Personal
Video Madness!
May/24/09 16:22
Three new videos of the kids. First, the kids acting silly:
We went to Legoland California:
Finally, we had a big snowstorm in April:
We went to Legoland California:
Finally, we had a big snowstorm in April:
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I'm on twitter, too
Mar/30/09 23:53
Staring wistfully...
Mar/30/09 23:30
Snow
Dec/15/08 13:50
Ballet Class Halloween
Nov/01/08 19:00
Ilke’s ballet class had a little halloween performance/trick-or-treat:
Ballet Class Halloween from Hans Derycke on Vimeo.
Flying From Wichita to Denver
Jun/06/08 12:36
Yesterday, there was some horrid weather over Wichita, just as I was to fly back. The flight was delayed some five hours, but when we finally left, we quickly broke through the storm clouds and settled for a cruising altitude somewhere above them. Turns out, there was another layer of clouds even higher than us, and the sun setting in the west was shining between them. I took some pics and put them on flickr.
Better Garfield
Feb/27/08 09:51
Someone came up with the idea to remove Garfield from the Garfield comic:
It's... so much better. A few become incomprehensible, but most actually gain significance.
It's... so much better. A few become incomprehensible, but most actually gain significance.
Creation "Museum"
Nov/28/07 23:20
At the very least, the image at the center of this picture displays an interesting use of logic. Or, as someone on UseNet once said, "Your argument misses a certain something; I think it's called 'Logic.'" This, not by me, sits at the inspiration crossroads of a motivational poster and a display at the creation "museum" in Kentucky, or one of those crazy places:
Flickr
Nov/02/07 23:54
High Crimes and Misdemeanors II
Oct/07/07 17:24
The house next door has been bought by flippers, who've spent some time and money fixing it up. It is now for sale. This has, I am sure, absolutely nothing at all to do with this letter I got from Clarke Farms Homeowner's Association:
Once more, it's weeds. Curiously, it's on the side of the flipper's house. Never mind that whatever is there has been there since spring. Now, suddenly, at the end of the growing season, it's a problem. It's all about to get covered up in snow and shrivel away, but that doesn't stop the brave people at Clarke Farms HOA from sending out letters.
Earl's
Sep/22/07 11:39
It was Dmitriy's turn to leave the project, and he organized a group lunch. He left the choice of venue to me, and I chose Earl's (nice website, by the way) in Lone Tree, because I've never been there.
Earl's is obviously a restaurant oriented at men, sort of the PG version of a strip club. The host and all of the wait staff were young, beautiful, sexy women, which I don't mind at all. It just makes it the kind of place I can't take my wife to, on account that she'd slap me silly. The thing that struck me most, though, is that they were also all white. The bussers, a man and a woman, were hispanic, and I didn't get to see the kitchen staff. But all the waitresses, and there were quite a few of them, were all white. It does not make Earl's the kind of place I want to be seen entering or leaving.
Oh yeah, the food was good.
Earl's is obviously a restaurant oriented at men, sort of the PG version of a strip club. The host and all of the wait staff were young, beautiful, sexy women, which I don't mind at all. It just makes it the kind of place I can't take my wife to, on account that she'd slap me silly. The thing that struck me most, though, is that they were also all white. The bussers, a man and a woman, were hispanic, and I didn't get to see the kitchen staff. But all the waitresses, and there were quite a few of them, were all white. It does not make Earl's the kind of place I want to be seen entering or leaving.
Oh yeah, the food was good.
The Only Thing Worse Than a Terrorist Attack...
Jun/14/07 23:06
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
May/15/07 18:24
I've been caught.
I've been on the lam for so long, but finally, the long arm of the law caught me.
Allright, the short arm of Clarke Farms Home Owner's Association, but still. I've received a letter to reprimand and threaten me about... dandelions in my lawn:
I've been on the lam for so long, but finally, the long arm of the law caught me.
Allright, the short arm of Clarke Farms Home Owner's Association, but still. I've received a letter to reprimand and threaten me about... dandelions in my lawn:
Yes, the Clarke Farms HOA comes to the rescue, because if the dandelions can stay, the terrorists have already won. No doubt.
On Twitter
Mar/17/07 23:48
I have to disagree with Gruber on this one.
I'd heard about Twitter before -- it's a new breed of social networking site, where you can post an endless stream of what amount to SMS messages (they're limited to 140-some characters each) about what you are doing, thinking, eating, where you're at, what you wear... It's like stream-of-conciousness-blogging. Whereas blogging has turned into a medium where you sit down and more or less carefully craft a message that encapsulates your thoughts, Twitter is shoot-from-the-hip, spur-of-the-moment, wear-out-your-hyphen-key posting.
Twitter is the Internet equivalent of the mood ring. The mood ring was predicated on the astoundingly pretentious assumption that everybody around you is, or at least should be, interested in your current state of emotional well-being at any given time.
I'd heard about Twitter before -- it's a new breed of social networking site, where you can post an endless stream of what amount to SMS messages (they're limited to 140-some characters each) about what you are doing, thinking, eating, where you're at, what you wear... It's like stream-of-conciousness-blogging. Whereas blogging has turned into a medium where you sit down and more or less carefully craft a message that encapsulates your thoughts, Twitter is shoot-from-the-hip, spur-of-the-moment, wear-out-your-hyphen-key posting.
Twitter is the Internet equivalent of the mood ring. The mood ring was predicated on the astoundingly pretentious assumption that everybody around you is, or at least should be, interested in your current state of emotional well-being at any given time.
Venn Diagram
Mar/13/07 12:58
From Saint Gasoline:
Yeah, I'd like to see those too.
It comes with an essay triggered by Starbucks' printing of a Jonathan Wells quote on their cups. It's well worth reading, and it ends with the Saint calling for coffee cups with this quote on it:
“Jonathan Wells is a douchebag.” –Saint Gasoline
Yeah, I'd like to see those too.
Balmer Spends Two Days Cleaning a PC?
Feb/27/07 16:24
This story is just too pat:
Really? Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, considers it a good use of his time to spend two days on ridding a PC from malware? After a few minutes, it would probably have been cheaper to just ditch it and buy a new one. Or at least do a wipe-'n'-install.
Ballmer spent almost two days trying to rid the PC of worms, viruses, spyware, malware and severe fragmentation without success.
Really? Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, considers it a good use of his time to spend two days on ridding a PC from malware? After a few minutes, it would probably have been cheaper to just ditch it and buy a new one. Or at least do a wipe-'n'-install.
The Blasphemy Challenge
Dec/15/06 09:50
Brian Flemming:
By my calculations, if the blasphemy virus continues to spread at this rate, the Earth will be 100% atheist by the end of 2006, the entire universe will be atheist by March 2007, and God himself will be an atheist just in time for Easter.
How The Hell Do They Know?
Dec/04/06 20:43
I was looking for a new homepage, because for some vague reason my.mypage.com didn't cut it anymore. So I created a gmail account -- give them my name, my location (in the US), my cell phone number (a US number), that kind of stuff. At the end, I get my homepage at http://www.google.com/ig. Next, I go to customize it, and I add a sudoku puzzle from couttonine.com.
The puzzle comes with a small banner ad, about the width of the puzzle, and about 3/4 of an inch in height.
The absolutely astounding, mindboggling fact about this, is that all the ads are in Dutch. Counttonine.com itself is based in Scottsdale, AZ, so that's not the answer. Somehow, Google knows I know Dutch, and decides to target Dutch-language ads to me, even though I don't care about them -- many are from companies that only do business in the Netherlands or Belgium, and I live in frickin' Colorado.
It just boggles the mind. Somehow, They Know (tm). Google's software must have linked my account to my previous searches (easy, as they had access to my cookies during the account signup process), noticed I did some searches that resulted in click-throughs to Belgian or Dutch sites, and deduced from that that I not only understand the language, but that I'm there. And that's where they went wrong. The companies whose ads appear under those puzzles are wasting their money.
The puzzle comes with a small banner ad, about the width of the puzzle, and about 3/4 of an inch in height.
The absolutely astounding, mindboggling fact about this, is that all the ads are in Dutch. Counttonine.com itself is based in Scottsdale, AZ, so that's not the answer. Somehow, Google knows I know Dutch, and decides to target Dutch-language ads to me, even though I don't care about them -- many are from companies that only do business in the Netherlands or Belgium, and I live in frickin' Colorado.
It just boggles the mind. Somehow, They Know (tm). Google's software must have linked my account to my previous searches (easy, as they had access to my cookies during the account signup process), noticed I did some searches that resulted in click-throughs to Belgian or Dutch sites, and deduced from that that I not only understand the language, but that I'm there. And that's where they went wrong. The companies whose ads appear under those puzzles are wasting their money.
Peace on earth, 'cept for you.
Nov/27/06 20:27
And here I was, thinking that a big part of the Christmas was about "peace on earth for all people of good will," but it isn't, according to the president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs, in the great state of Colorado. Not only is displaying the peace symbol illegal there, when the HOA president failed to get the architectural control committee to require the offender to remove the symbol, he just fired all five committee members.
Ah, the land of the free...
Ah, the land of the free...
...which is like coming second in chess
Nov/27/06 19:49
Ah, the Zune. David Galbraith reviews it, and like so many, he's not impressed:
There's something about the Zune that brings out the best in people. At least when it comes to disparaging it. Check out the link to Andy Ihnatko's review in the Chicago Sun-Times at the bottom of David's post. Oh, hell, here it is.Imagine your son waking up on Christmas (if you're into Christmas) morning and rushing to open his presents in breathless anticipation of getting a shiny new iPod, only to find out he's got a Zune, which is like coming second in chess.
HBO's "Hacking Democracy"
Nov/07/06 08:30
Just in time for votin' day, here's a nice, long (1h20') documentary from HBO about the electronic voting systems. It's not a feel-good thing.
The Crux of The Matter
Oct/17/06 14:04
Via Daring Fireball, The Fishbowl muses on salesmanship:
Read the original and you'll understand.Steve Jobs can make sharing earwax sound sexy. Ballmer can make a digital file transfer sound like something you’d need to clean up after.
Matthew Jones And Inflation
Oct/15/06 19:05
This is Matthew Jones:
So, good deal for Matthew Jones, or at least his 180-odd descendants, whose property is now worth $4.5 million, if they were to sell it outright. Which, if you read the story, they won't, because they're smarter than that -- they're developing it, and stand to reap even greater windfalls.
Born into slavery in 1845 in South Carolina, believed to have escaped, and joined the Union Army when they came to his home state.
There's this article about Mr. Jones over at myway.com. I don't want to talk about the meat of the story, but about one detail that struck me:
Who am I to argue that $225 is a pittance these days -- especially for 21 acres of land, let alone Hilton Head land. But was it really a fortune for a former slave in the 1880's? That rather depends. I've no idea about the financial circumstances of former slaves in the 1880's, but I do have the handy-dandy Inflation Calculator! That will let me determine what the current value is of $225 in 1880. Punch in the numbers, let the magic of the Internet do its... well, magic I guess, and the answer is... $4,455.35. I don't know about you, but to me that's still not a lot of money. It comes out to just a hair under $212.16 per acre (and 1 acre is about .405 hectare).Matthew Jones paid $225 for this parcel - a pittance now, but a fortune for a former slave in the 1880s.
So, good deal for Matthew Jones, or at least his 180-odd descendants, whose property is now worth $4.5 million, if they were to sell it outright. Which, if you read the story, they won't, because they're smarter than that -- they're developing it, and stand to reap even greater windfalls.
Special Comment by Olbermann
Oct/04/06 19:23
Rather longish, but this should not be lost to history. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC uses the "Fox ambush" to lob harsh words at the administration, the president, and the republicans. Not that the Boy Who Would Be King will ever see it.
Hey Apple, How About This Scenario?
Aug/31/06 14:26
The .Mac team has a blog.
Yup.
With gems like this:
Honey, if Rick had saved his work to iDisk, he wouldn't have gotten into an impromptu game of touch football, because he'd still be waiting for the file to upload to iDisk. In fact, the wait would have been long enough for Rick and Stacy to go and get it on, and get bored with that too, and try out a few things they'd read about on the internet. This would have resulted in some painful injuries, a few incurable diseases, and a slow slide into deviant behavior. Eventually, Rick ends up in prison with the proverbial Bubba as a cell mate. You can guess where that is going. Stick to the flash drive, Rick!
Yup.
With gems like this:
The final paper for Freshman Lit was due the next day, and Rick didn’t even have a topic yet. He was watching a cooking show at the off-campus apartment of his girlfriend, Stacy, when it hit him: A study of the use of food as a recurring motif in the works of Chaucer. He wrote it in less than two hours on Stacy’s iMac and saved it to his USB flash drive.
On the way back to his dorm, Rick fell into an impromptu game of touch football. When he dove to make the game-winning catch, the flash drive slipped out of his pocket and landed in some bushes. He didn't know it was missing until he was back in his room, ready to print the paper. He finds Freshman Lit just as challenging the second time around.
Honey, if Rick had saved his work to iDisk, he wouldn't have gotten into an impromptu game of touch football, because he'd still be waiting for the file to upload to iDisk. In fact, the wait would have been long enough for Rick and Stacy to go and get it on, and get bored with that too, and try out a few things they'd read about on the internet. This would have resulted in some painful injuries, a few incurable diseases, and a slow slide into deviant behavior. Eventually, Rick ends up in prison with the proverbial Bubba as a cell mate. You can guess where that is going. Stick to the flash drive, Rick!
Incredibly stupid graphic
Aug/07/06 14:18
I bought some Jerzees t-shirts at Target the other day. They've got labels attached to them. This is what the front looks like:
Notice that it boasts "EZ Clean" fabric. On the back of the label, the good people at Russel Corporation feel the need to illustrate what "EZ Clean" means. This is the back of the label:
I'll enhance the stupid part for you:
Yeah, it's that stupid: Fabric with dirt, dirt during wash, fabric after wash. Wow. Thanks, Russel Corporation!
Notice that it boasts "EZ Clean" fabric. On the back of the label, the good people at Russel Corporation feel the need to illustrate what "EZ Clean" means. This is the back of the label:
I'll enhance the stupid part for you:
Yeah, it's that stupid: Fabric with dirt, dirt during wash, fabric after wash. Wow. Thanks, Russel Corporation!
Naztech's 90-day case
Jul/31/06 12:34
On April 1st of this year, I ordered a Naztech Sahara holster case for my Treo from TreoCentral. It's a nice little case, and very convenient. But apparently, "sturdy" wasn't a design goal of the Naztech Sahara. Last wednesday, July 26, this happened:
I contacted TreoCentral, and they claim they provide a 90-day warranty. Since that had passed, I contacted the manufacturer. Naztech's reaction to this? "Normal wear and tear". Oh, really? Your product falling apart is "normal wear and tear?" Am I supposed to buy a new case every three months?
I can assure Naztech that I won't be buying any of their crappy products, ever again.
I contacted TreoCentral, and they claim they provide a 90-day warranty. Since that had passed, I contacted the manufacturer. Naztech's reaction to this? "Normal wear and tear". Oh, really? Your product falling apart is "normal wear and tear?" Am I supposed to buy a new case every three months?
I can assure Naztech that I won't be buying any of their crappy products, ever again.
PayPal Suckiness
Jul/09/06 16:19
You'd think it's easy. You put something up for sale on eBay, receive payment with PayPal, send your stuff out.
That's the way it's been, but apparently it isn't the way it is anymore. PayPal has decided that, if you sell more than $500 worth of stuff in a month, you're not a person, you're a business. Mind you, that's not "routinely sell more than $500 per month," it's "sell more than $500 in any month." So if you want to sell something that goes for more than $500, or sell two items in a month that happen to total more than $500, you're not a person anymore.
The solution? Get a business account, and pay a transaction fee of about 3%. That's on top of the near-usurious eBay fees. I guess eBay, the owners of PayPal, are sick and tired of all these high-value transactions going on on their site.
Just this month, I sold a slide scanner for about $370, and then tried to sell an old Dell for about $280. You can imagine my embarassement when PayPal wouldn't let me accept payment for the second item without upgrading my account. I guess that, when I'm going to sell my PowerBook later this month, I'll have to look elsewhere besides eBay. Perhaps craigslist, or the agora on arstechnica will prove more amenable to my trade.
There's some great business ideas in this.
That's the way it's been, but apparently it isn't the way it is anymore. PayPal has decided that, if you sell more than $500 worth of stuff in a month, you're not a person, you're a business. Mind you, that's not "routinely sell more than $500 per month," it's "sell more than $500 in any month." So if you want to sell something that goes for more than $500, or sell two items in a month that happen to total more than $500, you're not a person anymore.
The solution? Get a business account, and pay a transaction fee of about 3%. That's on top of the near-usurious eBay fees. I guess eBay, the owners of PayPal, are sick and tired of all these high-value transactions going on on their site.
Just this month, I sold a slide scanner for about $370, and then tried to sell an old Dell for about $280. You can imagine my embarassement when PayPal wouldn't let me accept payment for the second item without upgrading my account. I guess that, when I'm going to sell my PowerBook later this month, I'll have to look elsewhere besides eBay. Perhaps craigslist, or the agora on arstechnica will prove more amenable to my trade.
There's some great business ideas in this.
The Size of The Solar System
Jul/06/06 09:15
This page shows the Sun and the planets of our solar system, both with their size relative to the Sun, and their relative distances. Note that it takes a lot of sideways scrolling to see the planets: the page at 72 dpi is purportedly about half a mile wide. It's an awesome complement to that earlier link about the size of our world.
The Size of Our World
Jul/03/06 18:42
Via Bagelturf, an interesting comparison of the relative size of the planets in our solar system, and comparison with some other stars. I had no idea Mars was so small!
I Bet They Make Great Wine
Jun/29/06 12:28
Australia presents... Saint Derycke's Wood Vineyards and Winery. This can only be good.