The 10.5.6 Blunder
Did your mouse go crazy after the 10.5.6 update?
You are not alone. There are already several threads in the apple support forum.
Many people have been hit with ‘Erratic Mouse Syndrome’ (EMS) after updating to x.5.6.
The symptoms (users usually report the exact same symptoms for this bug) are:
1. Upon wake from sleep, the mouse (cursor, not the hardware) is frozen, or skipping erratically around the screen.
2. Sometimes, the mouse will move opposite of the user’s hand movement.
3. Sporadic black flickering of the display.
4. It is resolved by keyboard restart (Ctrl+Eject, in case you cant get to the ‘apple’ menu).
5. GOTO 1
6. In my case, Final Cut Pro launches super slow (the rest of FCS2 does not)*.
Until now, users have tried Zapping PRAM (CMD+OPT+R+P before and during the gray screen, you need to wait for the second chime), fsck, permission repair and all the usual suspects, to no avail.
A suggestion from Apple; Try downloading the combo update (about 600 Mb),and install it on top of whatever is already installed. When the update asks for restart, hit ok, and MAKE SURE to hit ok in the following box, one that says something about UPDATING BOOT CACHES.
For me, this didn’t solve the problem, but it might be worth trying. FCP launches horribly slow (about 3 Min of SBOD, used to be 5-10 Sec total launch time).
Semi-Solutions:
1. disable sleep mode.
2. go back to 10.5.5, either by backup, or by Archive and Install to an earlier OS (use your original Os X disc, insert it, restart and press Alt or Opt before and during the gray screen, choose Options, then Archive and Install). After this, make sure you download the combo updates from apple’s site, not using the updater, and avoid 10.5.6 for now.
I did manage to fix FCP.
How-To: Fix FCP’s launch issue:
1. Trash Prefs, using this tool
2. Locate the folder “Final Cut Pro Documents”, should be on your scratch disc.
3. Inside it, locate the thumbnail and waveform cache folders, and trash them.
4. Empty the trash.
You should be good to go. if things still arent working out for you, use this tool to remove FCS and do a clean install. Feel free to email any questions you might have.
Good Luck!
this is a serious blunder. Almost as bad as the ‘Fire-On-The-Wire iTunes Firewire’ update fiasco, which erased whole drives , thanks to a ‘ “ ‘ missing in some installer script.
Making the mouse in a mousecentric OS unusable, they deserve a Darwin Award.
An observation; the MacPro’s power indicator stopped blinking in sleep mode, but is a steady light. could this be a clue?
You are not alone. There are already several threads in the apple support forum.
Many people have been hit with ‘Erratic Mouse Syndrome’ (EMS) after updating to x.5.6.
The symptoms (users usually report the exact same symptoms for this bug) are:
1. Upon wake from sleep, the mouse (cursor, not the hardware) is frozen, or skipping erratically around the screen.
2. Sometimes, the mouse will move opposite of the user’s hand movement.
3. Sporadic black flickering of the display.
4. It is resolved by keyboard restart (Ctrl+Eject, in case you cant get to the ‘apple’ menu).
5. GOTO 1
6. In my case, Final Cut Pro launches super slow (the rest of FCS2 does not)*.
Until now, users have tried Zapping PRAM (CMD+OPT+R+P before and during the gray screen, you need to wait for the second chime), fsck, permission repair and all the usual suspects, to no avail.
A suggestion from Apple; Try downloading the combo update (about 600 Mb),and install it on top of whatever is already installed. When the update asks for restart, hit ok, and MAKE SURE to hit ok in the following box, one that says something about UPDATING BOOT CACHES.
For me, this didn’t solve the problem, but it might be worth trying. FCP launches horribly slow (about 3 Min of SBOD, used to be 5-10 Sec total launch time).
Semi-Solutions:
1. disable sleep mode.
2. go back to 10.5.5, either by backup, or by Archive and Install to an earlier OS (use your original Os X disc, insert it, restart and press Alt or Opt before and during the gray screen, choose Options, then Archive and Install). After this, make sure you download the combo updates from apple’s site, not using the updater, and avoid 10.5.6 for now.
I did manage to fix FCP.
How-To: Fix FCP’s launch issue:
1. Trash Prefs, using this tool
2. Locate the folder “Final Cut Pro Documents”, should be on your scratch disc.
3. Inside it, locate the thumbnail and waveform cache folders, and trash them.
4. Empty the trash.
You should be good to go. if things still arent working out for you, use this tool to remove FCS and do a clean install. Feel free to email any questions you might have.
Good Luck!
this is a serious blunder. Almost as bad as the ‘Fire-On-The-Wire iTunes Firewire’ update fiasco, which erased whole drives , thanks to a ‘ “ ‘ missing in some installer script.
Making the mouse in a mousecentric OS unusable, they deserve a Darwin Award.
An observation; the MacPro’s power indicator stopped blinking in sleep mode, but is a steady light. could this be a clue?
|
(Un) Mess-up your iTunes
For the last few days, i have ben re-arranging my music
collection (90GB).
I am one of those people who simply copy entire music collections from friends, and never likes to erase any of it. Being a video editor, i look at my music collection in a more ‘practical’ way. That means, many of the tracks are of not things I would listen to, but things useful for editing.
I tried using itunes to re-tag all those ‘unknown’ titles, genres, and artist, all the ‘___1___.mp3’ mysteries, to no avail.
This simply takes too long to be possible when you have ±15,000 songs.
Hello Jaikoz, you saved my life!
Jaikoz is a simple and efficient Java application for mp3 meta-tagging. The application ‘listens’ to the tracks, compares to the musicbrainz DB, and fixes as much information as possible (genres, artist, title, artwork, lyrics). the interface resembles the itunes one (sort of, this is a multi-platform java app, so please, don’t expect the Apple finesse), and one may choose to run in full auto mode, semi-manual, or manually fix each or a group of tags.
From my experience, after getting to know the preferences a little bit, slightly tweaking them enables a fully automatic repair of most tracks, and powerful batch tools (such as ‘save changes and move’ ) makes fixing enormous collections absolutely possible.
I am not into writing usage instructions, you can find this in the Jaikoz help section, but i am into helping my fellow netizens,
so here is a bug solution, for a nasty (but not really a bug) bug, most users with over 2500 songs will encounter...
‘Memory Limits Bug’
Again, not really a bug, but the application is only addressing (up-to) 300 MB ram. A large collection may require much more memory, and this will cause the application to crash when loading a large number of file (2500 and up).
HOW TO FIX:
1. after installing Jaikoz, go to Applications > Jaikoz > right click (or ctrl click) on the Jaikoz icon, choose ‘show package contents’
2. in the folder that opened (called ‘contents’ ) look for ‘info.plist’. Make a copy, named jaikoz.info.plist.bak’ or whatever you like, to serve as a backup in case you totally mess-up something. Save this backup OUTSIDE of the contents folder.
3. open the original info.plist with textedit (or plist editor if you have), look for a line, somewhere in the middle, which reads ‘-Xms150 -Xmx300. this line’s meaning is “minimum memory 150mb maximum 300mb”
4. change the Xmx value to something fitting your setup (dont allocate 4000mb if you only have 4000mb)
5. save (with the original name and suffix)
6. relaunch jaikoz.
Note; if the application fails to launch, most likely you entered a too large (or wrong) Xmx value. Simply change it to a lower number until it launches fine. i allocated 4gb (on a 16gb machine), and it failed to launch. After setting Xmx to 2500mb, it launches, loads and process smoothly.
Final thoughts
I think Apple should develop such tool, to go along with the itunes. this probably contradicts their music store philosophy, where you buy ‘fresh’ songs, and never have to fix their tags.
For the time being, Jaikoz is doing its job well, and is a very capable application. Well worth the 20$ the full version costs.
Links:
Download Jaikoz
Download MusicIP (similar to the Genius feature in itunes)
I am one of those people who simply copy entire music collections from friends, and never likes to erase any of it. Being a video editor, i look at my music collection in a more ‘practical’ way. That means, many of the tracks are of not things I would listen to, but things useful for editing.
I tried using itunes to re-tag all those ‘unknown’ titles, genres, and artist, all the ‘___1___.mp3’ mysteries, to no avail.
This simply takes too long to be possible when you have ±15,000 songs.
Hello Jaikoz, you saved my life!
Jaikoz is a simple and efficient Java application for mp3 meta-tagging. The application ‘listens’ to the tracks, compares to the musicbrainz DB, and fixes as much information as possible (genres, artist, title, artwork, lyrics). the interface resembles the itunes one (sort of, this is a multi-platform java app, so please, don’t expect the Apple finesse), and one may choose to run in full auto mode, semi-manual, or manually fix each or a group of tags.
From my experience, after getting to know the preferences a little bit, slightly tweaking them enables a fully automatic repair of most tracks, and powerful batch tools (such as ‘save changes and move’ ) makes fixing enormous collections absolutely possible.
I am not into writing usage instructions, you can find this in the Jaikoz help section, but i am into helping my fellow netizens,
so here is a bug solution, for a nasty (but not really a bug) bug, most users with over 2500 songs will encounter...
‘Memory Limits Bug’
Again, not really a bug, but the application is only addressing (up-to) 300 MB ram. A large collection may require much more memory, and this will cause the application to crash when loading a large number of file (2500 and up).
HOW TO FIX:
1. after installing Jaikoz, go to Applications > Jaikoz > right click (or ctrl click) on the Jaikoz icon, choose ‘show package contents’
2. in the folder that opened (called ‘contents’ ) look for ‘info.plist’. Make a copy, named jaikoz.info.plist.bak’ or whatever you like, to serve as a backup in case you totally mess-up something. Save this backup OUTSIDE of the contents folder.
3. open the original info.plist with textedit (or plist editor if you have), look for a line, somewhere in the middle, which reads ‘-Xms150 -Xmx300. this line’s meaning is “minimum memory 150mb maximum 300mb”
4. change the Xmx value to something fitting your setup (dont allocate 4000mb if you only have 4000mb)
5. save (with the original name and suffix)
6. relaunch jaikoz.
Note; if the application fails to launch, most likely you entered a too large (or wrong) Xmx value. Simply change it to a lower number until it launches fine. i allocated 4gb (on a 16gb machine), and it failed to launch. After setting Xmx to 2500mb, it launches, loads and process smoothly.
Final thoughts
I think Apple should develop such tool, to go along with the itunes. this probably contradicts their music store philosophy, where you buy ‘fresh’ songs, and never have to fix their tags.
For the time being, Jaikoz is doing its job well, and is a very capable application. Well worth the 20$ the full version costs.
Links:
Download Jaikoz
Download MusicIP (similar to the Genius feature in itunes)
It's been a long time , i know
17/12/08 15:54
HOW-TO; Creacte a secure backup, using OS X
(If you just want the HOW-TO, scroll down, it’s below
the intro to backup)
Sometimes, its not a bad idea to have backup, and most people realize this when they need the backup.
You only think of your car’s spare tire when you have a flat, and after the first time you get stuck in the
middle of nowhere with a flat spare, it will never happen to you again, and you will always check your
spare before going on a trip.
Backup on OS X is very easy, and you have to be super-lazy or an absolutely careless and free spirited
person. If you are like me, and your Apple is almost an extension of your body (i almost feel naked when i leave the house without my laptop bag), then you dont want to have to resort to...(drum roll) Data Recovery.
This is not a ‘How-to backup’, so i’ll just mention my backup scheme:
1. SuperDuper clone of my internal HD, in a safe.
2. portable media vault (PMV), two partitions, one is encrypted
3. PMV clone at home
4. Capture scratch and FMV (fixed media vault)
why so much? well, hard disks are not reliable, and i do not want my 90 gig itunes library dead, nor my 15 gig iphoto library, so it is backed up (anyone who experienced the ‘external firewire erase’ bug of itunes knows what i am talking about). Capture Scratch is something to do with video editing, so you may disregard the CS+FMV item.
PMV i need because anyway my Internal HD is getting full, and this is why the need for encryption; these small (2.5”, laptop disk) disks are very easy to steal.
(what we came here for)How to encrypt an external USB disk?
as you may or may not know, OS X has a FileVault App, which encrypts your home folder. nice and handy, but wont work for external disks.
solutions?
1. can use applications like TrueCrypt. my problem with truecrypt was, that it doesnt allow you to format your disk as HFS+, only FAT (forget about files larger then 2gig), and is kind of complicated and intimidating, unless you name is Mr. Data.
2. my solution - create a sparse disk image, encrypted, with shrink script.
HOW-TO create a SPARSE DISK IMAGE
(this is very very easy to do, just follow the instructions)
1. open DISK UTILTY
2. FILE > NEW > BLANK DISK IMAGE
3. choose where and how the image is saved.
4 choose the size you want. there is an overhead of about 100mb for 100gb, so it is ok to choose very big images. mine is 120gb, but you should experiment with smaller ones before committing.
5. encrypt using 128-bit, or 256-bit if they are after you. you may want to uncheck the keychain box, so you (or the thief) will have to enter the password in order to mount it (this matters only when mounted on your computer, otherwise, password is needed anyway).
6. choose sparse disk image. this means the image, even if defined in size ‘200 gb’, will be just as big as it’s contents, and will expand until it reaches the predefined size.
you are done. mount the image, drag files into it, they are now AES 128-bit encrypted. this works fine for all your needs, video playback, iPhoto (all these naughty pictures are finally safe), itunes and so on. infect, this is exactly what FileVault does behind the scenes.
there is one tiny problem. when you delete files from the image file, it will not shrink. this has something to do with encryption and trash cans, but we dont really care why, we just want to fix this, dont we?
enters THE AUTO-SHRINK
(thanks iShater @ Mac Forums)
Instructions:
1) Download this zip
2) Extract the .workflow file in the archive.
3) Launch Automator from the applications folder.
4) Open the workflow file.
5) Verify the contents (Should always do that before executing someone else's script!) - you will see that it is shelling out to the bash shell and telling it to run the disk utilities application (hdiutil) to compact the file being passed in (compact "$@", where the funny characters refer to the file you select in finder when running the script).
6) In Automator do a Save-As Plug-in
7) Pick a name (same name as the script is OK)
8) Select Finder as the Plug-in type
Once that is done, you can right-click the image file and select Automator->Compact sparse image (or whatever name you chose for the script).
It will then reclaim any space left by deleted files from the sparse image.
This script was courtesy of an article from MacWorld.
Sometimes, its not a bad idea to have backup, and most people realize this when they need the backup.
You only think of your car’s spare tire when you have a flat, and after the first time you get stuck in the
middle of nowhere with a flat spare, it will never happen to you again, and you will always check your
spare before going on a trip.
Backup on OS X is very easy, and you have to be super-lazy or an absolutely careless and free spirited
person. If you are like me, and your Apple is almost an extension of your body (i almost feel naked when i leave the house without my laptop bag), then you dont want to have to resort to...(drum roll) Data Recovery.
This is not a ‘How-to backup’, so i’ll just mention my backup scheme:
1. SuperDuper clone of my internal HD, in a safe.
2. portable media vault (PMV), two partitions, one is encrypted
3. PMV clone at home
4. Capture scratch and FMV (fixed media vault)
why so much? well, hard disks are not reliable, and i do not want my 90 gig itunes library dead, nor my 15 gig iphoto library, so it is backed up (anyone who experienced the ‘external firewire erase’ bug of itunes knows what i am talking about). Capture Scratch is something to do with video editing, so you may disregard the CS+FMV item.
PMV i need because anyway my Internal HD is getting full, and this is why the need for encryption; these small (2.5”, laptop disk) disks are very easy to steal.
(what we came here for)How to encrypt an external USB disk?
as you may or may not know, OS X has a FileVault App, which encrypts your home folder. nice and handy, but wont work for external disks.
solutions?
1. can use applications like TrueCrypt. my problem with truecrypt was, that it doesnt allow you to format your disk as HFS+, only FAT (forget about files larger then 2gig), and is kind of complicated and intimidating, unless you name is Mr. Data.
2. my solution - create a sparse disk image, encrypted, with shrink script.
HOW-TO create a SPARSE DISK IMAGE
(this is very very easy to do, just follow the instructions)
1. open DISK UTILTY
2. FILE > NEW > BLANK DISK IMAGE
3. choose where and how the image is saved.
4 choose the size you want. there is an overhead of about 100mb for 100gb, so it is ok to choose very big images. mine is 120gb, but you should experiment with smaller ones before committing.
5. encrypt using 128-bit, or 256-bit if they are after you. you may want to uncheck the keychain box, so you (or the thief) will have to enter the password in order to mount it (this matters only when mounted on your computer, otherwise, password is needed anyway).
6. choose sparse disk image. this means the image, even if defined in size ‘200 gb’, will be just as big as it’s contents, and will expand until it reaches the predefined size.
you are done. mount the image, drag files into it, they are now AES 128-bit encrypted. this works fine for all your needs, video playback, iPhoto (all these naughty pictures are finally safe), itunes and so on. infect, this is exactly what FileVault does behind the scenes.
there is one tiny problem. when you delete files from the image file, it will not shrink. this has something to do with encryption and trash cans, but we dont really care why, we just want to fix this, dont we?
enters THE AUTO-SHRINK
(thanks iShater @ Mac Forums)
Instructions:
1) Download this zip
2) Extract the .workflow file in the archive.
3) Launch Automator from the applications folder.
4) Open the workflow file.
5) Verify the contents (Should always do that before executing someone else's script!) - you will see that it is shelling out to the bash shell and telling it to run the disk utilities application (hdiutil) to compact the file being passed in (compact "$@", where the funny characters refer to the file you select in finder when running the script).
6) In Automator do a Save-As Plug-in
7) Pick a name (same name as the script is OK)
8) Select Finder as the Plug-in type
Once that is done, you can right-click the image file and select Automator->Compact sparse image (or whatever name you chose for the script).
It will then reclaim any space left by deleted files from the sparse image.
This script was courtesy of an article from MacWorld.
16 Right, 09 Left, 81 Right (or 'I'm a Doctor, Let Me Through!')
24/06/08 09:35 Filed in: Art of
Living
First, take a look at the picture below. The sign reads
'Medkit'.
This is the photo of a Medkit on board of an Israeli train. If you still dont get it, the box is locked with a safe-like dial. This gives the old 'break In case of emergency' sign a new meaning. What kind of horrible vandals we must be, if even life saving equipment such as a Medkit has to be locked in a safe? maybe it's to keep junkies away from the morphine.
We could start discussing boring things like priorities, and optimization of objects (when the designer has to balance between several qualities in order to get that perfect mix for the object's purpose), but i think it is much more entertaining to try and imagine what would happen in case of emergency. 16 to the left, 09 to the right, 81 left. or was it 81 to the right?
This is the photo of a Medkit on board of an Israeli train. If you still dont get it, the box is locked with a safe-like dial. This gives the old 'break In case of emergency' sign a new meaning. What kind of horrible vandals we must be, if even life saving equipment such as a Medkit has to be locked in a safe? maybe it's to keep junkies away from the morphine.
We could start discussing boring things like priorities, and optimization of objects (when the designer has to balance between several qualities in order to get that perfect mix for the object's purpose), but i think it is much more entertaining to try and imagine what would happen in case of emergency. 16 to the left, 09 to the right, 81 left. or was it 81 to the right?
I wish I could make a jacket out of YOU(R milky white skin)!
22/06/08 08:38 Filed in: Art of
Living |
lolcat
This really makes me sad. How can someone be so heartless?
The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also known as the Painted Leopard, McKenney's Wildcat or Manigordo (in Costa Rica), is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean.
The Ocelot's appearance is similar to that of the domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a Clouded Leopard or Jaguar and was once regarded as particularly valuable. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ocelots have been killed for their fur. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from the 1980s until 1996, but is now generally considered "least concern" by the 2006 IUCN Red List.
I would have loved to have an extra-large, leopard look-alike Ocelot cat around. and yes, i'd rather make a coat out of that east-german trash bimbo who is so dense she makes lead bricks seem like angel's wing's feathers, otherwise she would barf when wearing the coat of another animal.
Firefox 3 (yay!)
Ok, I did as instructed,downloaded during the Guinness
record event and installed Firefox 3.
Installation was as easy as expected, and the new Firefox seems faster and looks better, but
thats not what i wanted to talk about.
Firefox had a nasty bug (maybe just my MBP?) that causes it to open as a tiny window that
i had to look forever for, and Firefox would not remember the window size, so every time it
started i had to resize and position it. very annoying.
THE SOLUTION FOR THE NASTY MICRO WINDOW FIREFOX BUG:
(Note - this has worked for me perfectly, please let me know if it does not work for you)
1. Quit Firefox (but not before reading this text, lol...)
2. go to : USERNAME \ LIBRARY \ APPLICATION SUPPORT \ FIREFOX \ PROFILES \ YOUR.PROFILE \
3. locate the file localstore.rdf
4. make sure you quit firefox before doing anything (but fear not, i tried doing this without quitting, and it's OK)
5. rename localstore.rdf as localstore.rdf.bak (or .sav or whatever, this is your localstore backup file for now)
you might have to 'Show Info' on the file (cmd+i) so you can untick the 'hide extension' box, so that you can
change the .rdf to .rdf.bak.
6. launch Firefox. it should be fine now, and you will see a new Localstore.rdf file created in the profile you fixed.
thats it. if you are having trouble, leave a comment and i will try and help.
Installation was as easy as expected, and the new Firefox seems faster and looks better, but
thats not what i wanted to talk about.
Firefox had a nasty bug (maybe just my MBP?) that causes it to open as a tiny window that
i had to look forever for, and Firefox would not remember the window size, so every time it
started i had to resize and position it. very annoying.
THE SOLUTION FOR THE NASTY MICRO WINDOW FIREFOX BUG:
(Note - this has worked for me perfectly, please let me know if it does not work for you)
1. Quit Firefox (but not before reading this text, lol...)
2. go to : USERNAME \ LIBRARY \ APPLICATION SUPPORT \ FIREFOX \ PROFILES \ YOUR.PROFILE \
3. locate the file localstore.rdf
4. make sure you quit firefox before doing anything (but fear not, i tried doing this without quitting, and it's OK)
5. rename localstore.rdf as localstore.rdf.bak (or .sav or whatever, this is your localstore backup file for now)
you might have to 'Show Info' on the file (cmd+i) so you can untick the 'hide extension' box, so that you can
change the .rdf to .rdf.bak.
6. launch Firefox. it should be fine now, and you will see a new Localstore.rdf file created in the profile you fixed.
thats it. if you are having trouble, leave a comment and i will try and help.
Kipa Aduma
03/06/08 09:53 Filed in: Art of
Living
Hele-Shaw Ferrohydrodynamics
27/05/08 08:44 Filed in: Art of
Living
I came across this experiment a few years ago,
and was mesmerized by it's beauty.
not being an educated professional in the chemistry
or biology fields, my guess is as good as anyones,
but assuming that some primordial molecules had
ferric elements, isnt it possible that the first
cellular life form came to be due to this effect?
i have lost the video file long, long time ago. thanks youtube!
what you are about to watch is an experiment, where magnetic
(ferro fluid) liquid is placed between two sheets of glass,
surrounded by a magnetic field. the fluid arranges itself
according to the magnetic field's direction and force.
and was mesmerized by it's beauty.
not being an educated professional in the chemistry
or biology fields, my guess is as good as anyones,
but assuming that some primordial molecules had
ferric elements, isnt it possible that the first
cellular life form came to be due to this effect?
i have lost the video file long, long time ago. thanks youtube!
what you are about to watch is an experiment, where magnetic
(ferro fluid) liquid is placed between two sheets of glass,
surrounded by a magnetic field. the fluid arranges itself
according to the magnetic field's direction and force.
cats love weed!
21/05/08 08:25 Filed in: lolcat
China's Great Wall (Nikiland)
20/05/08 20:10 Filed in: Art of
Living
Last month i have been to Macao. Nice place.
for those who haven't been there, here is a map of
Macao ;
View Larger Map
As i said , a nice place, made up mainly from casinos
and giant apartment buildings.
Walking next to Senado Square, i came across this site,
probably a demolished house.
looks interesting, and i would have loved to know what is
written in that poster. probably some government endorsing.
unfortunately, they have really tall gates over in Macao, and
Macao, China, is not a place i would like to be caught trespassing.
Detail - Crazy Rabbit Aardvark Flower Sucking Beast
and to my disappointment ,the back side of Nikiland, which turns out to be
an advertisement for the Red Devil.
do you think coke paid her to keep all but the bottle in B&W?
or did she simply give up in disgust after selling out so badly?
for those who haven't been there, here is a map of
Macao ;
View Larger Map
As i said , a nice place, made up mainly from casinos
and giant apartment buildings.
Walking next to Senado Square, i came across this site,
probably a demolished house.
looks interesting, and i would have loved to know what is
written in that poster. probably some government endorsing.
unfortunately, they have really tall gates over in Macao, and
Macao, China, is not a place i would like to be caught trespassing.
Detail - Crazy Rabbit Aardvark Flower Sucking Beast
and to my disappointment ,the back side of Nikiland, which turns out to be
an advertisement for the Red Devil.
do you think coke paid her to keep all but the bottle in B&W?
or did she simply give up in disgust after selling out so badly?
Apple's TimePiece
Apple's TimePiece, a revolutionary new product \
service to be unveiled
next month, sources claim (yes, another apple rumor...fanboys rejoice)
TimePiece, still unknown if 'firmware update' for Time Capsule or sold
separately, will enable users to browse back in time (a La Time Machine),
not only on their local drive, but web pages as well.
the principal is quite simple; backup entire domains, as several companies
already do, using petabyte scale storage pools (in folk-talk, record the
internet on a giant computer) and serve it chronologically. apparently,
apple has been recording the 'net for some years, since 1991 (first browser,web page ever,
NeXt computers).
TimePiece will enable users to check, for example, what happened on
the internet on Sep. 10th, 2001, or Sep 12th... or to see how trends@net
grow.
no details as of yet on the cost, or the business model (will it be like a .mac
account, or pay-by-session? may pay-per-Mb?)
Time will tell..
Technorati Profile
next month, sources claim (yes, another apple rumor...fanboys rejoice)
TimePiece, still unknown if 'firmware update' for Time Capsule or sold
separately, will enable users to browse back in time (a La Time Machine),
not only on their local drive, but web pages as well.
the principal is quite simple; backup entire domains, as several companies
already do, using petabyte scale storage pools (in folk-talk, record the
internet on a giant computer) and serve it chronologically. apparently,
apple has been recording the 'net for some years, since 1991 (first browser,web page ever,
NeXt computers).
TimePiece will enable users to check, for example, what happened on
the internet on Sep. 10th, 2001, or Sep 12th... or to see how trends@net
grow.
no details as of yet on the cost, or the business model (will it be like a .mac
account, or pay-by-session? may pay-per-Mb?)
Time will tell..
Technorati Profile
Enter the lolcat
18/05/08 08:33 Filed in: lolcat
How to beat piracy
Piracy seems to be a major headache for content
'owners'.
it is evident in their never ending quest to squelch their
'non-paying' customers.
the word 'pirate' is being touted so often, one might imagine
we are living in the dark ages of privateers. here be monsters!
in fact, none of this true. considering all p2p users 'pirates'
is a tactic used by media giants to marginalize and criminalize
otherwise law abiding, normative people. 'pirates' are those who
make thousands of duplicates in china and offer you Office '08 for
$29.99. millions of others, who just want to watch the latest 'Lost'
episodes, are simply engaging (freedom surfing) in a business
model yet to be exploited by said media giants.
It's the business model, stupid!
in the past, having access to a media, meant owning the medium.
the last group to have monopoly on knowledge and information
was the church. they lost their monopoly with the invention of the
printing press. of-course, the church didn't let go easily, and went into
the ever expected "devil's device" fit.
governments weren't so happy with the free distribution of ideas, as they
are always unhappy with thinking people, so they started taxing and
providing 'print licenses' (more accurately, withholding those licenses).
within a few decades the printers won and we got free press and good
books. the business model is, 'you buy it, it's yours' proved itself and was
second to the 'pay us for the performance' model used in theaters and
concerts.
along comes the radio.
now there is a need for a new model, since it is impossible to charge by
the show. in some places, the radio receiver is taxed, and fees are paid
to some governmental broadcasting agency, but the most common method
is advertisement. what advertisement means is, the broadcaster is selling
your (the listeners) attention.
attack of the videotape
the radio and film had the money coming in, and had little to fear on the
subject of content ownership. just as in the good old days of the printing
press, you had to buy a medium (a tape, rolls of film) since there was no
(convenient) way to record the information.
when the video tape became popular, the industry had to adapt. first, they tried
to block the video tape by suing the tape makers. the courts ruled in favor
of the tape ('a technology has many uses, and can not be made illegal categorically
just because someone might use it against the law').
so a new business model emerged; renting the medium. while not really new
(aka library) tape rentals became a major income for studios.
the digital age
nowadays, the medium is almost unwanted. you may still be enticed to buy a dvd disc,
since it has all these extra good extras, but most likely, you just want the movie.
just as the printing press made it possible to make exact clones of books (hence the
'devils' nickname), the digital age makes it possible to clone any information.
the problem occurs, again, when advanced technology meets outdated business
models.
are studios really expecting us to keep buying discs, when all we want is the
(freely available) content? criminalizing p2p as a technology is parallel to deeming
the printing press 'the devil's device'.
hopefully, they (media giants) will repent their erroneous ways, with new and exciting
business models.
i dont have any problem with paying for content. at the moment, i download from
a service that provide fast, secure and stable connection. it costs 1/5 of cable tv,
and i get all and only what i want. when the quality of the movie is important, or i
want the extras, i will rent. iTunes could have been nice too (but i am out of the region).
point is, people will pay for what they want, given that the price is right and the deal is fair.
i am willing to bet that as iTuneTV (and the likes) market share rises, studios will stop harassing p2p
users, as they will see that money can be made after all.
'Pirate' should be left for describing the criminals who profit from counterfeiting, as i am not a crook!
it is evident in their never ending quest to squelch their
'non-paying' customers.
the word 'pirate' is being touted so often, one might imagine
we are living in the dark ages of privateers. here be monsters!
in fact, none of this true. considering all p2p users 'pirates'
is a tactic used by media giants to marginalize and criminalize
otherwise law abiding, normative people. 'pirates' are those who
make thousands of duplicates in china and offer you Office '08 for
$29.99. millions of others, who just want to watch the latest 'Lost'
episodes, are simply engaging (freedom surfing) in a business
model yet to be exploited by said media giants.
It's the business model, stupid!
in the past, having access to a media, meant owning the medium.
the last group to have monopoly on knowledge and information
was the church. they lost their monopoly with the invention of the
printing press. of-course, the church didn't let go easily, and went into
the ever expected "devil's device" fit.
governments weren't so happy with the free distribution of ideas, as they
are always unhappy with thinking people, so they started taxing and
providing 'print licenses' (more accurately, withholding those licenses).
within a few decades the printers won and we got free press and good
books. the business model is, 'you buy it, it's yours' proved itself and was
second to the 'pay us for the performance' model used in theaters and
concerts.
along comes the radio.
now there is a need for a new model, since it is impossible to charge by
the show. in some places, the radio receiver is taxed, and fees are paid
to some governmental broadcasting agency, but the most common method
is advertisement. what advertisement means is, the broadcaster is selling
your (the listeners) attention.
attack of the videotape
the radio and film had the money coming in, and had little to fear on the
subject of content ownership. just as in the good old days of the printing
press, you had to buy a medium (a tape, rolls of film) since there was no
(convenient) way to record the information.
when the video tape became popular, the industry had to adapt. first, they tried
to block the video tape by suing the tape makers. the courts ruled in favor
of the tape ('a technology has many uses, and can not be made illegal categorically
just because someone might use it against the law').
so a new business model emerged; renting the medium. while not really new
(aka library) tape rentals became a major income for studios.
the digital age
nowadays, the medium is almost unwanted. you may still be enticed to buy a dvd disc,
since it has all these extra good extras, but most likely, you just want the movie.
just as the printing press made it possible to make exact clones of books (hence the
'devils' nickname), the digital age makes it possible to clone any information.
the problem occurs, again, when advanced technology meets outdated business
models.
are studios really expecting us to keep buying discs, when all we want is the
(freely available) content? criminalizing p2p as a technology is parallel to deeming
the printing press 'the devil's device'.
hopefully, they (media giants) will repent their erroneous ways, with new and exciting
business models.
i dont have any problem with paying for content. at the moment, i download from
a service that provide fast, secure and stable connection. it costs 1/5 of cable tv,
and i get all and only what i want. when the quality of the movie is important, or i
want the extras, i will rent. iTunes could have been nice too (but i am out of the region).
point is, people will pay for what they want, given that the price is right and the deal is fair.
i am willing to bet that as iTuneTV (and the likes) market share rises, studios will stop harassing p2p
users, as they will see that money can be made after all.
'Pirate' should be left for describing the criminals who profit from counterfeiting, as i am not a crook!
Freedom Surfers
Hi boys and girls,
today we are going to talk about a new phrase, "Freedom Surfer".
What is Freedom Surfer you ask?
A Freedom Surfer, similar to Freedom Fighter, is a person who doesnt accept
dictatorial limitations on their individual rights. A person that wont accept the
corporations (RIAA, MPAA, IFPI and others) ideas regarding free information
(none unless you pay them).
in other words, a Freedom Surfer is what's commonly reffered to as 'A Pirate'.
I resent being called 'A Pirate'. While indeed carrying a nice romantic aroma,
'Pirate' has a negative, criminal conotation. I dont think you and I are criminals,
just because we engage an activety deemed 'illegal' by interest groups.
A FILM PIRATE
Corporations make the rules as they wish, using goverments as their instruments,
backed by ludicrus financial resorces, they batter us in courts and try to take
away our rights and privacy.
No more. we have an inherent right for free information, the internet being our
ultimate tool for communication. We are not fighting for the right to watch 'Shrek'
for free. The fight is for control of the distribution methods. this is why they attack
technologies (bittorrent, other p2p, streaming and others). i want to surf free.
not for free, as we all pay for access, but freely. i will not accept being criminalized
for this, being compared to terrorists.
A TERRORIST CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF PIRACY (DOUBLE BAD!)
we want to surf freely, and leave the 'piracy'
stigma to those who make millions of copies in china and sell them for a buck
in chinatown. spread the word - Freedom Surfers!
today we are going to talk about a new phrase, "Freedom Surfer".
What is Freedom Surfer you ask?
A Freedom Surfer, similar to Freedom Fighter, is a person who doesnt accept
dictatorial limitations on their individual rights. A person that wont accept the
corporations (RIAA, MPAA, IFPI and others) ideas regarding free information
(none unless you pay them).
in other words, a Freedom Surfer is what's commonly reffered to as 'A Pirate'.
I resent being called 'A Pirate'. While indeed carrying a nice romantic aroma,
'Pirate' has a negative, criminal conotation. I dont think you and I are criminals,
just because we engage an activety deemed 'illegal' by interest groups.
A FILM PIRATE
Corporations make the rules as they wish, using goverments as their instruments,
backed by ludicrus financial resorces, they batter us in courts and try to take
away our rights and privacy.
No more. we have an inherent right for free information, the internet being our
ultimate tool for communication. We are not fighting for the right to watch 'Shrek'
for free. The fight is for control of the distribution methods. this is why they attack
technologies (bittorrent, other p2p, streaming and others). i want to surf free.
not for free, as we all pay for access, but freely. i will not accept being criminalized
for this, being compared to terrorists.
A TERRORIST CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF PIRACY (DOUBLE BAD!)
we want to surf freely, and leave the 'piracy'
stigma to those who make millions of copies in china and sell them for a buck
in chinatown. spread the word - Freedom Surfers!
Florentine Graffiti
27/03/08 08:20 Filed in: Art of
Living
I know you love graffiti. Spontaneous, rapid and
untamed creativity, always good for the soul.
In one neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Florentine, there is a very active group of graffiti artists.
if you have anything to say about these works, leave a comment to this post, and i'll put them
in this small cafe, where the artists have an honorable place. there will be a post covering this
cafe place in a few weeks.
i am not certain about their names, one is called 'Zero Cents', you can recognize his (i know its a 'he').
work by the mirrored writing, the multiple eyes and of-course the '0￠' logo.
Another is 'inspired', who make the lovely flower character, and 'smd' who does characters with '+' signs.
I might be getting all this wrong, and still, the art itself is so well done, you should check it out for yourself,
or at least take a look at the photos.
In one neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Florentine, there is a very active group of graffiti artists.
if you have anything to say about these works, leave a comment to this post, and i'll put them
in this small cafe, where the artists have an honorable place. there will be a post covering this
cafe place in a few weeks.
i am not certain about their names, one is called 'Zero Cents', you can recognize his (i know its a 'he').
work by the mirrored writing, the multiple eyes and of-course the '0￠' logo.
Another is 'inspired', who make the lovely flower character, and 'smd' who does characters with '+' signs.
I might be getting all this wrong, and still, the art itself is so well done, you should check it out for yourself,
or at least take a look at the photos.
Free Books? Yay!
25/03/08 16:38 Filed in: Freedom
Earlier today, No Starch Press announced the
circulation of two of their books,
'Cult of Mac' and 'Cult of iPod' on the Bittorrent network, free of any DRM.
Get the books here and here.
A pirate's tool of trade. other tools?
What could be better then two free books? more free books, of course.
in times when IP owners try to grab on to their content like uncle scrooge,
it is a fresh change for a publisher to let go of their precious information.
hopefully, we will see many more follow their foot steps, as the publishers
learn that users (or more correctly, 'freedom surfers'
) will keep moving
this information freely anyway.
godspeed No Starch!
'Cult of Mac' and 'Cult of iPod' on the Bittorrent network, free of any DRM.
Get the books here and here.
A pirate's tool of trade. other tools?
What could be better then two free books? more free books, of course.
in times when IP owners try to grab on to their content like uncle scrooge,
it is a fresh change for a publisher to let go of their precious information.
hopefully, we will see many more follow their foot steps, as the publishers
learn that users (or more correctly, 'freedom surfers'
) will keep moving
this information freely anyway.
godspeed No Starch!
Mac Alert
25/03/08 12:25 Filed in: Tech
Now this one is a must for all you Macbook \ pro
owners.
while a bit old, i just learned about it recently, when checking
on the 'Newton Virus'.
What do you do when you are sitting with your laptop in a cafe,
and suddenly nature calls? do you close everything and take it with you?
do you ask the waiter to keep an eye on you laptop? or do you simply
hold on to your nozzle?
No more! iAlertU (oh what a macky name ) to the rescue.
some serious protection here.
iAlertU, application review:
download and install, as always on the Mac platform, a breeze.
major installation bugs? none.
application features:
1. using the SMS (sudden motion sensor) to detect movment.
2. device removal triggers the alarm.
3. keystroke, mouse triggers the alarm.
4. mute\volume key disabled.
5. cover close triggers the alarm.
6. ac disconnect triggers the alarm.
a would be thief, captured and emailed by iAlertU, later confessed to be just passing by.
additional features:
1. isight to capture an image of the perpetrator, then emails that to a predefined address.
2. arm / disarm the system using apple remote (how cool is that? just like a car alarm).
3. screen flashes when alarm sounds.
4. you can adjust the sensetivety of the SMS.
all in all, this is a very nice additional protection, but i would not trust my MBP solely
on it. i would still be fearfull to leave it, sirens or not, on a starbucks table.
a thief can either insert a pair of 2$ headphones in the headphone jack, and no more siren,
or remove the battery altoghther (even better, since then the thief would be confronted with
my user login and drive encryption when he powers on again).
here is an idea for the developer; get Belkin or Kensington to make some metal strip, that locks in the
security latch on the left side, and covers the head phone jack on the other side, while covering the
battery removal latches on the bottom. this way, your mac is safe, protected and this shouldnt be disruptive
for working or traveling with it. have belkin bundle the application with the device and you are good to go.
hmm, you know how the MBP's aluminum case give a small shock when you touch it and stand bare-foot
on the floor? can you program the battery to give a Serious shock? some south-african car alarms do that.
application rating: 7 out of 10, good idea, good features that cover allmost every scenario, but still lacking
'seriousness'. 1 bonus point for being open source, so the final mark is 8/10.
download iAlertU
while a bit old, i just learned about it recently, when checking
on the 'Newton Virus'.
What do you do when you are sitting with your laptop in a cafe,
and suddenly nature calls? do you close everything and take it with you?
do you ask the waiter to keep an eye on you laptop? or do you simply
hold on to your nozzle?
No more! iAlertU (oh what a macky name
) to the rescue.
some serious protection here.
iAlertU, application review:
download and install, as always on the Mac platform, a breeze.
major installation bugs? none.
application features:
1. using the SMS (sudden motion sensor) to detect movment.
2. device removal triggers the alarm.
3. keystroke, mouse triggers the alarm.
4. mute\volume key disabled.
5. cover close triggers the alarm.
6. ac disconnect triggers the alarm.
a would be thief, captured and emailed by iAlertU, later confessed to be just passing by.
additional features:
1. isight to capture an image of the perpetrator, then emails that to a predefined address.
2. arm / disarm the system using apple remote (how cool is that? just like a car alarm).
3. screen flashes when alarm sounds.
4. you can adjust the sensetivety of the SMS.
all in all, this is a very nice additional protection, but i would not trust my MBP solely
on it. i would still be fearfull to leave it, sirens or not, on a starbucks table.
a thief can either insert a pair of 2$ headphones in the headphone jack, and no more siren,
or remove the battery altoghther (even better, since then the thief would be confronted with
my user login and drive encryption when he powers on again).
here is an idea for the developer; get Belkin or Kensington to make some metal strip, that locks in the
security latch on the left side, and covers the head phone jack on the other side, while covering the
battery removal latches on the bottom. this way, your mac is safe, protected and this shouldnt be disruptive
for working or traveling with it. have belkin bundle the application with the device and you are good to go.
hmm, you know how the MBP's aluminum case give a small shock when you touch it and stand bare-foot
on the floor? can you program the battery to give a Serious shock? some south-african car alarms do that.
application rating: 7 out of 10, good idea, good features that cover allmost every scenario, but still lacking
'seriousness'. 1 bonus point for being open source, so the final mark is 8/10.
download iAlertU
Remote-O-Kill
A new system deployed by the IDF in the Gaza-region
enables soldiers stationed
in the operations room to fire at Palestinians near the Gaza fence (source ynet).
The systems, which are equipped with a camera and a machine gun,
enable soldiers to watch any activity that takes place near the fence and
to fire at the push of a button. The new system will soon be officially declared "operational."
yet another triumph to the 'video game warrior'. more 'yay bang
bang shoot'em up' kinda fun.
Joseph Heller wrote in "Closing Time" that the launch button of the nukes
should be implanted in a man's chest, so that to launch the nukes you first
have to kill that man. then that president goes on and launches a nuclear
attack, believing that he plays a video game.
in a sense, most of the soldiers do play a video game.
you hardly have to look your opponent in the eye anymore.
it is done with the push of a button, from a safe bunker, your only fear is a blackout.
in the operations room to fire at Palestinians near the Gaza fence (source ynet).
The systems, which are equipped with a camera and a machine gun,
enable soldiers to watch any activity that takes place near the fence and
to fire at the push of a button. The new system will soon be officially declared "operational."
yet another triumph to the 'video game warrior'. more 'yay bang
bang shoot'em up' kinda fun.
Joseph Heller wrote in "Closing Time" that the launch button of the nukes
should be implanted in a man's chest, so that to launch the nukes you first
have to kill that man. then that president goes on and launches a nuclear
attack, believing that he plays a video game.
in a sense, most of the soldiers do play a video game.
you hardly have to look your opponent in the eye anymore.
it is done with the push of a button, from a safe bunker, your only fear is a blackout.
Turbo Pizza (Master Chef Diabolic)
18/03/08 16:34 Filed in: Art of
Living
This amazing feat is done over at bazilli.com, my
favourite pizza place.
Chef made the pizza, i made the clip, shooting it on my nokia 6500 phone.
i started shooting about 10 seconds after he started, just when the dough came thru the rolling machine.
even thou some people think the clip is speeded up, it is not. the chef is simply the
fastest pizza slinger in the universe (i dare you all master chefs to try overthrowing him
excluding industrial scum like Dominos
)
Enjoy!
(p.s., pizza was awesome!)
check their site, so you can buy me some pizza!
Chef made the pizza, i made the clip, shooting it on my nokia 6500 phone.
i started shooting about 10 seconds after he started, just when the dough came thru the rolling machine.
even thou some people think the clip is speeded up, it is not. the chef is simply the
fastest pizza slinger in the universe (i dare you all master chefs to try overthrowing him
excluding industrial scum like Dominos
)
Enjoy!
(p.s., pizza was awesome!)
check their site, so you can buy me some pizza!
Zeitgeist (The Movie)
16/03/08 09:12 Filed in: Freedom
Last night, I watched the film 'Zeitgeist'. Follows my
short impression.
First, something i want to get over with before we go into reviewing
the content, is the quality of the film.
this is not a well done movie. there is almost no footage, no background
music, what footage there is mostly lifted from other movies, it is badly
edited, directed and in general, it is an amateur work done with very low
(or none at all) budget.
since this is not a movie review, i am not going to talk anymore about the
'make' but only of the content.
Conspiracies aside, this movie uncovers the origins of our religious
beliefs, and during its first 30 minutes or so, the film reduces Christianity to
a smoldering pile of astrological paganism. that is ok with me, since i see
all religions as a way for this feeble ape to explain the unexplainable.
during the rest of the movie, the concept of 'paper money', 'federal reserve'
and banks are exposed as tools of the trade of 'international bankers', and
as their means of controlling americans, and humanity in general.
The American Dream
1. i am aware of an earlier version of the film, where 'international bankers'
was substituted for several names, and accusations of Jews being behind this.
with a whiff of anti semitism, it is true that many of the world's banks are owned
or controlled by jews, but the perception of 'the jews controlling the money'
is plain out wrong. rich, capitalist scum-bags control all the money, and some
of them happen to be jewish. i dont see anyone touting the same against the catholics,
who, through the vatican has far more wealth and properties (moses = jesus=
muhamad = capitalist pigs, they are all of the same kind)
besides, the names quoted in that early version were incorrect (probably
the reason for using the 'international bankers' phrase).
2. the movie fails to explain why was the 'federal reserve act' signed, other then
'the bankers really wanted it, and had influence'.
3. it is inherent to the capitalist system for a financial entities to aspire towards
survival. actually, it is inherent to any self-preserving system.
just as it is no 'fault' of the whale to swallow everything in its way, or the shark to
grow more and more teeth, so does the capitalist business.
this is the american system, where the strong survive, by swallowing the week.
since money equals power in this system, it is just natural.
summery:
Zeitgeist is not a bad movie, and it does have an educational value for most people.
as always, to appeal to a broad audience means averaging the content.
watch it, it is a good start. if you are already familiar with the subjects discussed,
you may want to watch the following films, which were (i suspect) the basis for Zeitgeist;
Aaron Russo’s "America- Freedom to Fascism" and Dylan Avery’s "Loose Change 9/11".
also, the BBC's "Why We Fight" might have 'contributed'.
IMHO,
even the strongest, mightiest organisms can be brought down by the smallest virus.
information acts as our viral infection, and one can witness the organism's inflammatory
reaction, manifested in all the recent governmental ' information acts' around the globe, trying to limit
and control the infection. we shell prevail, as they (gvmnts, rulers and 'beastly organisms')
are unable to eradicate the infection (free information) without killing the host (the whole purpose
of the internet is to free the information from its boundaries, and any obstruction of this free
flow of information is a de facto suffocation of the internet, and goes against it's nature).
Hackers of the world, Unite! The war is not upon us, it already shatters our Windows.
First, something i want to get over with before we go into reviewing
the content, is the quality of the film.
this is not a well done movie. there is almost no footage, no background
music, what footage there is mostly lifted from other movies, it is badly
edited, directed and in general, it is an amateur work done with very low
(or none at all) budget.
since this is not a movie review, i am not going to talk anymore about the
'make' but only of the content.
Conspiracies aside, this movie uncovers the origins of our religious
beliefs, and during its first 30 minutes or so, the film reduces Christianity to
a smoldering pile of astrological paganism. that is ok with me, since i see
all religions as a way for this feeble ape to explain the unexplainable.
during the rest of the movie, the concept of 'paper money', 'federal reserve'
and banks are exposed as tools of the trade of 'international bankers', and
as their means of controlling americans, and humanity in general.
The American Dream
1. i am aware of an earlier version of the film, where 'international bankers'
was substituted for several names, and accusations of Jews being behind this.
with a whiff of anti semitism, it is true that many of the world's banks are owned
or controlled by jews, but the perception of 'the jews controlling the money'
is plain out wrong. rich, capitalist scum-bags control all the money, and some
of them happen to be jewish. i dont see anyone touting the same against the catholics,
who, through the vatican has far more wealth and properties (moses = jesus=
muhamad = capitalist pigs, they are all of the same kind)
besides, the names quoted in that early version were incorrect (probably
the reason for using the 'international bankers' phrase).
2. the movie fails to explain why was the 'federal reserve act' signed, other then
'the bankers really wanted it, and had influence'.
3. it is inherent to the capitalist system for a financial entities to aspire towards
survival. actually, it is inherent to any self-preserving system.
just as it is no 'fault' of the whale to swallow everything in its way, or the shark to
grow more and more teeth, so does the capitalist business.
this is the american system, where the strong survive, by swallowing the week.
since money equals power in this system, it is just natural.
summery:
Zeitgeist is not a bad movie, and it does have an educational value for most people.
as always, to appeal to a broad audience means averaging the content.
watch it, it is a good start. if you are already familiar with the subjects discussed,
you may want to watch the following films, which were (i suspect) the basis for Zeitgeist;
Aaron Russo’s "America- Freedom to Fascism" and Dylan Avery’s "Loose Change 9/11".
also, the BBC's "Why We Fight" might have 'contributed'.
IMHO,
even the strongest, mightiest organisms can be brought down by the smallest virus.
information acts as our viral infection, and one can witness the organism's inflammatory
reaction, manifested in all the recent governmental ' information acts' around the globe, trying to limit
and control the infection. we shell prevail, as they (gvmnts, rulers and 'beastly organisms')
are unable to eradicate the infection (free information) without killing the host (the whole purpose
of the internet is to free the information from its boundaries, and any obstruction of this free
flow of information is a de facto suffocation of the internet, and goes against it's nature).
Hackers of the world, Unite! The war is not upon us, it already shatters our Windows.
Hydroponics out, Trash-o-ponics In!
13/03/08 10:18 Filed in: Art of
Living
Like many scientific discoveries, this one was an
accident as well.
While maybe not as exciting as the Chernobyl discovery, not visually
appealing as The Colombia Experiment or as lofty as The God Theory,
The Trashoponics is an important discovery that brings mankind one
step closer toward freedom and self-reliance.
The discovery was made by my uncle, Mr. D.B.M.M (pronounced:
De' Bumm) on March 13, 2008 08:02:56 AM GMT.
In his words:
"Like all great discoveries, this too was accidental.
I like tea, and I like my herbs in other forms as well (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know what I mean).
An accidental combination of the two in my trash..."
The Trashoponics experiment
So, what had happened here, you ask? a closer inspection of the contents reveals that
1. moisture was kept in the tea bags, for timely release, and 2. carbo-nutriants came from the left over
rice, bread and sesame seeds.
As for No.3, which one of you, sharp eyed readers, can identify the green shootings encircled in
red?
While maybe not as exciting as the Chernobyl discovery, not visually
appealing as The Colombia Experiment or as lofty as The God Theory,
The Trashoponics is an important discovery that brings mankind one
step closer toward freedom and self-reliance.
The discovery was made by my uncle, Mr. D.B.M.M (pronounced:
De' Bumm) on March 13, 2008 08:02:56 AM GMT.
In his words:
"Like all great discoveries, this too was accidental.
I like tea, and I like my herbs in other forms as well (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know what I mean).
An accidental combination of the two in my trash..."
The Trashoponics experiment
So, what had happened here, you ask? a closer inspection of the contents reveals that
1. moisture was kept in the tea bags, for timely release, and 2. carbo-nutriants came from the left over
rice, bread and sesame seeds.
As for No.3, which one of you, sharp eyed readers, can identify the green shootings encircled in
red?
Master Pirate Merchandise (Burning tower, best thing ever)
12/03/08 09:16 Filed in: Tech
Ok ok, while most people don't need or want this sort
of thing, but I got
a DVD duplication tower yesterday, and boy, its the best thing EVER.
at work i usually don't burn too many discs, but in the last few weeks
i got into burning about 200 a week.
thats a lot, believe me. i got a new external USB burner by SAMSUNG
to help out, but i found out that no matter what the setup was (i burn
.iso using dvd decrypter), speed simply got divided by the number of
writers.
since this meant i can only burn 4-5 discs an hour, i decided to go and
get the burning tower.
if you don't know what a "burning tower" or a "disc duplicator", here it is:
the duplicator next to a lame PC.
basically, it is a case (in my case, a unique case for duplicators) populated
with just DVD burners, a PSU and a controller. no Intel inside.
the burners are just the ordinary drives, as it is the controller that makes all
the difference. in this one they used a copystar DVD1611, which has 12 IDE
connectors, for 11 burners + 1 drive to read from and 128MB RAM. it is capable of
burning at the media's maximum speed in all the drives at once (i used a TDK X20).
the controller. 80 discs passed, 0 failed.
this is a very simple machine, but it makes the process of duplicating quantities
of discs a breeze. no applications to run, no setup, no booting (other then the
power on self-check, which takes 30 seconds or so). all you have to do is to put
a master disc in any of the drives, and the controller scans it and displays the
size and other information on a small lcd display. next, populate the rest of the
drives with as many discs as you want to burn, and close the trays.
thats it. at first when the salesman explained me how to operate this,
i was sure he doesn't know what he is talking about. "just put something to
read from in one drive, and something to burn on in some other drives, and
thats all", 'cant be that simple' i thought. well, it is. using this machine is no more
complicated then using a toaster. of bread that is.
now i am making about 100 copies in an hour, with 0 coasters, with the
Canon 6700D printer i use for printing labels on the discs being the bottleneck.
COPYSTAR DVD 1611:
price: ~1000$
Pros: super fast, simple and reliable.
Cons: since its a tower, it is kind of difficult to load \ unload the drives, but nothing serious.
what more: i would like to see a close all\eject all button. also, the lcd could be more communicative.
there are some more intelligent machines, some even load \ unload the discs with a robotic arm,
some combine a label printer inside, and some have a built in HDD for storing masters. these models
are much more expensive, and suit those who need to make hundreds of discs daily. if you are like me,
and burn something like 500 discs a month, this is a must. must must must. go get one now,
it is the best thing ever.
a DVD duplication tower yesterday, and boy, its the best thing EVER.
at work i usually don't burn too many discs, but in the last few weeks
i got into burning about 200 a week.
thats a lot, believe me. i got a new external USB burner by SAMSUNG
to help out, but i found out that no matter what the setup was (i burn
.iso using dvd decrypter), speed simply got divided by the number of
writers.
since this meant i can only burn 4-5 discs an hour, i decided to go and
get the burning tower.
if you don't know what a "burning tower" or a "disc duplicator", here it is:
the duplicator next to a lame PC.
basically, it is a case (in my case, a unique case for duplicators) populated
with just DVD burners, a PSU and a controller. no Intel inside.
the burners are just the ordinary drives, as it is the controller that makes all
the difference. in this one they used a copystar DVD1611, which has 12 IDE
connectors, for 11 burners + 1 drive to read from and 128MB RAM. it is capable of
burning at the media's maximum speed in all the drives at once (i used a TDK X20).
the controller. 80 discs passed, 0 failed.
this is a very simple machine, but it makes the process of duplicating quantities
of discs a breeze. no applications to run, no setup, no booting (other then the
power on self-check, which takes 30 seconds or so). all you have to do is to put
a master disc in any of the drives, and the controller scans it and displays the
size and other information on a small lcd display. next, populate the rest of the
drives with as many discs as you want to burn, and close the trays.
thats it. at first when the salesman explained me how to operate this,
i was sure he doesn't know what he is talking about. "just put something to
read from in one drive, and something to burn on in some other drives, and
thats all", 'cant be that simple' i thought. well, it is. using this machine is no more
complicated then using a toaster. of bread that is.
now i am making about 100 copies in an hour, with 0 coasters, with the
Canon 6700D printer i use for printing labels on the discs being the bottleneck.
COPYSTAR DVD 1611:
price: ~1000$
Pros: super fast, simple and reliable.
Cons: since its a tower, it is kind of difficult to load \ unload the drives, but nothing serious.
what more: i would like to see a close all\eject all button. also, the lcd could be more communicative.
there are some more intelligent machines, some even load \ unload the discs with a robotic arm,
some combine a label printer inside, and some have a built in HDD for storing masters. these models
are much more expensive, and suit those who need to make hundreds of discs daily. if you are like me,
and burn something like 500 discs a month, this is a must. must must must. go get one now,
it is the best thing ever.
Digital Rabbis To Keep You Chaste
A few weeks ago, the govrment of Israel has passed a
law requiering all ISP's to filter content that might
be inappropriate for children or considered
'abomination'.
the law stipulates that a subscriber that wishes to have accsess to 'abominations' (AKA unfiltered content), must register with the ISP with explicit consent for this. all subscribers that did not register with the ISP will recive filtered content, or will be cut off from the service.
Many people think this is a blessing, in a 'think of the children' sort of way.
Amnon Cohen. he thinks
its cool. do you?
Others, I included, think this is an abomination (pun intended).
The reasons are simple and obvious.
1. 'abomination' (my translation of the word 'ToEva', as it appears in the new law) is a very vague definition, and leaves much for interpretation.
2. interpretation of the word is given to the Minister of Communication. at the moment, MK Amnon Cohen from the ultra orthodox party Shass (which would be filtered under the new law, as its name contains a.s.s).
3. the government will have a list of 'perverts' who wish to access 'abominations', as defined by the Minister.
4. content is not filtered due to illegality of the content (i.e Pedophile, other criminal activities), but using a subjective morals, banning very legitimate 'abominations' (such as online lingerie stores).
if you still fail to see the danger, here is a scenario;
The Minister decides that content X doesnt fit with his ideals. under the new law, he can ban access to X (X being anything, from anti-abortions, christian mission, evolution....), and have a list of all the 'perverts' who wish to gain access to it. under the new wiretapping act, the police can tap those on the list without court orders and without anyone knowing this takes place. under the new undisclosed seizures act, the police can take or make copies of the people's data (in simple words, break into your home when you are away, and copy your Hard Drives, without you ever knowing).
Honestly, dont you find it terribly disturbing that the government will keep lists of people that want to have unfiltered (i call it 'uncensored') information?
AKA A Government Blacklist (of people who wants free information).
had i asked you twenty years ago what government is discussed, 9 out of 10 would say the soviets, the tenth person being a KGB spy.
this is without discussing the hopelessness of the whole concept of filtering (i admit, it does work in china and some other places, but it is not fair to compare), as this draconian law will force most people to get blacklisted.
Ynet article
Online Law article discussing Bill 892
update:
I was talking to a pinup artist friend of mine (Tali "my content is "abomination" and
I rely on it for my sole income" Shapiro) about a comment in mixx to this post.
the comment makes a point that if voting up content like this encourages politicians
(and puppy killers) to act on their heinous whims, to gain publicity.
IMHO, it is the heinous act that is getting the spotlight, not the perpetrators. Freedom
of information is under attack from so many directions, and every light counts.
Here is the conversation with Tali:
nshex1:
i guess you are right, as voting=mixxing.
point is, life happens outside of mixx,
Tali Shapiro:
it happens to me too, you read something you want to crack some heads over, so you reach for the (thumbs down) and suddenly remember that would have the wrong effect
nshex1:
you dont have to bring it inside, but it keeps on happenning anyway. try mixxing when it's censored.
Tali Shapiro:
I didn't have to, but it's the kind of content I mixx anyway
what's censored?
nshex1:
1 an official who examines material that is about to be released, such as books, movies, news, and art, and suppresses any parts that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
USAGE Both censor and censure are both verbs and nouns, but censor means ' scrutinize, revise, or cut unacceptable parts (from a book, movie, etc.)' or 'a person who does this,' while censure means 'criticize harshly' or 'harsh criticism:': the inmates received their mail only after prison officials had censored all the contents; | some senators considered a resolution of censure to express strong disapproval of the president’s behavior.
Tali Shapiro:
silly, I didn't understand your sentence! What is getting censored?
nshex1:
mixx
"try mixxing when it's censored."
Tali Shapiro:
you mean when it's blocked by the new law?
nshex1:
an evolution of it in 5 years. you know how commties work
Tali Shapiro:
I'm hoping not to live here and not give a shit
nshex1:
it is not something you can run away from. like gangrene, it spreads, one ban leads to another, as the notion of "can censor" has been established.
Tali Shapiro:
That's why it's so important to keep social sights alive, it's the fastest way to move information
the law stipulates that a subscriber that wishes to have accsess to 'abominations' (AKA unfiltered content), must register with the ISP with explicit consent for this. all subscribers that did not register with the ISP will recive filtered content, or will be cut off from the service.
Many people think this is a blessing, in a 'think of the children' sort of way.
Amnon Cohen. he thinks
its cool. do you?
Others, I included, think this is an abomination (pun intended).
The reasons are simple and obvious.
1. 'abomination' (my translation of the word 'ToEva', as it appears in the new law) is a very vague definition, and leaves much for interpretation.
2. interpretation of the word is given to the Minister of Communication. at the moment, MK Amnon Cohen from the ultra orthodox party Shass (which would be filtered under the new law, as its name contains a.s.s).
3. the government will have a list of 'perverts' who wish to access 'abominations', as defined by the Minister.
4. content is not filtered due to illegality of the content (i.e Pedophile, other criminal activities), but using a subjective morals, banning very legitimate 'abominations' (such as online lingerie stores).
if you still fail to see the danger, here is a scenario;
The Minister decides that content X doesnt fit with his ideals. under the new law, he can ban access to X (X being anything, from anti-abortions, christian mission, evolution....), and have a list of all the 'perverts' who wish to gain access to it. under the new wiretapping act, the police can tap those on the list without court orders and without anyone knowing this takes place. under the new undisclosed seizures act, the police can take or make copies of the people's data (in simple words, break into your home when you are away, and copy your Hard Drives, without you ever knowing).
Honestly, dont you find it terribly disturbing that the government will keep lists of people that want to have unfiltered (i call it 'uncensored') information?
AKA A Government Blacklist (of people who wants free information).
had i asked you twenty years ago what government is discussed, 9 out of 10 would say the soviets, the tenth person being a KGB spy.
this is without discussing the hopelessness of the whole concept of filtering (i admit, it does work in china and some other places, but it is not fair to compare), as this draconian law will force most people to get blacklisted.
Ynet article
Online Law article discussing Bill 892
update:
I was talking to a pinup artist friend of mine (Tali "my content is "abomination" and
I rely on it for my sole income" Shapiro) about a comment in mixx to this post.
the comment makes a point that if voting up content like this encourages politicians
(and puppy killers) to act on their heinous whims, to gain publicity.
IMHO, it is the heinous act that is getting the spotlight, not the perpetrators. Freedom
of information is under attack from so many directions, and every light counts.
Here is the conversation with Tali:
nshex1:
i guess you are right, as voting=mixxing.
point is, life happens outside of mixx,
Tali Shapiro:
it happens to me too, you read something you want to crack some heads over, so you reach for the (thumbs down) and suddenly remember that would have the wrong effect
nshex1:
you dont have to bring it inside, but it keeps on happenning anyway. try mixxing when it's censored.
Tali Shapiro:
I didn't have to, but it's the kind of content I mixx anyway
what's censored?
nshex1:
1 an official who examines material that is about to be released, such as books, movies, news, and art, and suppresses any parts that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
USAGE Both censor and censure are both verbs and nouns, but censor means ' scrutinize, revise, or cut unacceptable parts (from a book, movie, etc.)' or 'a person who does this,' while censure means 'criticize harshly' or 'harsh criticism:': the inmates received their mail only after prison officials had censored all the contents; | some senators considered a resolution of censure to express strong disapproval of the president’s behavior.
Tali Shapiro:
silly, I didn't understand your sentence! What is getting censored?
nshex1:
mixx
"try mixxing when it's censored."
Tali Shapiro:
you mean when it's blocked by the new law?
nshex1:
an evolution of it in 5 years. you know how commties work
Tali Shapiro:
I'm hoping not to live here and not give a shit
nshex1:
it is not something you can run away from. like gangrene, it spreads, one ban leads to another, as the notion of "can censor" has been established.
Tali Shapiro:
That's why it's so important to keep social sights alive, it's the fastest way to move information
The Case of The Strangest Cassette
07/03/08 17:28 Filed in: Tech
When I first picked it up, something felt terribly
wrong.
i was feeling as if my perception became distorted,
as alice felt when she grew so tall she couldn't see
her own feet.
was my hand becoming tiny? is perspective playing
a cruel trick on me? this what would happen if you could
Photoshop real life.
Truth is far less exciting, at least for anyone not Techi.
this strange looking audio cassette is in-fact a video tape,
from the late 70's or early 80's.
Just when the skirmish between Betamax and VHS was at it's
most, this weird looking format appeared on the market.
And it shall be named Video 2000.
Video 2000? in 1980? as you might have suspected,
the format didnt last very long, and was popular mostly in europe.
if the makers had any hopes for this format to last till the year 2000,
they were soon shattered.
this format was developed by Grunding and Philips, lasted from 1979-1988
While this format outlived Betamax, even at its hight Video 2000 didn't have a substantial market share.
Its two main advantages were extremely long recording time, up 16 hours, and dynamic tracking, which
allowed fast forward or rewind without those annoying noise line.
the long recording time was achieved by scanning only half the tape, and then flipping it over,
just like an audio cassette.
Which brings me to where I started. when picked up, the tape looks just like an audio cassette.
a very large one. with a tiny hand holding it.
after a while the differences become noticeable, but the feeling did last for a few minutes.
i hope the blurriness of the photo make the feeling last a bit longer.
off to a tea party...
NsHex
i was feeling as if my perception became distorted,
as alice felt when she grew so tall she couldn't see
her own feet.
was my hand becoming tiny? is perspective playing
a cruel trick on me? this what would happen if you could
Photoshop real life.
Truth is far less exciting, at least for anyone not Techi.
this strange looking audio cassette is in-fact a video tape,
from the late 70's or early 80's.
Just when the skirmish between Betamax and VHS was at it's
most, this weird looking format appeared on the market.
And it shall be named Video 2000.
Video 2000? in 1980? as you might have suspected,
the format didnt last very long, and was popular mostly in europe.
if the makers had any hopes for this format to last till the year 2000,
they were soon shattered.
this format was developed by Grunding and Philips, lasted from 1979-1988
While this format outlived Betamax, even at its hight Video 2000 didn't have a substantial market share.
Its two main advantages were extremely long recording time, up 16 hours, and dynamic tracking, which
allowed fast forward or rewind without those annoying noise line.
the long recording time was achieved by scanning only half the tape, and then flipping it over,
just like an audio cassette.
Which brings me to where I started. when picked up, the tape looks just like an audio cassette.
a very large one. with a tiny hand holding it.
after a while the differences become noticeable, but the feeling did last for a few minutes.
i hope the blurriness of the photo make the feeling last a bit longer.
off to a tea party...
NsHex
Israeli Attorney General: Stop, war crimes ahead
06/03/08 09:04 Filed in: Politics
No, this is not Camp Refugee.
In a cabinet meeting yesterday, israeli MK's discussed
options for stopping the Quassam attacks on israel from gaza.
The Vice PM, Haim Ramone offered his solution,
"to shell 40 artillery shells on every Quassam launching site, whether
it is populated or not" (quote, Yediot news paper).
At that point, Attorney General, Meny Mazozz, pointed out that
such attack will constitute an indiscriminate attack on civilians,
and is considered a War Crime.
Ramone retaliated and said "The world's best legalists approves this,
and only in israel we fear".
Mazozz's answer was very decisive "No legalist can turn the intl. law.
indiscriminately shooting at civilian population is a War Crime".
Then they went on to quibble at the definition of 'indiscriminately'. as we know too well, 'mistakes' happen.
clearly, they are missing a 'fine' (1.3 million civilians) point.
gaza is populated, and israel being the occupier, almost everything israel does in relations to Gaza is a War Crime.
The israelis continue to tout the 2005 withdrawal as 'the end of gaza's occupation',
while in fact, gazans are not free. just as in jails, the jail master doesnt have to sit inside the cells to prevent the prisoners freedom.
any attempt to use violence to reduce violence is doomed to fail, and it is time
for the aggressor (israel, first by the occupation followed by brutal military force) to understand that.
Mazozzs' position on the subject is the zag, as after Lebanon war II he ziged and claimed
the cluster attacks on South lebanon were legal under the intl. law, being 'a proportionate response'.
as i claimed before, Intl. law is just a cover for criminals to act under and legalists to quibble above.
Israeli rabbies ok to target civilians
05/03/08 13:55 Filed in: Politics
A group of prominent rabbies declared today that in the
case of attacks carried out from populated areas of the
gaza strip, it is ok for the idf to retaliate, even if
civilians are injured or killed due to this.
to their explanation, (the IDF) should warn those who live in the area (to be attacked), after this, they (the gazans) are responsible to their own (death) life, and are to be blamed for dying, them or those who prevented them from leaving.
Dov Lior, "shoot'em up" rabbi of hebron
So, the responsibility for their death is not in the hands of the ones who shoot them?
since Gaza is under siege of the IDF, isn't the IDF responsible for them being unable to fleet?
would said rabbies look kindly at the gazans had they been running to their own towns?
since the hamas (and Iran) has been calling the israeli jews to return to their homes in europe, isnt it the israelis fault to be killed by the hamas (i dont think so, but according to the rabbies logic...)
this is yet another case of hypocrisy, racism and generally, blood boiling behavior.
article in YNET (Hebrew)
the source was in Haaretz.co.il, and the article has now disappeared from the site. the main rabbi behind this is Dov Lior, Cheif Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, a jewish settlement in the heart of Hebron, and one of the foulest of all places. if anyone finds an english translation of that artile, please leave a comment. thanks
NsHex
to their explanation, (the IDF) should warn those who live in the area (to be attacked), after this, they (the gazans) are responsible to their own (death) life, and are to be blamed for dying, them or those who prevented them from leaving.
Dov Lior, "shoot'em up" rabbi of hebron
So, the responsibility for their death is not in the hands of the ones who shoot them?
since Gaza is under siege of the IDF, isn't the IDF responsible for them being unable to fleet?
would said rabbies look kindly at the gazans had they been running to their own towns?
since the hamas (and Iran) has been calling the israeli jews to return to their homes in europe, isnt it the israelis fault to be killed by the hamas (i dont think so, but according to the rabbies logic...)
this is yet another case of hypocrisy, racism and generally, blood boiling behavior.
article in YNET (Hebrew)
the source was in Haaretz.co.il, and the article has now disappeared from the site. the main rabbi behind this is Dov Lior, Cheif Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, a jewish settlement in the heart of Hebron, and one of the foulest of all places. if anyone finds an english translation of that artile, please leave a comment. thanks
NsHex
The 39Kg hard disk
03/03/08 10:33 Filed in: Tech
I found this Hard disk on display at a computer shop in
holland.
note the 3.5" ide disk on the table, which probably has about 1000 times more capacity then this behemoth.
just looking at the construction of this disk, one comes to think of washing machines and tractors. everything is just as massive as it can be,
from the platter mounting screws (I have seen smaller on car hubs), the huge motor (bottom left of the device)
and the psu cooling fins, which looks suspiciously like the ones found on motorcycles. notice the serious vibration dampers
(visible in the enlarged frame). the sticker reads "approx. unit weight 39 KG", or about 86 pounds. the smaller sticker on the platter cover reads
"IBM ITALIA". unfortunately, i didn't ask the shopkeeper for more details on the disk (not my fault, it was sunday), so if any of you know any
further details on this stone-age storage device,when was it made, who used it and was was it's capacity, please drop a line.
later
NsHex
Update:
With the help of some good friends over at arstechnica, we have reached the conclusion that this disk is probably
made sometime around 1970, and is a component of 33xx series storage device (think of it as a drive in a RAID). the capacity is somewhere around 200MB.
over at storage review someone commented that IBM ITALIA made disks in the early 80's, as parts of the 3350 and 3370 storage system.
This is still not conclusive, so if any IBM engineer or someone who worked with this unit can shed more light and solve this riddle once and for all, please leave a comment.
later
NsHex
note the 3.5" ide disk on the table, which probably has about 1000 times more capacity then this behemoth.
just looking at the construction of this disk, one comes to think of washing machines and tractors. everything is just as massive as it can be,
from the platter mounting screws (I have seen smaller on car hubs), the huge motor (bottom left of the device)
and the psu cooling fins, which looks suspiciously like the ones found on motorcycles. notice the serious vibration dampers
(visible in the enlarged frame). the sticker reads "approx. unit weight 39 KG", or about 86 pounds. the smaller sticker on the platter cover reads
"IBM ITALIA". unfortunately, i didn't ask the shopkeeper for more details on the disk (not my fault, it was sunday), so if any of you know any
further details on this stone-age storage device,when was it made, who used it and was was it's capacity, please drop a line.
later
NsHex
Update:
With the help of some good friends over at arstechnica, we have reached the conclusion that this disk is probably
made sometime around 1970, and is a component of 33xx series storage device (think of it as a drive in a RAID). the capacity is somewhere around 200MB.
over at storage review someone commented that IBM ITALIA made disks in the early 80's, as parts of the 3350 and 3370 storage system.
This is still not conclusive, so if any IBM engineer or someone who worked with this unit can shed more light and solve this riddle once and for all, please leave a comment.
later
NsHex
Justice according to israel
01/03/08 14:04 Filed in: Politics
Meet Avi Mendelblit.
This fine Jewish men is the IDF (Israeli defense forces) attorney general.
the sharp eyed reader will notice the decoration of war from the II lebanon war on his left chest.
a few weeks ago, this men declared that the use of cluster munitions against the south of lebanon is in accordance to the international laws, and no further investigation will take place.
this is opposed to the opinion of all other organizations which looked into the subject, from amnesty and HRW, including several european states.
for those of you who are interested, this is Protocol 1 Additional to the Geneva Conventions, which describes most of the Intl. law of engagement. see for yourself if the actions taken by Israel are in accordance with the Intl. law. (in case you ask yourself what happens to those who disobey, well, if you are friends with Uncle Sam, then nothing. if not, you are a war criminal and are sometimes hanged).
on a side note, i wish to add that this whole 'laws of war' idea is a joke, as it only serves war criminal (as any war is a crime) as a seal of approval for their horrid acts, and grounds for attorneys for quibbling.
for those new to the subject, i will briefly describe the issue.
1. what is cluster munition?
- cluster munitions are types of bombs, which are constructed from (a cluster of) many small bombs, sized from about a 'D' cell battery up to a large orange. the small bombs are packed into a large canister, or a shell, which can be delivered to the target from an aeroplain, a rocket or a canon, and upon reaching above the target the canister will open, dispersing the tiny bombs (AKA 'bomblets') over a wide area in a random pattern.
2. what dangers do they reflect?
- aside from the obvious explosive danger, there are few, cluster specific dangers. the number of bomblets in a canister range from tens to hundreds, thus a barrage or a cluster attack will consist of ten or hundreds of thousands of tiny bomblets, that is much more (numericly and cover-wise) then a standard explosive barrage. some weapon systems are even capable of delivering millions of bomblets in a matter of minutes.
these thousands of bomblets are not targeted at a specific target, rather at an area, which can size from a football field to a town. at and around this area, the bomblets disperse randomly, killing and destroying indiscriminately.
since the bomblets are typically very small, wind carries them to considerable distances, and they can even enter thru open windows into homes, get caught in fences and trees or lodge themselves into small cracks in derbies commonly found in war zones.
the worst of all, these bomblets dont always explode. infect, more then 30% dont explode on impact, and are left on the ground and in trees for people to step on them, accidently pick them up, or sometimes, fall on the breakfast table.
3. does the international law bans the use of cluster munitions?
- well, not per say, but it is forbidden to use in-discriminatory weapons in situations where civilians are endangered by the action. as established in the previous lines, these are random weapons of in-discriminatory nature.
in the II lebanon war, israel used about 4,000,000 cluster bomblets against the south of lebanon, leaving over 1 million duds on the ground. several dozens of Lebanese were injured and killed by them so far, and several intl. aid workers killed as well as they worked to clear the bombs.
many more will suffer the same fate in years to come, as the duds lay in the mud and between the rocks, in groves and fields and rooftops. many kids do not know the danger these small metal objects conceal, and are usually the first ones to lose limbs and die from picking them up mistaking them for toys etc.
yet, gen. mendelbilt deems this acceptable under intl. law.
i am not surprised, since this is what idf always does.
a few week after he declared this OK, he also Oked an incident in which an artillery crew aiming at alleged 'terrorists' in gaza had hid a nearby house, killing 20 and wounding another 40. he deems this an extremely rare malfunction of the artillery system, and that no further investigation is needed. what had happened to the alleged 'terrorists' remains unknown, strange as those 'terrorist' were the justification for the shooting for the first place.
these are just examples of the heinous behavior on part of the Israelis, certainly ones that boil my blood.
in the following weeks i will add more on the subject of israeli war crimes, Lebanon's cluster crisis and the gaza situation. stay tuned...
This fine Jewish men is the IDF (Israeli defense forces) attorney general.
the sharp eyed reader will notice the decoration of war from the II lebanon war on his left chest.
a few weeks ago, this men declared that the use of cluster munitions against the south of lebanon is in accordance to the international laws, and no further investigation will take place.
this is opposed to the opinion of all other organizations which looked into the subject, from amnesty and HRW, including several european states.
for those of you who are interested, this is Protocol 1 Additional to the Geneva Conventions, which describes most of the Intl. law of engagement. see for yourself if the actions taken by Israel are in accordance with the Intl. law. (in case you ask yourself what happens to those who disobey, well, if you are friends with Uncle Sam, then nothing. if not, you are a war criminal and are sometimes hanged).
on a side note, i wish to add that this whole 'laws of war' idea is a joke, as it only serves war criminal (as any war is a crime) as a seal of approval for their horrid acts, and grounds for attorneys for quibbling.
for those new to the subject, i will briefly describe the issue.
1. what is cluster munition?
- cluster munitions are types of bombs, which are constructed from (a cluster of) many small bombs, sized from about a 'D' cell battery up to a large orange. the small bombs are packed into a large canister, or a shell, which can be delivered to the target from an aeroplain, a rocket or a canon, and upon reaching above the target the canister will open, dispersing the tiny bombs (AKA 'bomblets') over a wide area in a random pattern.
2. what dangers do they reflect?
- aside from the obvious explosive danger, there are few, cluster specific dangers. the number of bomblets in a canister range from tens to hundreds, thus a barrage or a cluster attack will consist of ten or hundreds of thousands of tiny bomblets, that is much more (numericly and cover-wise) then a standard explosive barrage. some weapon systems are even capable of delivering millions of bomblets in a matter of minutes.
these thousands of bomblets are not targeted at a specific target, rather at an area, which can size from a football field to a town. at and around this area, the bomblets disperse randomly, killing and destroying indiscriminately.
since the bomblets are typically very small, wind carries them to considerable distances, and they can even enter thru open windows into homes, get caught in fences and trees or lodge themselves into small cracks in derbies commonly found in war zones.
the worst of all, these bomblets dont always explode. infect, more then 30% dont explode on impact, and are left on the ground and in trees for people to step on them, accidently pick them up, or sometimes, fall on the breakfast table.
3. does the international law bans the use of cluster munitions?
- well, not per say, but it is forbidden to use in-discriminatory weapons in situations where civilians are endangered by the action. as established in the previous lines, these are random weapons of in-discriminatory nature.
in the II lebanon war, israel used about 4,000,000 cluster bomblets against the south of lebanon, leaving over 1 million duds on the ground. several dozens of Lebanese were injured and killed by them so far, and several intl. aid workers killed as well as they worked to clear the bombs.
many more will suffer the same fate in years to come, as the duds lay in the mud and between the rocks, in groves and fields and rooftops. many kids do not know the danger these small metal objects conceal, and are usually the first ones to lose limbs and die from picking them up mistaking them for toys etc.
yet, gen. mendelbilt deems this acceptable under intl. law.
i am not surprised, since this is what idf always does.
a few week after he declared this OK, he also Oked an incident in which an artillery crew aiming at alleged 'terrorists' in gaza had hid a nearby house, killing 20 and wounding another 40. he deems this an extremely rare malfunction of the artillery system, and that no further investigation is needed. what had happened to the alleged 'terrorists' remains unknown, strange as those 'terrorist' were the justification for the shooting for the first place.
these are just examples of the heinous behavior on part of the Israelis, certainly ones that boil my blood.
in the following weeks i will add more on the subject of israeli war crimes, Lebanon's cluster crisis and the gaza situation. stay tuned...
Israel: We will sell our citizens for a quick buck in Singapore
27/02/08 10:28 Filed in: Politics
Last friday Haaretz news paper reveled some disturbing
(although not surprising) news regarding a defense
system being developed in Israel.
Without going too much into politics, the story goes as follows:
The southern town of Sderot is under attack of crude Quassam rockets, launched from the Gaza strip, for the last eight years.
Very recently, the Israeli Department of Defense initiated the development of anti-rocket defense system, known as "The Iron Dome".
The Haaretz article sheds light on the shady decision making process that led to favoring of the 'Iron Dome' upon other, more adequate systems.
The bottom line of that article is, that the 'Iron Dome' is known to be improper for the purpose for which it is presented as a solution, far more expensive and will not be ready for several more years.
So why was it chosen you ask?
in one line, cleverly hidden from the censor, the writer Mr. Reuven Pedhatsour hints that few of the decision makers and \ or advisors to them are also employed as consultants to the government of Singapore, to whom Israel wishes to sell the completed system. In the current political climate in Israel, the decision to develop an inadequate system, falsely marketed to the citizens as adequate, with clandestine plans to monetize it elsewhere at the expanse of Sderot's people, seems like a wise and rational decision, since personal gains are usually the motive to the MP's, PM and the generals.
The people of Sderot have turned to the supreme court on the matter, and probably we will see more, even uglier details emerge as evidence turn in.
Stay tuned as the bad will defiantly turn into ugly
UPDATE:
it was reveled yesterday that RAFAEL, makers of 'the iron dome', will sell a system based on some of the Dome's components to India, Singapore, in a deal worth about 100 million USD. in the mean time, several Gazans were killed by the IDF in strikes against alleged 'terrorist activities' and a kid in Sderot was severely wounded.
I started thinking, what if lots and lots of people started investing in RAFAEL, then crash the stock down? i am not a Wall street kind of guy, but i am sure this can be done.
perhaps some of my readers can come up with a plan? after all, isn't money = power? maybe, as a collective, we, the 'small people' can cause enough instability to really harm such companies? does anyone knows if there are legal implications to such action? this would make a splendid TAZ ( I promise to have a detailed post on the subject of TAZ later on).
-Correction: As far as i could find out, RAFAEL is still Gvmnt. controlled firm, but it is supposed to go public sometime soon, just like Elbit and others did.
I will update you as the Israeli supreme court gives its decision on Sderots citizens claim against the Gvmnt on the subject of 'the iron dome'.
Without going too much into politics, the story goes as follows:
The southern town of Sderot is under attack of crude Quassam rockets, launched from the Gaza strip, for the last eight years.
Very recently, the Israeli Department of Defense initiated the development of anti-rocket defense system, known as "The Iron Dome".
The Haaretz article sheds light on the shady decision making process that led to favoring of the 'Iron Dome' upon other, more adequate systems.
The bottom line of that article is, that the 'Iron Dome' is known to be improper for the purpose for which it is presented as a solution, far more expensive and will not be ready for several more years.
So why was it chosen you ask?
in one line, cleverly hidden from the censor, the writer Mr. Reuven Pedhatsour hints that few of the decision makers and \ or advisors to them are also employed as consultants to the government of Singapore, to whom Israel wishes to sell the completed system. In the current political climate in Israel, the decision to develop an inadequate system, falsely marketed to the citizens as adequate, with clandestine plans to monetize it elsewhere at the expanse of Sderot's people, seems like a wise and rational decision, since personal gains are usually the motive to the MP's, PM and the generals.
The people of Sderot have turned to the supreme court on the matter, and probably we will see more, even uglier details emerge as evidence turn in.
Stay tuned as the bad will defiantly turn into ugly
UPDATE:
it was reveled yesterday that RAFAEL, makers of 'the iron dome', will sell a system based on some of the Dome's components to India, Singapore, in a deal worth about 100 million USD. in the mean time, several Gazans were killed by the IDF in strikes against alleged 'terrorist activities' and a kid in Sderot was severely wounded.
I started thinking, what if lots and lots of people started investing in RAFAEL, then crash the stock down? i am not a Wall street kind of guy, but i am sure this can be done.
perhaps some of my readers can come up with a plan? after all, isn't money = power? maybe, as a collective, we, the 'small people' can cause enough instability to really harm such companies? does anyone knows if there are legal implications to such action? this would make a splendid TAZ ( I promise to have a detailed post on the subject of TAZ later on).
-Correction: As far as i could find out, RAFAEL is still Gvmnt. controlled firm, but it is supposed to go public sometime soon, just like Elbit and others did.
I will update you as the Israeli supreme court gives its decision on Sderots citizens claim against the Gvmnt on the subject of 'the iron dome'.
Is T2 (Skynet) already amongst us?
24/02/08 15:23 Filed in: Tech
Back in 1991, when Terminator 2 came to cinema, I was
mostly amazed with the special effects (in particular,
the Quicksilver Robot), and less intrigued with the
technological backdrop (AKA Skynet).
While robots such as T2 and Quickie are yet far, far away, and computers are still just dumb machines, in the last few years something changed.
I refer to the multi-core era, starting with 'D' series pentiums, and more commonly the Duo series by Intel.
Multi-core design enables chip makers to double, quad and octo performance in an unprecedented speed and ease.
Are we on our way to the Sky(net)?
IBM engineer holding a Cell BE, and the T2 Chip. Notice something?
Now, its not as if Multi-core IS Skynet, but it does open up vast new horizons.
While robots such as T2 and Quickie are yet far, far away, and computers are still just dumb machines, in the last few years something changed.
I refer to the multi-core era, starting with 'D' series pentiums, and more commonly the Duo series by Intel.
Multi-core design enables chip makers to double, quad and octo performance in an unprecedented speed and ease.
Are we on our way to the Sky(net)?
IBM engineer holding a Cell BE, and the T2 Chip. Notice something?
Now, its not as if Multi-core IS Skynet, but it does open up vast new horizons.
How to make Chapati (Indian flatbread)
23/02/08 20:43 Filed in: Art of
Living
Chapati, the Indian flat-bread, is a quick, simple and
tasty type of bread, and anyone can make it in less
then 10 minutes of work.
Tools and ingredients:
- A medium sized skillet, frying pan or the like
- A rolling pin
- Mixing bowl
2 cups of flour (whole, white, corn or a mixture)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup lukewarm water
In the bowl, mix the flour and salt.
Gradually add water, knead the dough well until nice, smooth and flexible. The amount of water needed may vary.
Shape into a ball, and leave in the mixing bowl, covered for 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
*This may be a good time to make whatever else you are going to eat.
Preparation:
Pinch a small amount of dough from the ball, and make smaller balls, about the size of walnuts. Using the rolling pin, make into flat circular shapes, about 2 mm thick.
Do not stack the rolled Chapatis as they will stick.
Heat the skillet on medium-high heat (if not using non-stick, lightly oil) and place one Chapati at a time. When small bubbles appear, flip to the other side. This should take 30 seconds up to 1.5 minutes.
After flipping, larger bubbles will appear, after about 1 minute.
Remove the Chapati from the skillet and place directly on an open flame. In seconds, the chapati will puff, quickly flip to the other side, and remove.
Thats it. You made it. If it burned, didn't puff or not quite done, don't worry. After a few tries, you will get them perfect.
Serving suggestion: slightly buttered and honeyed, makes a splendid breakfast. Also, you might add any spices to your dough to make things more interesting.
The dough can be kept in the fridge for a few days, thus making of fresh Chapatis even quicker
Tools and ingredients:
- A medium sized skillet, frying pan or the like
- A rolling pin
- Mixing bowl
2 cups of flour (whole, white, corn or a mixture)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup lukewarm water
In the bowl, mix the flour and salt.
Gradually add water, knead the dough well until nice, smooth and flexible. The amount of water needed may vary.
Shape into a ball, and leave in the mixing bowl, covered for 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
*This may be a good time to make whatever else you are going to eat.
Preparation:
Pinch a small amount of dough from the ball, and make smaller balls, about the size of walnuts. Using the rolling pin, make into flat circular shapes, about 2 mm thick.
Do not stack the rolled Chapatis as they will stick.
Heat the skillet on medium-high heat (if not using non-stick, lightly oil) and place one Chapati at a time. When small bubbles appear, flip to the other side. This should take 30 seconds up to 1.5 minutes.
After flipping, larger bubbles will appear, after about 1 minute.
Remove the Chapati from the skillet and place directly on an open flame. In seconds, the chapati will puff, quickly flip to the other side, and remove.
Thats it. You made it. If it burned, didn't puff or not quite done, don't worry. After a few tries, you will get them perfect.
Serving suggestion: slightly buttered and honeyed, makes a splendid breakfast. Also, you might add any spices to your dough to make things more interesting.
The dough can be kept in the fridge for a few days, thus making of fresh Chapatis even quicker
When the dragon roars, will we understand?
22/02/08 19:49 Filed in: Reviews
We all heard about the dangers of poorly made Chinese products, but to all those who think lead in their toothpaste is a major problem, think again.
Far more dangerous products may be quietly sitting on the shelves of your homes, hiding quietly under a light cover of dust, and as we all know, when you mix two different things, they sometimes tend to go ‘boom’.
The two different things in this case are the Chinese English (chingrish) and the American obsession with instruction manuals, in the words of a grate writer, ‘a nation that puts usage instructions on toothpicks, is a nation gone completely insane’.
just the other day i bought a gamepad, by the Chinese manufacturer Dlong. lets take a look at the only instructions that came with it.
The first sentence is a fine example of master level Chingrish;
Shocks GAM E JOYSTICK OPERATION INSTRUCTION
(USB shocks game joystick systems)
Shocks single/double joystick systems:
First:The system of products operation ways are in WIN2000/XP:
You need to put the joysticks’ line plugs to cut in USB plugs,then system will recognize
and fit the plugs’driver.
Hmmm. should i cut the usb plug and then stick it somewhere? it just gets better;
C:Knock the next step,presenting the view,for instance picture four,button “next” measure.The the system will renovate the driver,presenting the picture five.Button the next step to finish.
Ok, no immanent death here, but i would love to see the driver when the renovation is complete.
1, Inter the dish of driver ,open the web for joystick item NO,push setup.exe install the products driver.for exaple Shocks joypad-Single joystick installing.
A: open the web of Shocks joypad-Single.
Yes, you guessed right, the driver does come on a CD!
when you finish reading thru this confusing and sometimes enigmatic document, catharsis awaits;
OK,The joystick driver and text finished,you can used it all times.
bottom line? crappy product, doesn’t worth the $25 i paid, next time will buy logitech.
*if anyone need the dlong driver for ‘2 shocks’, leave a comment.