Head like a hole

alternateorg on April 13, 2001

Dennis Miller tonight on George W.: ‘He surrounds himself with smart people the way a hole surrounds itself with a donut.’

Nice.

Qwest kicks my ass… In a good way

alternateorg on April 13, 2001

So Qwest kicked my ass pretty good today, when I installed my DSL equipment a day early just for fun, and surprise surprise, it worked. It seems that Qwest figured I’d waited long enough, and installed my DSL line one day ahead of schedule. Whaddayaknow. Too little, too late? Probably.

WindowsXP to MP3 = Not on my desktop.

alternateorg on April 12, 2001

“The consumer is going to eat what he’s given.”

Under Microsoft’s new restrictions — which prevent its built-in software from recording MP3 files at fidelity rates higher than 56 kilobits per second — MP3 music “sounds like somebody in a phone booth underwater,”



early testers of beta versions of Windows XP already complain that the most popular MP3 recording applications — which compete with Microsoft’s format — don’t seem to function properly, apparently because of changes Microsoft made to how data are written on CD-ROMs under Windows XP.



Here is the URL. *Thanks to kiwiboy for the story.

“You are all my Bitches!” – Bill Gates to the World.

Lisa X

alternateorg on April 11, 2001

Interested in where the MacOS GUI (and subsequently every other OS GUI on earth) came from? I’m not talking about Xerox PARC or the Mac, I’m talking about prototypes of the Lisa interface (the Lisa was a poorly-received computer with a GUI prior to the original Macintosh). Drawn out on paper. Insane. Or should I say ‘Insanely great?’ Notice the ‘Letter to Jef’ window? Would that be Jef Raskin? Ha.

I will see you in the next life

alternateorg on April 11, 2001

I feel it is my civic duty to inform those who are unaware that Radiohead’s Amnesiac has hit the web. Fire up Napster, or try here (scroll down). It’s just the beginning of what should be a wonderful year for music. The idea of new albums by Radiohead, Bjork, and Tool has kept me warm throughout the winter. Then of course there are new ones from smaller bands like Burning Airlines, Stereolab, Sigur Ros, Boards of Canada, Mos Def, Sunny Day Real Estate, and on and on. I guess this is karma for how much last year sucked for music.

As far as Radiohead’s latest goes, a few things spring to mind: producer Nigel Godrich is reminding me more and more of Brian Eno. Radiohead is in that experimental stride that David Bowie, Talking Heads, and U2 all hit with Eno. Also, I find it amusing that Godspeed You Black Emperor! hates Radiohead so much, since the track “Like Spinning Plates” sounds like it would fit right in with their catalog. Oh well, listen for yourself and use the comment feature so that Kevin doesn’t feel unloved.

Of course, if you’re feeling inspired, or feel the urge to mix your geek life with your musical life, remember that anyone can play guitar.

It's just a snip off the top, really

alternateorg on April 10, 2001


the device is designed to be used in the same way as a tampon… This is then inserted by the woman. When the rapist attacks the woman and penetration takes place, the point of his penis will touch the section containing the blade and it (the penis), or at least a part of it, is sliced off.”

I can’t decide if this is entirely justifiable. I imagine that it is, but perhaps a dibilitating electric shock is more in order than a severance. A woman quoted in the article says something to the effect of this device being another precaution the woman has to take, and that any man who rapes should go to prison, end of story. While this is true, I can certainly see the allure an item like this might have to a woman who finds herself in uncomfortable circumstances. Would there be a risk of worse beating, even death, if this were to happen to one man in a group, and the rest decide teach the woman a lesson? I’m not sure… Another thing: Is this item really all that realistic? A woman doesn’t leave the house (I’m expecting) with the possibilty of rape on her mind, let alone the foresight to insert this before going to a party. Maybe more women should think that way. Someone is going to take that sentence the wrong way… All I’m saying is that this device puts the power back in the hands (in a matter of speaking) to the woman. At the risk of sounding like a new-age sensitive man, that’s something I’m all for.