the ability to pull over a sleigh and eight reindeer? If Santa has to be in every timezone over 24 hours, exactly how long would you expect him to remain in controlled airspace? These are the questsions they need to solve before they decide to create these kinds of laws.

Google Answers

2004-09-21T08:53:00.000-07:00
Ever have a question that you can't answer? I found that you can get an answer to everything from google. While most of us go directly to the search engine to search for the ansewr, I found I can now go out and simply ask the question and wait for the answer.

Example: What is the solution to the "Petals of the Rose" puzzle?" Assume I role five dice with the numbers 2 4 5 3 1. Is the answer really 6?

Google Answers

MSNBC - Google surges 18%25 in Nasdaq debut

2004-08-19T14:55:00.000-07:00
MSNBC - Google surges 18%25 in Nasdaq debut: "Google surges 18%25 in Nasdaq debut"

Ready for the next .COM boom? Google debuted up 15.34 Points on a day when the DOW dropped 43 points and the Nasdaq 11.5 points.

My advice... Short it!

Hyperlink Policy

2004-08-18T13:11:00.000-07:00
Hyperlink Policy: "ATHENS 2004 Organising Commitee for the Olympic Games -Website Hyperlink Policy"

Amazingly enough, in order to link to the official web site of the Athens 2004 Olympics, you must obey all their policies. How do they intend to enforce this?

c) Send a request letter to the Internet Department stating:
- Short description of site
- Reason for linking
- Unique URL containing the link (if no unique URL than just the main URL)
- Publishing period
- Contact point (e-mail address)

Once the request has been mailed, interested parties can proceed to include the link and will only receive a response if ATHENS 2004 does not accept the link. All requests should be sent to:...

iMesh - Never Again!!!

2004-08-13T13:47:00.000-07:00
iMesh

A few years ago, during the start of the Napster/P2P, I tried a few different P2P apps. At the time, features were limited, and the adoption was still lacking. I learned one thing from this early experience, I hate Spyware/Adware!

Then, this past week, I was asked to find a song that I did not have in my CD Collection. An oldie by Jimmy Dean, the breakfast sausage guy. Some one asked for a clip of 'Big Bad John'. I figured that rather than getting original version and buying the song, I would look for an independent cover recording of the song on the P2P networks. Someone must have recorded this song and posted it online.
Well, to the point, I tried iMesh. To my surprise, I found 15 version of "Big Bad John" online. Sure, some were Jimmy Dean or Johnny Cash, but I also found some independent artists doing their own versions. I direct the friend to the source and called it a day.
The next day, to my surprise, I start getting pop-ups on my computer even when I am not running iMesh. So, I uninstalled iMesh. Reboot, and I still get the Pop-ups. Ok, since when does a company have the right to leave behind an application on my computer when I choose to remove the application?
Here is the section from the iMesh Privacy Policy. Section 9...
9. Third Party Software

9.1 During the process of installing iMesh Software, you must install software from third party software vendors pursuant to Licenses or other arrangements between such vendors and yourself ("Third Party Software"). Please note that the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE is subject to different Licenses or other arrangements, which you should read carefully. By installing and using this THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE you accept these THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE Licenses or other arrangements and acknowledge that you have read them and understand them. iMesh does not sell, resell, or license any of this THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, and iMesh disclaims to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, any responsibility for or liability related to the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE. Any questions, complaints or claims related to the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE should be directed to the appropriate vendor.

and this little ditty...
9.3 There are inherent dangers in the use of any software available for downloading on the Internet, and iMesh cautions you to make sure that you completely understand the potential risks before downloading any of the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE. You are solely responsible for adequate protection and backup of the data and equipment used in connection with any of the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, and iMesh will not be liable for any damages that you may suffer in connection with using, modifying or distributing any of the THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE.
So, If I get this correctly, I am responsible for any damages that I incur from the installation of third party software that I cannot decline from iMesh on my computer. Second, iMesh is not responsible for any damage I may suffer from the software they require me to install.
It took 30 minutes to get all traces of the Spyware off the system. Amazingly enough, Adaware 6.0 took care of all the little pieces that I missed!
Moral of the story.. Don't do a favor for a friend.

PhotoStamps: Home

2004-08-13T12:53:00.000-07:00
PhotoStamps: Home

This has got to be one of the coolest ideas I ahve seen in a long time. I piloted the Stamps.Com service to print my own stamps back in 2000. It never really took off at the time. To my surprise, I stumbled across this today. Order stamps from Stamps.com with your own pictures on the stamps.

I'm thinking a political mashup of Bush/Kerry or a fun spoof/parody on RIAA/Apple/Microsoft. The potential is endless.

You can bet I will be sending Christmas Cards this year with my own personalized stamps.

Waste of a good server.

2004-07-30T06:55:00.000-07:00
I go back to work for a client here in Minnesota that is involved with Law Enforcement. I can't say who, but it's a real pain to get clearance to get in here. The FBI background checks, fingerprinting, and questionnaire are standard procedure.
Anyways, I'm going back to configure the Unisys ES7000 Servers for some mission critical messaging systems. It still amazes me how much power companies own in the Data Center, but never take full advantage of the capabilities.
Imagine taking a 32 processor server and cutting it up into 4 processor servers. Why would you do that? Redundancy? High Availability? Maybe. If you are going to own a 32 processor server, run it as a 32 processor server. If you want 4 processor servers, buy 4 processor servers!
As you can guess, this is a pet peeve.
A thought to consider. Architect a solution, plan the hardware, purchase the right solution. Don't buy the hardware then try to design a solution to fit.

.NET Tools: Ten Must-Have Tools Every Developer Should Download Now -- MSDN Magazine, July 2004

2004-07-30T06:46:00.000-07:00
.NET Tools: Ten Must-Have Tools Every Developer Should Download Now -- MSDN Magazine, July 2004
For those who didn't already know, I spend much of my time consulting. When I am not developing Enterprise Architetures, I'm fiddling with Microsoft development technologies.

Today, I happened this. Ten Must-Have Tools Every Developer Should Download Now. Definately worth a look for all of you who enjoy a good program from time to time.

NUnit to write unit tests
NDoc to create code documentation
NAnt to build your solutions
CodeSmith to generate code
FxCop to police your code
Snippet Compiler to compile small bits of code
Two different switcher tools, the ASP.NET Version Switcher and the Visual Studio .NET
Project Converter
Regulator to build regular expressions
.NET Reflector to examine assemblies"

I've started adding a few to my toolbox of apps.

The Trouble with Tethering - engadget.com

2004-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00
This is one of my own personal pet peeves. ‘Tethering’, the practice of creating a product that can only use your accessories or supporting products. I have never been a fan of this concept and have avoided it at all costs. When I purchased my digital camera, I chose a brand that used rechargeable AA's and Compact Flash. I looked at a Sony, but was turned off by its proprietary battery type and the memory stick.

If you are like me, and hate 'Tethering', this is a good story for you to read. Great job Peter! You hit the nail on the head!

The Trouble with Tethering - Engadget.com: "Tethering should be a great deal for hardware makers. They all seem to be trying to corner the market on 'secondary goods.' Whether they make coffee makers, garage door openers, ink-jet printers, batteries, video games, or digital music files, producers are employing tools that range from copyright to contract to design to freeze out generic competitors."

NewsGator

2004-07-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

I’ve been looking for a good RSS reader, and NewsGator is it! I spend 50% of my time in Outlook during the day, why not get my syndicated news feeds through the same tool I already use! NewsGator does just that! In addition, I can post to this blog from Outlook. No more Google Toolbar to random thoughts. LINK: http://www.newsgator.com/

W32.Mydoom.M@mm Hits Search Engines

2004-07-27T07:43:00.000-07:00
Symantec Security Response - W32.Mydoom.M@mm

I was amazed to actually see a Virus attachment in my corporate email the other day. MyDoom has hit a few 'unprotected' individuals in my office. This virus was interesting in that is sent an attachment with the name of may email address. What makes this tricky is that any email address that ends in a .com is also an executable.

Second, the idea that a virus can search your hard drive for documents, snatch email addresses, and search the web with Google, yahoo, and AltaVista is amazing. Who ahs enough time to dream this kind of stuff up? Anyways, Google had a 'slow down' yesterday during the virus peak.

This takes me back to my original idea that Email should be 'pay per send' to any account that does not have you in their address book. If you want to get an email from someone, they need to pay for the first email. If I read it, and add them to my 'friends list', they should be able to send email to me for free. All revenue from the email should go to the recipient or recipient's company to cover spam costs. Elegant. However, I recognize the fact that it does not protect against viruses. That is simple protection with up to date Anti-Virus software.

An Automobile With Feelings - It has been done, and it 's a Dumb idea!

2004-07-26T08:32:00.000-07:00
While communicating to other drivers has always been something I wish I could do better, I don't think this is the way. This has got to be one of the worst ideas I have ever seen. First of all, how much will it cost to repair a headlamp? Or a hood if you have hail or a car wreck? How about a scrolling LED in the hood like KIT from Knight Rider. Red when you’re mad, blue when you’re passive and green when you have car envy. Or just scroll your message through the grill.

This design is the reincarnation of Herbie the white VW Bug. What are they thinking?

The New York Times: An Automobile With Feelings

An so it began...

2004-07-25T21:46:00.000-07:00
I'll try to filter out the static from the chaos every now and then, but this blog is really to capture the ultra strange news I find on other sites along with a few good ideas I find along the way.