Genetics, ownership, and open source software

Genetics, ownership, and open source software.

Getting started with Ruby

Getting started with Ruby. I should get started on something.

Nice NYC fireworks at Bluejake

Nice NYC fireworks at Bluejake.

The Pianist

Kobayashi eats a record 53.5 hot dogs in 12

Kobayashi eats a record 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes to win Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest.

Fantastically detailed illustration of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship

Fantastically detailed illustration of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Zoom, zoom, zoom in to see details.

Wee pocket bikes all the rage in Cali

Wee pocket bikes all the rage in Cali. May the pocket SUV craze follow.

Google removes the definition links from their search results

Google removes the definition links from their search results. Noooooooooo!!!! I use that all the time! Update: the defs are back. Phew.

I have a policy that this will be the best weblog post ever

Somehow I missed this story about dating hackers in last month’s issue of Wired. Quite interesting. Near the end of the article is a bit about hacking social networking sites like MySpace and Friendster:

Moore’s buddy Matt Chisholm chimes in to tell me about a similar hack, a JavaScript app he wrote with Moore that works on Friendster. It mines for information about anyone who looks at his profile and clicks through to his Web site. “I get their user ID, email address, age, plus their full name. Neither their full name nor their email is ever supposed to be revealed,” he says.

Notified of the security holes Moore and Chisholm exploit, Friendster rep Lisa Kopp insists, “We have a policy that we are not being hacked.” When I explain that, policy or no, they are being hacked, she says, “Security isn’t a priority for us. We’re mostly focused on making the site go faster.”

“We have a policy that we’re not being hacked.” That’s my new favorite thing right there. No longer do I need to acknowledge any deficiencies in my life; policy will take care of that. I have a policy that I’m fabulously wealthy. I have a policy that I can dunk a basketball. I have a policy that I’m the the life of the party. I have a policy that I’m dating Nicole Kidman *and* Gwyneth Paltrow. I. Feel. So. Free. You really should try this for yourself. I have a policy that it’s great.

Encrypt your iChat conversations with iChat Barrier

Encrypt your iChat conversations with iChat Barrier. Why isn’t everything like this (IM, email, Web browsing, etc.) encrypted by default?

The problem of just-in-time media reviews

The problem of just-in-time media reviews. The blogosphere gets around this by attacking the problem from thousands of different angles.

Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game

Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game. Way more fun than it sounds.

Driving lesson goes awry and SUV ends

Driving lesson goes awry and SUV ends up at the bottom of a swimming pool. Love the photo.

A trip to Danny Meyer’s new Shake

A trip to Danny Meyer’s new Shake Shack in Madison Square Park is in order later this month.

This summer’s best and worst album covers

This summer’s best and worst album covers.

The Capitalism of Soccer - Why Europe’s

The Capitalism of Soccer - Why Europe’s favorite sport is more American than baseball..

Microsoft-owned Slate recommends ditching Internet Explorer for Mozilla Firefox

Microsoft-owned Slate recommends ditching Internet Explorer for Mozilla Firefox.

On Oblivion: “David Foster Wallace has perfected

On Oblivion: “David Foster Wallace has perfected a particularly subtle form of horror story — so subtle, in fact, that to judge from the book’s reviews, few of his readers even realize that’s what these stories are.”. After the 3rd or 4th story in, I had the same thought: “DFW is writing horror stories now?”

The Photoshopping of the President

The Photoshopping of the President.

The mysteries of Wilco

The mysteries of Wilco. “The album is like an aimless, droning lecture by a guy who every 20 minutes does a magic trick that blows your mind”.

Play with the widgets that are turning

Play with the widgets that are turning up in OS X Tiger.

Man who was featured in Errol Morris’

Man who was featured in Errol Morris’ Thin Blue Line exectued in Texas.