Saturday, July 30, 2005


Proof Of How Much The World Has Changed Since The 60s


Flintstones TV Ad (1.6MB Quicktime 7 movie)

I found this one on a CDROM I found at a dollar store. They didn’t own the copyright either… Anyway, resizing it converting it to modern codecs reduced the filesize by over 90%, so here it is.


:: Dave Walker 21:05 (EST/EDT) [+]

:: [/entertainment/tv]
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PSP and Ubiquitous Wireless Access


I had my newly 2.0 PSP with me all day today as we did our usual Saturday running around. One thing is that you can use the network setup config screen as a sort-of ghetto Wi-Fi sniffer. :) It’ll list any networks it detects, along with the SSID, signal strength (as a percentage, of what, I wonder), and the type of security (currently none, WEP, and WPA-TKIP are detected.) There were wireless networks nearly everywhere we stopped today, about half of them secured. 802.11 is truly ubiquitous nowadays.

Anyway, a truly portable web browsing device is really a big deal when teamed up with Wi-Fi everywhere. I spent some time sipping a lemonade at my favorite free Wi-Fi spot and casually browsing on the PSP, and it’s a much less awkward affair on a 10-ounce handheld than it is schlepping around an 8 pound laptop, unfolding it on the table, etc. Don’t talk to me about browsing on mobile phones, either — that’s an exercise in purest pain in comparison (the PSP’s bright, sharp, wide screen makes all the difference.)


:: Dave Walker 19:39 (EST/EDT) [+]

:: [/tech/computers/internet]
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People of all sorts of genders are reporting great difficulty, these days, in selecting the proper words to refer to those of the female persuasion. "Lady," "woman," and "girl" are all perfectly good words, but misapplying them can earn one anything from the charge of vulgarity to a good swift smack. We are messing here with matters of deference, condescension, respect, bigotry, and two vague concepts, age and rank. It is troubling enough to get straight who is really what. Those who deliberately misuse the terms in a misbegotten attempt at flattery are asking for it. A woman is any grown-up female person. A girl is the un-grown-up version. If you call a wee thing with chubby cheeks and pink hair ribbons a "woman," you will probably not get into trouble, and if you do, you will be able to handle it because she will be under three feet tall. However, if you call a grown-up by a child's name for the sake of implying that she has a youthful body, you are also implying that she has a brain to match.