No gloves, no safety glasses or hearing protection. He is just asking for it.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Friday, August 09, 2013
Bank hoist by their own petard!
Court finds for man who rewrote the credit-card fine-print to give himself unlimited, interest-free credit, article.
And a court has ruled that his changes -- which were blindly accepted by the bank -- are binding. He's now suing them for breach of contract, since they refused to pay him the cancellation fee he'd written in -- he's seeking USD727,000.
This is cool. I have long felt that those loooong pieces of tiny text that nobody reads are simply oppressive and one-sided. Weeeell, who thought about that it actually is two-sided, nobody in the bank reads it either!
Maaaybe things will change. Doubtful, but crazier things have happened.
And a court has ruled that his changes -- which were blindly accepted by the bank -- are binding. He's now suing them for breach of contract, since they refused to pay him the cancellation fee he'd written in -- he's seeking USD727,000.
This is cool. I have long felt that those loooong pieces of tiny text that nobody reads are simply oppressive and one-sided. Weeeell, who thought about that it actually is two-sided, nobody in the bank reads it either!
Maaaybe things will change. Doubtful, but crazier things have happened.
Thursday, August 08, 2013
Changing careers
Career in Writing
Two friends who hadn't seen each other for a while were having lunch and catching up with one another.
"I quit my job," one stated.
"Really?" his friend asked.
"I couldn't stand sitting in that office all day anymore," the first replied.
"So what are you doing with yourself now?" the second asked.
The first answered, "I've taken up a career in writing."
"That's great!" the second replied. "So have you sold anything yet?"
"I have," answered the first.
"What have you sold?" asked the second.
The first answered, "My Rolex, my saxophone, the TV, the stereo and several antiques."
Two friends who hadn't seen each other for a while were having lunch and catching up with one another.
"I quit my job," one stated.
"Really?" his friend asked.
"I couldn't stand sitting in that office all day anymore," the first replied.
"So what are you doing with yourself now?" the second asked.
The first answered, "I've taken up a career in writing."
"That's great!" the second replied. "So have you sold anything yet?"
"I have," answered the first.
"What have you sold?" asked the second.
The first answered, "My Rolex, my saxophone, the TV, the stereo and several antiques."
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Carl Zeiss Super-Q-Gigantar
[Thanks to Bert]
Way kewl lens. 40mm F:0.33.Too bad it doesn't work, it was only made as a PR stunt, making fun of the trend in the sixties for ridiculously fast lenses which were soft when used wide open, you might say it was the "megapixel race of the day". There's always something.
Story here.
But at least it'd be something to frighten the children with, it looks like it might suck your brains out of your head!
Funny enough, despite it not working, it was sold at auction for 60,000 Euros!
A happy Cup song about goodbye
Aniko found this fun and cool video.
Seems it's related to a movie named Pitch Perfect, this is from it:
I'd like to download the first video. But it seems that landscape has change in Internet speed since last I passed through: now the sites I check either requires that I install new software on my computer, or install a Java applet, or whatnot. Can anybody recommend a good, clean youtube video download site?
BTW, I dislike when big middlemen put their big middle-of-the-road logo on art. Who or what is VEVO? I don't know and I don't care. It's unlikely to lead me to anything else interesting, so why would I?
Seems it's related to a movie named Pitch Perfect, this is from it:
I'd like to download the first video. But it seems that landscape has change in Internet speed since last I passed through: now the sites I check either requires that I install new software on my computer, or install a Java applet, or whatnot. Can anybody recommend a good, clean youtube video download site?
BTW, I dislike when big middlemen put their big middle-of-the-road logo on art. Who or what is VEVO? I don't know and I don't care. It's unlikely to lead me to anything else interesting, so why would I?
"Amber alert"... Huh??
Amber alert confusion.
Why are governments sometimes so smart and sometimes so unbelievably stupid?
Why are governments sometimes so smart and sometimes so unbelievably stupid?
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Jeff Bezos Buys Washington Post for $250 Million
Jeff Bezos Buys Washington Post for $250 Million, article.
No, it's not April first. I wonder what the heck he wants with that?? That's like buying one of the last big steamships two decades after they began disappearing.
No, it's not April first. I wonder what the heck he wants with that?? That's like buying one of the last big steamships two decades after they began disappearing.
DAS Keyboard
I just got a Das Keyboard. ("The keyboard" in German.)
You can find lots of reviews, so I'll just say: you know how sometimes you get something so good that you just want to use it? This is like that.
This is noisy due to the wonderful mechanical switches (not rubber domes as cheap keyboards have), but not as noisy as my old Matias keyboard (which is also great). There is a new, a bit quieter model of the DAS, but they have to compromise to make that, so it does not have quite the same feel.
This thing just feels so precise and smooth and lovely. And it lets me type exactly as fast as I can get my frontal cortex and fingers to move.
You can find lots of reviews, so I'll just say: you know how sometimes you get something so good that you just want to use it? This is like that.
This is noisy due to the wonderful mechanical switches (not rubber domes as cheap keyboards have), but not as noisy as my old Matias keyboard (which is also great). There is a new, a bit quieter model of the DAS, but they have to compromise to make that, so it does not have quite the same feel.
This thing just feels so precise and smooth and lovely. And it lets me type exactly as fast as I can get my frontal cortex and fingers to move.
Full Moon Silhouettes
Norm found this really awesome video of things happening in silhouette in front of a rising full moon.
Full Moon Silhouettes is a real time video of the moon rising over the Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. People had gathered up there this night to get the best view possible of the moon rising. I captured the video from 2.1km away on the other side of the city. It's something that I've been wanting to photograph for a long time now, and a lot of planning and failed attempts had taken place. Finally, during moon rise on the 28th January 2013, everything fell into place and I got my footage.
The video is as it came off the memory card and there has been no manipulation whatsoever. Technically it was quite a challenge to get the final result.
Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee
I like that it is in real time. We don't realize how fast the sun or moon moves across the sky.
I'm amazed that even at a 2-kilometer distance, depth of field was not enough to get both the people and the moon sharp! (He may not have wished it so.)
I like that on the one hand, the people seems small and insignificant and on the other hand, they seem large than life, because it is like they are on an immortal stage there.
Full Moon Silhouettes is a real time video of the moon rising over the Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. People had gathered up there this night to get the best view possible of the moon rising. I captured the video from 2.1km away on the other side of the city. It's something that I've been wanting to photograph for a long time now, and a lot of planning and failed attempts had taken place. Finally, during moon rise on the 28th January 2013, everything fell into place and I got my footage.
The video is as it came off the memory card and there has been no manipulation whatsoever. Technically it was quite a challenge to get the final result.
Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee
I like that it is in real time. We don't realize how fast the sun or moon moves across the sky.
I'm amazed that even at a 2-kilometer distance, depth of field was not enough to get both the people and the moon sharp! (He may not have wished it so.)
I like that on the one hand, the people seems small and insignificant and on the other hand, they seem large than life, because it is like they are on an immortal stage there.
Monday, August 05, 2013
A small cylinder
This came with the "Slim fit" variety of Mack's earplugs. I love it, such a small quality item. So cute. And so useful. For... I dunno, for vitamins for a couple of days. For medicine. Well, for the earplugs, of course. For the dang micro-micro-micro SIM or SD cards. For a bit of emergency cash, which won't get wet. For your favorite spice which they don't have in restaurants...
Sunday, August 04, 2013
No genres in life
“My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres; it’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky.”
― Alan Moore