jwz

Kap Bambino

jwz@jwz.org — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:02:58 GMT

DO NOT WANT. Crunchy, though.

jwz@jwz.org — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:37:28 GMT

These bugs are not the bugs that I normally eat.
Therefore they disgust me.

I can see time!

jwz@jwz.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:49:00 GMT

Fake Tree Vortex Threatens to Suck in Entire Backyard

"The wall and floor planes are actually entirely flat and perpendicular, and the tree vortex is an illusion created by the sloping lines."

season pass

jwz@jwz.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:25:07 GMT

I find that I barely watch actual movies any more, because they all suck. But Sleep Dealer was fantastic, and you should watch it at once. It reminded me of Varley's Blue Champagne mixed with Haldeman's Forever Peace.

Also Moon was really good.

I can't actually remember any other movies I saw this year that I enjoyed. (Oh, Up. That was cute.)

Then there's the televisions.

The Prisoner	This was kind of amazing. Ian McKellen does a fantastic Mr. Roarke, it's very surreal, and the final reveal of what's really going on was interesting and something I hadn't seen before.
Flash Forward	I've been enjoying this. It feels like Lost but with less of the bullshit. I read the book it was based on which is ok (but not great). I think the changes the show has made from the book have actually improved matters, which is unusual.
Stargate Universe	I almost hated the first episode ("Did I really watch two hours whose plot was 'find the broken window'?"), but it grew on me. They're addressing the resource-scarcity of the stranded crew more than any similar shows have, and there's a lot less comedy than in the other Stargate shows. I hope that the magic "talk to Earth" rocks stop working soon. It would be much more intense without that lifeline. Also, Lou Diamond Phillips is annoying.
V	To my great surprise, this has been not-terrible so far. I expected to hate it, because "hate" is the only sensible reaction to a (purportedly) science fiction show that features a priest as one of its main characters. That tells you that the writers expect to do a lot of hand-wringing about "faith" versus "science" (or as I like to call it, "reality"). Fortunately, this priest doesn't actually seem to be very interested in priesting, so that's been ok so far. I enjoyed the David Icke-isms, and that they didn't bother beating around the bush about getting the resistance going.
Dollhouse	This show followed the same pattern that Buffy did: the entire first season was slow-moving poorly-plotted terribly-acted garbage, and then he pulled it out of the crapper for the last two episodes of the season, which were like they were from a different show entirely. Season 2 has been much better than season 1, but of course now it's going to be cancelled (again). If you end up watching any of this, fast-forward through an episode or two from season one, then watch the two parter finale in 11 and 12, plus the future-apocalypse episode 13 (which never aired, because it's the best episode of the whole series, and you wouldn't want anyone to actually see that.)
House	I grudgingly admit that a doctor show can be worth my time.
Castle	I grudgingly admit that a cop show can be worth my time. But only because Nathan Fillion is fun to watch. The actual plots are completely unmemorable.
The Venture Brothers	This season is not wowwing me so far.
Dexter	Fading. But still good.
Californication	Consistently hilarious.
30 Rock	Consistently hilarious.
Supernatural	Often dumb. Occasionally hilarious.
*Why am I still watching this crap:*
Heroes	Apparently something went wrong with Tivo and I missed almost an entire season. And yet, apparently I missed nothing, except an explanation of why Whiny Blonde's power changed, and why Indian Dude isn't a lizardman any more. (Things about which I apparently don't even remotely care.)
Sanctuary	I watch most of this in fast forward or while playing games on my phone.
Fringe	Well, it's not as bad as Sanctuary.
Lost	Isn't it over yet? If I could fast-forward to the series finale episode, I'd do that right now.
True Blood	Season 2 was a lot better than season 1. Faint praise.
*Eagerly awaiting more of:*
Mad Men
United States of Tara
Weeds
Doctor Who	Though the xmas special sucked.
Leverage
Burn Notice

When FFWD isn't F enough

jwz@jwz.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:43:18 GMT

I wish there was Mythbusters feed that omitted the interminably long and redundant "coming up next!" and "before the break!" bits. Do they think that people only watch the show accidentally while channel-surfing? I think it's a 20 minute show that they pad to an hour. (Ok, 42 minutes plus commercials.)

dnalounge update

jwz@jwz.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:07:57 GMT

DNA Lounge update, wherein the War on Fun continues apace.

Parts.

jwz@jwz.org — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:59:36 GMT

SHUT UP WOMAN, GET ON MY HORSE. BRUTAL METAL WOW VERSION.

jwz@jwz.org — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:27:33 GMT

Previously.

bottom-posting!

jwz@jwz.org — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:47:33 GMT

> Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
> > Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
> > > Yes.
> > > > Is top-posting bad?

So there's a plugin for Mail.app called QuoteFix (download) that makes it do bottom-posting by default instead of top-posting. It also supposedly strips signatures out of the quoted text. Sadly, I can't get it to do anything at all. Anyone have any luck with it on 10.6.2?

Alternatives to Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2?

jwz@jwz.org — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:25:39 GMT

Dear Lazyweb,

I shoot with a Canon EOS 5D and an f1.4 50mm lens. This combo takes great photos in the dark, but the auto-focus sucks.

One solution it to put a flash on it and set it to "emit, no fire" so that the flash uses a red light for focus assist, but doesn't actually flash. I don't like this solution because the flash doubles the size of the thing I'm lugging around, and I bang it into things all the time.

Another solution is the Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, which is basically a flash without the flash part: it does focus assist and does it well (it also does other things that I don't care about).

Here's the problem: unlike a real flash, it doesn't run on AA batteries. It runs on these shitty 6v "2CR5" batteries, the disposable version of which are around $5 each. They don't last very long, maybe 1500 or 2000 shots.

I've bought rechargable 2CR5 battery kits from two different manufacturers, and guess what, they don't work. More specifically, they seem to not fit. I can only get the ST-E2 to function with them if I keep the lid open and manually jiggle the battery. They're not making contact somehow. I've tried the obvious things, including taping shims around them, to no avail. Maybe my ST-E2 is defective, but since it always works fine with the disposable batteries, that seems unlikely.

What I'd like is something that plugs into the hot-shoe and does focus-assist, but that runs on AA batteries. Failing that, a rechargable 2CR5 that actually works with the ST-E2. Any suggestions?

The part of the ABC bureaucracy will be played by a herd of hippos.

jwz@jwz.org — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:08:59 GMT

This is kind of what my year has been like:

Clearly this should be a Demotivators-style poster.
Caption suggestions?

Archaeboozeology

jwz@jwz.org — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:22:42 GMT

Drilling for Scotch whiskey on frozen continent

A beverage company has asked a team to drill through Antarctica's ice for a lost cache of some vintage Scotch whiskey that has been on the rocks since a century ago. The drillers will be trying to reach two crates of McKinlay and Co. whiskey that were shipped to the Antarctic by British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton as part of his abandoned 1909 expedition.
Workers from New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust will use special drills to reach the crates, frozen in Antarctic ice under the Nimrod Expedition hut near Cape Royds. Al Fastier, who will lead the expedition in January, said restoration workers found the crates of whiskey under the hut's floorboards in 2006. At the time, the crates and bottles were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged. The New Zealanders have agreed to try to retrieve some bottles, although the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed by 12 Antarctic Treaty nations. [...]
Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay's master blender, said the Shackleton expedition's whiskey could still be drinkable and taste exactly as it did 100 years ago. If he can get a sample, he intends to replicate the old Scotch and put McKinlay whiskey back on sale. "I really hope we can get some back here," he was quoted as telling London's Telegraph newspaper. "It's been laying there lonely and neglected. It should come back to Scotland where it was born.

Previously, previously, previously.

Alie & Georgia Present: Ham Daiquiri

jwz@jwz.org — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:55:09 GMT

Previously, previously.

now that's pretty fucked up right there.

jwz@jwz.org — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:37:27 GMT

Exhibit A:	Exhibit B:

BigDog Weaponized

jwz@jwz.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:10:00 GMT

Previously.

The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu

jwz@jwz.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:29:58 GMT

Previously, previously, previously.

dnalounge update

jwz@jwz.org — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:32:36 GMT

DNA Lounge update, wherein there are some photos.

Cyberpunk.

jwz@jwz.org — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:02:10 GMT

cowgirl

jwz@jwz.org — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:08:14 GMT

Previously, previously, previously.

Regretsy

jwz@jwz.org — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:05:38 GMT

"Really? That's interesting. Because to me, this is a $200 necklace of worms fucking."

Stefano Bonazzi

jwz@jwz.org — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:58:46 GMT

The last day on earth - Part VI

Previously, previously, previously.

dnalounge update

jwz@jwz.org — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:40:01 GMT

DNA Lounge update, wherein the axe falls.

FUCK YEAH DEBASER

jwz@jwz.org — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:28:11 GMT

iPhone worm

jwz@jwz.org — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:29:51 GMT

First iPhone worm discovered

Apple iPhone owners in Australia have reported that their smartphones have been infected by a worm that has changed their wallpaper to an image of 1980s pop crooner Rick Astley. Once in place, the worm appears to attempt to find other iPhones on the mobile phone network that are similarly vulnerable, and installs itself again
On each installation, the worm - written by a hacker calling themselves "ikex" - changes the lock background wallpaper to an image of Rick Astley with the message: "ikee is never going to give you up".

"I Love You, Mr. Star Wars" And Other Famous Movie Quotes

jwz@jwz.org — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:15:46 GMT

It is traditional to politely golf-clap any time a film mentions the name of said film.