rosie's randoms

It's a problem with Firefox.

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:31:44 GMT

If I have one more problem with Radio Userland, I'm switching, probably to TypePad. And writing about it in the magazine. First, while I was using Internet Explorer as my primary browser, the program wouldn't accept any of the reg keys Radio sent me. I wound up paying twice for the same year's worth of service. (And, yes, they charged my credit card twice.) Then I couldn't post for about six months. Then I figured out how to post in html without using the various WYSIWYG features. Then a Radio tech fixed that by removing the W3C CSS badge from the bottom of the page. Now why didn't I think of that? Then Radio lost my archives, which I still haven't resurrected. Then it became blind to the folder in which my navigator links reside, claiming it can't find it. And, just as I was about to tackle the navigator problem--finally--I switch to Firefox as my primary browser and discover that I again can't use WYSIWYG and that even if I use html directly, I can't enter a title. And, to answer the obvious follow-up question, no, I can't remove the W3C CSS badge again because it's already gone.

Rerun item from May, 2003 and worth every penny

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:24:50 GMT

In a world where all else is changing, one thing remains constant: this is still a helluva video.

http://multimedia.honda-eu.com/newcars/300k_player.swf this is the direct URL for the high-quality video. And here are the rest:

Cogs

The UK Honda Accord advert. Title is the source (i.e. Honda UK) site. The Telegraph's explanations: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F13%2Fnhonda13.xml.

Enthusiast site http://home.attbi.com/~bernhard36/honda-ad.html,

which includes lots of trivia and links.

Where is Rosie?

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 19:47:30 GMT

January 31 to February 2, 2005: LegalTech New York, New York Hilton on Sixth Avenue. No speaking, just listening and visiting. Usual New York schmoozing.

March 17-18, 2005: Daily Journal LegalWorks San Francisco, Hyatt Regency. Not sure which sessions I'll be chairing. Will keep you posted.

I'm hoping to post more of my schedule when I have a few minutes--probably sometime in June, 2007.

"Evil Twin" Haunts Wi-Fi Users

Mon, 24 Jan 2005 21:27:19 GMT

Is this for real? eWeek reports, "An IT security expert, an academic and the U.K. government's cybercrime unit will give Londoners an introduction to the security dangers of wireless networking on Thursday—with the star of the show being an attack method dubbed the "Evil Twin.'

The Evil Twin is essentially a wireless version of a phishing scam—users think they're connecting to a genuine hot spot but are actually connecting to a malicious server.

Even more interesting to me is the second comment, attributed to theogoldin, who points out that the British expert is confusing authentication with security.

Sabrina's Next Tip

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 04:40:39 GMT

"In his new book, [Washington] Post reporter Robert O'Harrow Jr. shows how the government now depends on burgeoning private reservoirs of information about almost every aspect of our lives to promote homeland security and fight the war on terror." If this doesn't frighten you, maybe you should cut back on your Prozac.

Also check out his piece in yesterday's Post, "In Age of Security, Firm Mines Wealth Of Personal Data." And then visit noplacetohide.net, a web site created by the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Sabrina Pacifici has the best name for her Web site

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 04:20:22 GMT

Got two great leads from beSpacific this evening.

Nova scienceNow, the science show that, indeed, does go everywhere, explains who was making those eerie noises in those dunes in Indiana (Michigan?) that hot summer of my eighth year. Actually, I still think it was those gentile kids from the other camp.

I wish I could remember the name of those dunes in Indiana (Michigan?) Can anybody offer a clue or two?

More on the new Mac Mini

Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:47:33 GMT

Loyd Case in January 14's edition of ExtremeTech Weekly calls the Mac Mini Less than You Think, a brilliant opinion piece given that it closely conforms to my original post of January 12. It also lends a voice of moderation to the frenzy of greed the new Apple product announcements have (and always have) generated, led, in part by New York Times columnist David Pogue, who, in addition to reporting on MacWorld for the Times, hosted MacWorld Expo's MacWorld Live with David Pogue talk radio show, featuring "the news of the day, exciting guests, David's famous song parodies and plenty of surprises." He was also the star attraction at sessions on Making iMovies with David Pogue and Panther Secrets. See what you missed?

Case also comments on similarly priced, similarly sized PC minis, specifically Cappuccino's PC Series and Logisysus' tiny PCs. To them I would add Shuttle's XPA PCs,: Tiqit's handheld PC, a full computer just a little bigger than an ordinary Pocket PC or Windows Mobile PC; Sony's U series, a full PC with an 800x600 display, still available only in Japan, I believe; and ajumpminipc's built-to-order (like Dell) lunch box.

MacWorld Expo San Francisco

Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:24:40 GMT

I just got back from a long walk up and down and between the aisles at MacWorld, the tradeshow, not the magazine. It used to be much bigger. Smaller is fine with me and my tootsies, but not so fine for the tradeshow business. I haven't yet taken inventory to see if most of the Mac players were there. If they were, it also doesn't bode well for the Mac platform. The huge Apple booth (pavilion?) in the middle of Moscone's eastern exhibit hall was fronted by a wall of the new mini-mini iPOD Shuffles. People walked up to one, gave a listen, then moved over to another one. Something about random music. They use flash media (a first for Apple)--the same stuff that goes into USB thumb drives and all those media cards, such as Memory Sticks, Secure Digital, Compact Flash and XDisc cards. The Shuffle is basically a thumb drive with headphone jacks and a fast-fprward button. The prices are high, in line with the ethos of the Mac--we're special and so you get cachet points by paying through your teeth for our stuff. But, actually, not as disproportionate as, say, the 40 gig iPOD. The 512 MB iPOD Shuffle lists for $99, the 1 GB lists for $149. For comparison, a secure 512 USB thumb drive sells for about $50 and a 1 GB USB flash drives go for about $100. A lot of people stopped in front of the wall of Shuffles, listened to one, then moved over and listened to another two or three. No one acted overtly enthusiastic, but maybe enthusiasm isn't cool.

There were bigger crowds in front of the row of tables showing the new $500 Mac Mini, which looks like an overblown iPOD power transformer. The Mac Mini costs $499 for the 1.25GHz model with a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive; $599 for a 1.42GHz model with an 80GB Ultra ATA drive. Add a keyboard, mouse, and monitor (just like buying a PC) and you've got your basic $800 to $1,000 Mac system. Attendees weren't slobbering over the Mac Minis either.

One of the things that, for me, has always differentiated Mac shows from PC shows is the applause. Mac folks used to applaud at those large demos where the stand-up guy (or three blond women in black polo shirts) throw T-shirts into the crowd. Applaud. At sales pitches. Well, today, the Apple guys demo-ing Mac OSX Tiger had to prompt the audience. "Waddya think?" "Is this cool or what?" And then the audience applauded. Not like the good old days.

There is still a lot missing, but I'm happy. Yes, I am.

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 02:02:56 GMT

It looks like I can cross yet another few problems off my list. Unfortunately, I still have a list. But the Radio Userland folks, specifically Lawrence Lee, have worked out most of the major kinks. Personal links, RSS, archives...now I do believe everything will happen. Again. For the very first time. (Where did that come from: "together again for the very first time."? That and "a new idea is an antigen" have been driving me crazy for several years. And no, that's not why. I was like this before.

You mean we have to act like grownups here too?

Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:47:48 GMT

The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalists, publishes several online columns each day, the most popular of which has got to be Jim Romenesko's Romenesko, a combination of journalism watchdog and gossip columnist. Reading Romenesko is probably the first thing most reporters do in the morning. But that's not why I called you all here today. Poynter's Steve Outing proposes that bloggers learn what we professional editors, writers and reporters already should know--standards, be they stylistic, graphic or ethical, not only protect the subjects of our jabs and stabs, but also protect the First Amendment (especially in this climate of...what? Germany in the early Thirties?) and the blogger herself. Given the current administration's, um, ambivalence to the the First Amendment, we (bloggers and journalists alike) need all the protection we can get. Outing refers to CyberJournalist.net's model Bloggers' Code of Ethics, based on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics for the Weblog World. After all, we bloggers have no backup, no large corporations and their expensive lawyers will represent us should one of our topics sue us for libel. (I love the idea of reducing a human litigant to a non-tangible.) Even more disturbing, in these days of more government interference, is the fact that there is no precedent yet for giving First Amendment rights to bloggers in the first place. Top First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams believes that reporter-bloggers should be able to use the same shield laws that protect journalists. Outing's chiastic flipside: What Journalists Can Learn from Bloggers. While you're at it, check out Polish Your Jewels, an excellent lesson in making every word work.

Barbara Boxer joins House dems to protest irregularities in the Ohio vote

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 18:42:42 GMT

Way to go, Barbara. Serious questions about an entire state's voting procedures makes us look like a member of the former Soviet Union. Or, maybe, Nigeria.

Really Rosie

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 03:14:42 GMT

Somehow, when I broke this blog back in August, I lost the post with Rosie Bultman's baby pictures. I'm hoping this will goose Chip into sending me more. Who, you may be asking your computer monitor, is Chip? Nothing less than the copy chief for California Lawyer and a wonderful photographer. Rosie is his baby daughter. I'm hoping reposting these will goose Chip into sending me more photos to post, so that the world, or at least the Daily Journal and California Lawyer staffs, can see how she's grown.

Ever curious

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 01:43:48 GMT

If you're a Mac fan (a separate species I've come to believe), you probably already know about Think Secret, the tight rumor mill of Apple news. http://www.thinksecret.com/ Since I haven't used a Mac regularly for about fifteen years, I discovered said site only because I read that Apple is suing them for disclosing trade secrets, thereby confirming whatever it was they wanted to deny. Maybe they're suing over Think Secret's article on the sub-$500 Mac Apple (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0412expo2.html) is supposed to announce at MacWorld in San Francisco (groan) next week. (What's so difficult about such an animal? They drop to about $500 because they don't include a monitor. No duh. PC manufacturers have been doing that for, um, almost twenty years.

Tricks of the Trade

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 01:36:00 GMT

OK. So I do have titles working again. Progress. Wanna get the party dancing? Play Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl. " Don't believe me. Go straight to my source Tricks of the Trade. (I'll fix it, I'll fix it. Give me a chance.) Or, if you're carpenter for a day, hold a nail the safer way: There's more than one way to hold a nail for hammering, but the obvious one leaves your thumb vulnerable to a serious whack when the hammer misses. Try it this way: Turn your palm towards yourself, with the nail held between the tips of two fingers. If the hammer misses, you'll hit the flat of a finger instead of the side of your thumb. Yes, it still hurts to hit your fingers with a hammer. But it's nowhere near the pain of hitting your thumb, because the flat of a finger is tougher than the side of a thumb. Pinch the tip of your finger or thumb as hard as you can, first through the flat from nail to pad, then from the sides, and you'll know what a difference this makes. http://www.tradetricks.org/archives/001116.html Consumers generally won't buy a bicycle with completely smooth or treadless tires, even though the tread pattern serves no purpose and tires would be cheaper to make (and therefore buy) without it. People think bicycle tires should have tread because car tires have tread. But car tires have tread for a reason. In wet conditions water has to be given a way to flow from under the tire's contact patch, so the rubber can remain in contact with pavement and prevent hydroplaning. A car tire is much larger than that of a bicycle tire, thought, and the water has much further to travel. Physics dictates that the pressure forcing water from below the car's tire is equal to the pressure of inflation, typically 30-40 psi. With a bicycle road tire, however, inflation pressure is typically 80-120 psi. In other words, in comparison to car tires, bicycle tires have much smaller contact patches and much higher pressure -- the two physical parameters of concern in hydroplaning. The speed required to hydroplane on a bicycle has been calculated in the region of 90-100 mph. http://www.tradetricks.org/archives/001113.html (Originally from Ask Metafilter (http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/10953) Stop me before I cite more.

title trolling

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 01:22:14 GMT

There are still a few kinks to work out. One of them is getting the title to publish. Another is getting the links linked. But I can post and I shall and will post. What does a young anaesthesiologist do in his spare time (of which he seems to have a lot)? He comments (in bookofjoe, http://www.bookofjoe.com/) on things--you know, booster toilet seats, Flatmatic compact sunglasses and reading glasses, olive spoons. Precise links TK (to kum for you non-reporters) but search and ye shall find.

Am I back yet?

Wed, 05 Jan 2005 22:34:45 GMT

After a heroic (an heroic?) struggle, I think I've finessed my blog back into letting me post. (I suspect that this is not Radio Userland's fault--or I wouldn't still be here--but, rather, a result of the incredibly confused templates I've created over the last couple of years. I've been too lazy (and, probably, inexperienced) to attack the mess and four months offline has been my punishment. The mess is so bad, I'm embarrassed to keep the CSS at the bottom of my pages.(Cascading Style Sheets: if you don't know what it means, just know that, if done properly, make your blog or Web site readable on any system anywhere. Supposedly.) There's also an extra period (after the question mark) in the first line that I can't see in editing mode and therefore can't erase.

Speech Accent Archive

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 02:55:21 GMT

A real find. The Speech Accent Archive plays your selection of accents and sub-accents of native speakers of other languages trying to read the same paragraph in English. It's a great way to learn to pronounce a foreign language--when you see and hear what mistakes they make trying to speak English, you can understand what they do with similar consonants, vowels and diphthongs in their own languges. Fabulous.

This site examines the accented speech of speakers from many different language backgrounds reading the same sample paragraph. Currently, we have obtained 355 speech samples. To explore the features of this site, use the pop-up menu below.

What interests me is the 10, 660 tips from the citizenry.

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 20:53:29 GMT

I had rather hoped that tattling went out with the Cultural Revolution.

China blocks porn websites

Beijing
July 26, 2004

Beijing has blocked 988 overseas websites and shut down 67 local ones as part of a nationwide campaign to weed out pornographic content on the internet, Chinese media reported.

The websites shut down during the July 6 to 21 special operation included Hong Kong websites. The popular search tool Google was also inaccessible this week.

So far, the Chinese capital has arrested 13 people suspected of operating the websites, the Beijing Youth Daily said on Saturday.

Police received 10,660 tips from the public, a majority of which were complaints about inappropriate sexual content on the internet. Other complaints involved pornographic mobile phone short messages, the report said.

The central Chinese government this month launched a "people's war" against pornography on the internet, giving websites a deadline until September to rid themselves of indecent content or lose their license to publish decent material, such as news.

Officials had so far identified 500 websites across China that carried pornographic pictures and film clips, the China Daily reported.

Hundreds of websites, including the most influential ones, publish "indecent or even pornographic content" to attract users, the Xinhua news agency had reported.

The crackdown on internet porn reflects two top concerns of the Chinese leadership, about the ethical standards of the young and about the subversive potential of the internet.

With 80 million registered users in China, the government is finding it increasingly difficult to control the internet, but that has not stopped it from trying.

State media reported last month that the government had suspended the registration of new internet cafes, following a three-month sweep in which it closed 16,000 existing ones.

AFP

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:53:26 GMT

Like a flamefest come to life. . .. Michael Moore vs. Bill O'Reilly No, I'm not kidding. And yes, it is a Drudge link. Watch O'Reilly Godwin halfway through the interview. [MetaFilter]

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:50:44 GMT

bookbinding | popup books. Three nice book links from the University of North Texas Libraries: 1. Victorian Bookbinding - Innovation and Extravagance has some gorgeous examples of bookcovers from the Art Nouveau, Victorian, and Arts and Crafts periods. 2. The Great Menagerie is an animated tour of 19th and 20th century pop-up books. 3. Pop-Up and Movable Books - A Tour, showcases pop-up book artists through the centuries, and includes the master of the genre, Lothar Meggendorfer. More about Meggendorfer inside ----> [MetaFilter]

Just don't revoke any Nobels. That was the height of knowledge at that time and that's what they were cited for. (Or is it sited? No, I don't think so.)

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:49:57 GMT

Yowza. The physicist Shariah Afshar has used a beautifully simple experiment, which no-one seems to have thought of before, to disprove Bohr's principle of complementarity, something which has been pretty much unchallenged for 80 years. He may also have gone some way towards showing that there is no such thing as a photon, and that Einstein's Nobel prize should be revoked. So, big stuff. What do you physicists think? [MetaFilter]

Utopia exists only for short periods. Likewise altruism.

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:47:02 GMT

Attack of the Hoax Blogs. In today's NYT, my Wired News colleague Daniel Terdiman writes about the growing trend in blogs that purport to be real, but are in fact hoaxes (and yes, he knows they're "weblogs" or "blogs," not "Web Logs," but c'est la editorial policy, mon cher). Link [Boing Boing]

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:45:00 GMT

Apple Shows Some Mean Colors.

CNN: Apple: RealNetworks hacked iPod. Apple Computer accused RealNetworks Thursday of adopting the tactics of a hacker and breaking into the technology behind its popular music player iPod device.

So Apple is happy to let you play your music only in the way it permits, if you're going to use its devices. The company says it'll rewrite its software to thwart Real's customer-friendly hack -- and I use that word in the benevolent sense -- that lets people use what they've bought with just a bit more freedom than Apple wishes to grant. Threats to use copyright law against Real are exactly what you'd expect, unfortunately. Apple wants control over online music, and this is just part of the game. What we customers want is cross-platform compatibility: standards. What the companies want is lock-in. They may win, but they're only locking me out -- because I won't play by those rules. Which means I've bought my last iTunes Music Store song until Apple starts paying more attention to what its customers want. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:42:29 GMT

Cell Phones Becoming Profitless [Slashdot:]

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:41:06 GMT

Fourth Degree. If I write about coverage of the coverage of the bloggers' reporting at the Democratic National Convention, is that meta-meta-meta journalism? [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]