Incoherent Thoughts

Migrated...

2010-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

This blog is in mothballs. I've moved mostly to Wordpress (work blog), Twitter (I think of it as a personal news feed), Tumblr (stream of consciousness links).

Wordpress
Twitter
Tumblr

Current Reading List for Housing and Financial Crisis

2008-10-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

A post to store my reading list for why my 401k is shrinking faster than the world's glaciers:

For general consumption, This American Life stars us off with a Giant Pool of Money then covers credit default swaps (CDS).

Michael Panzer's Financial Armageddon, which is a blog and the title of his prescient book. Chapters 1 and 6 are especially relevant.

Nouriel Roubini's 12 Steps (PDF version) and more at a Foreign Policy Passport blog post.

Esquire to publish "e-ink" cover

2008-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

I want one, preferably several, to disassemble and hack up.

Esquire to publish "e-ink" cover | FP Passport

Satellite Imagery of Burma

2008-05-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Map: Burma's cyclone aftermath | FP Passport

Reminds me of the images after the tsunami in Indonesia and after Hurricane Katrina.

Time to Bail on Blogger.com?

2008-04-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Blogspot hasn't really kept up with it's competition. Time to move to Wordpress?
Is Google Neglecting Blogger?

Also, Facebook is better for sharing links.

Water, Food, Fossil Fuels

2008-04-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

On-going post on a vicious interconnected, inflationary web:

higher oil prices -> higher food prices

water shortage -> higher food prices, food shortages

water shortage -> higher fossil fuel consumption

higher natural gas prices -> higher fertilizer prices

richer, eating more meat -> more feedstock, more water, more energy

bad monetary and fiscal policies -> monetary inflation

X factor that connects them all: global climate change/global warming

Bad American Fiscal and Monetary Policy:
Rice, death and the dollar
The Economy: Something's Got to Give

Water:
A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice - New York Times
Water shortage worst in decades, official says - California dreaming, of water

Food Shortage:
Food Crisis Fuelling Global Instability
Global food shortages: a 'silent tsunami'
Global food Crisis
Emptying the breadbasket
Decades of Great Plains' wheat as king and low prices everywhere are over

Energy Peak/Plateau:
Plateau
Non-OPEC production of crude oil seems to have stalled, promising even higher prices at the pump.

Food and Energy:
Food Riots and Falling Russian Oil Production
Natural gas -> Fertilizer, Food (and fuel) for thought

Bottom Line:
Supply to meet demand? Or economists don't live in the real world, The new face of hunger and Why More Food Is Not the Answer
Cheap energy (oil, natural gas) and heavy fertilizer use can't go on forever:
The Rise of the Neo-Malthusians

I'm in Your Blog, Deconstructing Your Cliches

2008-02-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

IEEE Spectrum: Snowclone Is The New Cliche is a look of some of the current internet cliches/memes going around.

moar funny pictures

Hamster-Powered Night Light

2008-01-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

Hamster-Powered Night Light

Heh.

Also Rodent Powered Nightlight - Best of Weekend Projects

A Dog of a Goal

2008-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Something I've secretly wanted to do some really annoying dogs. [via The Offside Rules]

Like playing soccer a bit too much
Uploaded by kingcarter

*hit Runs Downill

2007-12-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone’s Poop: Texas Monthly December 2007: "They say that shit runs downhill. This is commonly understood to mean that the world is an unfair place, except among those few people who actually work with the substance, for whom it is considered something of an article of faith." via [ The Informed Reader ]

And it is an article of faith, as I can personally testify to from my time working at a waste water treatment plant. Ask the people who work there what the most important invention and they'll say the toilet.

Don't Let Your Kids Grop Up to Be Engineers

2007-11-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Dilbert Comic Strip Archive - Dilbert.com - The Official Dilbert Website by Scott Adams - Dilbert, Dogbert and Coworkers!

NPR : Hops Shortage Likely to Boost Price of Beer

2007-11-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Nooooooo!

NPR : Hops Shortage Likely to Boost Price of Beer

Old Working Phonograph

2007-11-17T18:13:00.001-08:00

Sounds pretty good huh? No electronics.

Chumby: Information Appliance

2007-11-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I have one of these things. It displays RSS feeds, handles multimedia, etc. As an alarm clock, it's overkill. This thing could be useful in lots of places, at least until they place touchscreen terminals in every room in the house.

Another opinion: A Night With Chumby

Everyday Engineering

2007-10-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Starts out with a discussion of "windscreen". Funny story: a few years ago, a English colleague cracked his windshield, but couldn't figure out how to replace it. Why? His internet and yellowbook searches were based all based on "windscreen", not "windshield".

Always remember : "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." - a version of Murphy's Law

Futher reading: Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences

Soccer is Good for You

2007-09-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Soccer is good for you, fitness-wise. It's better then jogging.

"When a group of couch potatoes underwent three months of soccer training, they became leaner, fitter and healthier than a similar group that jogged[.]"

Go on, bend it like Beckham [via Sideline Views: Big surprise ]

"Tragic Event Forces Man To Spend Rest Of Life Confined To Office Chair"

2007-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Tragic Event Forces Man To Spend Rest Of Life Confined To Office Chair

WILMETTE, IL—The impact of Fahey's employment was so crushing that it has since left the former high school track star paralyzed in front of his work computer.

Too true.

It's ****ed Up? What to Do...

2007-09-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Handy flow chart to determine if something is *ucked up.

Flowchart: Is it f*cked up? What to do, if so. - Boing Boing

What Does the Engineer Mean

2007-08-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Basically, how computer programmers and by extension engineers classify difficulty of solving problems.

Understanding Engineers: Feasibility

In a post titled “Understanding Engineers: Feasibility,” Charles Miller explains exactly what engineers mean when they describe problems as “impossible,” “trivial,” “unfeasible,” “non-trivial,” “hard,” and “very hard.”

[via Off Topic : Good Morning Silicon Valley]

As a bit of a side note, computer scientists even have a notation of problem size: O(f(x)) or Big O notation.

Art Deco Dystopia

2007-08-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

I've been playing Bioshock.

Glorious Art Deco design: the clothes, interiors, music etc. The voice acting stands out; there's just something about the accents. And if you're familiar with Ayn Rand, it makes the game more intriguing.

It's a game, it's a work of art, and it's a political commentary.

Links galore:

Atlas Drowned: A crumbling utopia sets the stage for the world's most fascinating shooter

BioShock lets users take on fanaticism through fantasy

Welcome To Rapture! Even Ectomo’s Non-Gamers Will Love Bioshock

Two Reasons Why Bioshock Is Ectomo’s Game Of The Year

Ordering Chinese Food in America

2007-08-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

WNYC - The Leonard Lopate Show: Dim Sum Done Right (July 31, 2007) via Gothamist

When Whippersnappers and Geezers Collide - New York Times

2007-07-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

When Whippersnappers and Geezers Collide - New York Times

They are their parent's children. Overachievers? Pampered? Seriously though, the "Baby Boomlets" have it rough. There is more competition for college spots, especially at the elite institutions. Furthermore, the Baby Boomers (i.e. their parents) are sticking around in the workplace.

And where do "Gen Xers" fit in here? Stuck in the middle?

Summer Soccer Watching

2007-07-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

As I'm posting, I'm watching Mexico vs. Argentina and wish I was watching USA vs. Uruguay. And I "no comprendo" Telemundo. Fortunately, soccer is a global langauge. Here's to some golazos!

Why soccer? Maybe because soccer fans have more fun: US soccer punks 1, McFans 0. Even Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion Toronto FC club is literally tearing down their stadium.

Seriously, I've watched as much soccer this summer as last summer. Aside from MLS (back to that later), the Americas including the good 'ol USA have been busy. First, the USA won their regional cup, the Gold Cup. Then, the US crashed out of Copa America. Meanwhile, the future of US Soccer looks bright in Canada. Finally, the most marketable David Beckham comes to MLS.

Links:
Looking toward 2010, U.S. enters a crucial summer with eyes on World Cup
Red Bulls Import a Little Excellence (see Summer Tournaments section)

Monoculture

2007-06-25T20:53:00.001-07:00

adapted from Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis

Benny Feilhaber GOAL

2007-06-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

GOLAZO

"Whatever Happened to the Future?"

2007-06-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Essay: David Stubbs [Mr Agreeable]

Go Back to College via iTunes

2007-05-30T19:51:00.001-07:00

Several universities and colleges have classes available via iTunes. Two schools I've attended are involved: U.C. Berkeley and NJIT.

For example, there's a iPod video of six of Cal's Nobel Laureates in conversation.

Burger Time

2007-05-23T14:13:00.001-07:00

Burger Time!
Originally uploaded by TwisterMc.

It's outdoor cooking season, and I'm thinking of taking my grilling and BBQ to the next level. The first food item: burgers. I haven't had a good burger in a while: well seasoned hand formed patties of ground meat from one animal or two. Also, I want lamb burgers.

Thankfully, the New York Times' Mark Bittman has a guide to burgers: For the Love of a Good Burger.

How Gadgets Work

2007-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

TechOnline | Under The Hood is a pretty neat feature from EE Times. There's a multiple part series on the Toyota Prius and a teardown of the iPod Nano.

Dismall Quote?

2007-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Big Picture: "'The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.'

-Joan Robinson, Cambridge University"

The Mantra of Entrenched Industries

2007-04-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

O'Reilly Radar > The Mantra of Entrenched Industries: "'The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past.'"

Or the mantra of the conservative.

Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen Brought to Life

2007-03-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

FanTent � Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen in Real Life

I haven't made a snow man in so long. Also, this winter hasn't had a decent snow suitable for snow sculpture, at least around my work or living area. Or I could learn to make sleet men.

High-Brow Brews

2007-03-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kansas City Star | 03/14/2007 | High-brow brews

Clarity

2007-02-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

“So what are you?”

“I told you. A meme.” She pronounced it like ‘theme’. “A memeplex, to be precise. A self-propagating collection of ideas and concepts. A unit of culture, my dear.”

365 tomorrows � Clarity

U.S. Dollar Drops Against Counterfeit U.S. Dollar

2007-02-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

U.S. Dollar Drops Against Counterfeit U.S. Dollar | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

¡Ask a Mexican!

2007-02-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

¡Ask a Mexican!

Funny and informative. And offensive. This column covers Mexican-Spanish swearing and chinos. Also, a glossary.

The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Nutrition Guide

2007-01-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

Aqua teen hunger force!
Originally uploaded by hapinachu.

Next time I feel the call of the Milk Shake and Fries, I'll just check out the: The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Nutrition Guide: Who Is Hiding Information About The Food, And Who Isn't. - Consumerist

I think I'll have a kabab instead.

Paprika

2007-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Just watch the video clip on the main link: PAPRIKA | A FILM BY SATOSHI KON | A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE.

[via http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=3614 ]

Brown Ale

2007-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

NY Times reviews brown ales. Mmmm, brown ale. Haven't had one in a while.

Quiet Cover for a Vital Brew - New York Times

David Beckham Crosses the Atlantic

2007-01-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

Apparently, this is a big deal. Beckham is popular in East Asia including Taiwan. Since I was in Taiwan, an American and a soccer fan, I was asked for my opinion.

My responses:

Major League Soccer (MLS) isn't a bad league. The level of play is better than any league in Asia. For example, the US has three former MLS goalkeepers starting in English Premier League.

Beckham isn't one of the best players in the world. He wasn't even the best player on Manchester United, England National Team, or Real Madrid (see "Beckham Epitomizes Style over Substance"). However, he is the best at what he does, which is serving up free kicks, corner kicks and crosses

MLS is a new league, and the Cosmos never played in it.

The U.S. can play soccer, reaching the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup and earning a tie with Italy in the 2006 World Cup.

Will the signing be successful? Depends. More accomplished players have signed on with mixed on-the-field results (see Youri Djorkaeff, Lothar Matthäus). However, Beckham signed on as the most marketable player. He's in the U.S. to sell himself, and MLS signed him to sell tickets and TV rights. The money will flow, but for the money to keep flowing in, there has to be on-the-field results.

More reading:

ESPN Is David Beckham good for MLS?

SI "What Beckham's arrival will mean for MLS, U.S. soccer"

Meta-post

2007-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

I've finally migrated to the new, improved Blogger.

I've experimented with some blog widgets. "Some Bling for Your Blog - New York Times" has some more to play with.

For now, I'll have to look at adding del.icio.us, Furl and Flickr stuff, all "Web 2.0" tools I use almost everyday. Though, except for Flickr, would anyone care?

Materazzi's Talent

2006-12-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

Marco Materazzi, the guy on the receiving end of the world's most famous head butt, seems to have a talent for incidents: after scoring a brilliant bicycle kick,

[...] Materazzi got mixed up in an altercation with Messina's coach, who wound up getting ejected after slapping Materazzi in the head. You can't make this stuff up. The best thing about it was watching Messina players basically avoid the fray. Not many people like geting mixed up with crazy people. Materazzi is officially the Dennis Rodman of European soccer.

Soccer By Ives: Materazzi is a maniac

Future is Now

2006-11-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

"The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet." - William Gibson

Voting and Switchblades

2006-11-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

url
Originally uploaded by warrenellis.

"You want to know about voting. I'm here to tell you about voting." - Spider Jerusalem

Making the Camera Lie

2006-10-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Boing Boing: Fake beauty, video about transhuman tricks used on models

Goalkeeping's Not So Greatest Hits

2006-10-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Prompted by the gaffe in England's recent game against Croatia, The Offside links us to Great Goalkeeper Blunders.

I've had my share of goalkeeper related misadventures, though not with Borat looking on. I've had the goalkeeper kick the ball off my shinguard into my own goal. I've also had a backpass to the keeper picked off in an amateur adult league game. Either the pass or the keeper was too slow- probably both.

:edit: added link to Robinson's blunder

Alphabet Soup

2006-10-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

Spectrum's Guide to Recent Electronics: Industry Acronyms and Abbreviations (SGTREIAA)

Even electrical engineers can't keep them straight, much less the poor sap figuring out LCoS or DMD (TI calls it DLP) for his or her new rear projection TV.

Yeah, I'm Published, Sort of

2006-10-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

See September issue of IEEE Communications Magazine, the article is "3G UMTS Wireless System Physical Layer: Baseband Processing Hardware Implementation Perspective" (subscription only). Yes, I'm a contributor.

Article is also available via IEEE Xplore.

Condescending Motivation

2006-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Custom Demotivator
Originally uploaded by microbrew.

Create your own Demotivator: Parody Motivator Generator.

via [Despair: When silent suffering isn't enough]

A Powerpoint Presentation in a Meeting about Meetings

2006-09-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

IEEE Spectrum: The "Briefing" - The author apologizes for his role in unleashing Viewgraphs upon the world. He also has a solution - "Bull Hockey", a form of lingo bingo.

And where are these VU graphs and their successors, the Powerpoint presentations unleashed in the most hideous ways? In meetings. 4.34 hours a week of them if you're an average man, according to a recent survey. See Endless Meetings: The Black Holes of the Workday.

William Gibson: SERE

2006-09-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

"When I first saw what they were doing, I knew that they’d turned the SERE lessons inside out. That meant that we were using techniques the Koreans had specifically developed in order to prepare prisoners for show trials." - William Gibson

Yep, Willaim Gibson has a blog. He's best known for coining and popularizing the term "cyberspace".

Which Baller are You?

2006-09-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

What type of player are you?

The Crazy World of Pick-Up Basketball

Greece, World Beaters

2006-09-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Greece 101, USA 95

Disappointed, but not suprised. I didn't watch any of the games, so I won't comment but you can read what other people wrote. At least there's the consolation prize.

Greece has been on a tear in international sports. They won the 2005 European Basketball Championship and before that, their biggest prize tod date: the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship.

Links:

2006 FIBA World Championship

The Parade of Pundits Dissects the U.S. Demise.

USA Basketball: Rules
compares the rules betweem NBA, FIBA and NCAA.

Which NBA player are you?

2006-08-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I'm Dwayne Wade.

Take Which NBA player are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

[via True Hoop]

World Cup Withdrawl

2006-08-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm going through World Cup withdrawl. Here's a highlight video of the (in)famous Zidane. He shows off his arsenal of Cruyff turns, stepovers, etc. including his signature double dragback ("la roulette" or 360 move).

2006 World Championship

2006-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

The FIBA World Championship is coming up, and you can catch the games live from Japan in the wee hours of morning. It's not World Cup (which I stayed up all night for in 2002), but I'll watch (the replays, of course). The main storyline is Team USA of NBA pros. They will be the team everyone wants to beat, but anything short of a top finish will be considered underachieving. Let's say it is a train wreck- now that will be a story. Not to be unpatriotic, but perhaps that will shock the USA basketball establishment into reforms that will make the game better and more global.

Speaking of international basketball, here's a tribute to one of the best: Arvydas Sabonis. Imagine if he came to the NBA earlier, with two good knees.

Also, here's two tributes to NJ Net's Drazen Petrovic: at NBA.com and ESPN Insider (subscription required).

"It’s Hot. Drink Your Wheat."

2006-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Nothing quite like a wheat beer on a hot summer day. It goes great with sausages, salads and spicy foods.

It’s Hot. Drink Your Wheat. - New York Times and the accompanying blog post: American Wheat Beers.

I'd also like to mention Apricot Weizen Ale. The combination really works, even chicks dig it. Also not mentioned: Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. Locally, Saranac also makes Belgian White and Hefeweizen.

U2 and President Bush Mashup

2006-07-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

[via O'Reilly Radar > Remix: Bush's Sunday Bloody Sunday]

Worldcup Montage set to U2

2006-07-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

I found high quality (official?) links to the ABC/ESPN's U2 and World Cup mixes from the producers themselves.

Here's the leadin to the final, a mix with "Where the Streets Have No Name": FIFA World Cup Championship - U2 and here's the World Cup wrap-up montage, a mix with "One": FIFA World Cup Rollout - U2.

At least check out the Rollout!

Edit: 8/7/2006 -
The actual version broadcast is slightly different. Bigpicture has the 4:3 ABC broadcast version, and here's a HD capture on YouTube.

The Future of Cable TV?

2006-07-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a lesson in trying out new technologies, especially one that reaches the consumer:

My brother and I bought my parents a TV with a CableCARD. It's pretty neat: you get digital channels without a seperate cable box and remote, while paying less in fees. However, support for the CableCARD is lacking. Neither the TV manufacturer or cable provider seem to have much experience with it. they squabble and blame each other.

At least my parents were lucky: it was very clear the TV was at fault - the TV software/firmware kept locking up and crashing the TV. Eventually, we returned the TV and got another one from a different manufacturer.

Banana Jr. 6000

2006-06-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

whoa02
Originally uploaded by fritzgutten.

Whoa. Brings back memories, as I used to be a big Bloom County fan.

[via MAKE: Blog: Banana Jr 6000 file server]

World Cup Annoucers

2006-06-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Boy, are they a distraction from the game. Part of it is because one half of the lead team doesn't have experience in calling soccer matches. It's not baseball. The pace is much faster and there is rarely extended stoppages in play. The annoucers babble on while they miss a significant play on the field.

Apparently, the annoucing is bad enough that people are watching the game on Univision. Even, I've watched matches on Univision- but only the time delayed that I couldn't watch live while at work (I'm hardly fluent in Spanish).

As a side note: why don't more sports bars have High Definition TVs? Too bad the Univision feed isn't in Hi-Def, either.

The Sins of American Sportscasting
The Official Complain About ESPN/ABC Thread

World Cup 2006

2006-06-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm disappointed by the U.S. performance. Maybe I'll do my armchair gaffer impression later.

I've been following the games at work on-line, simultaenously reading the play-by-play at the informative NY Times and the entertaining Guardian. Otherwise, I'm watching the games in high defintion (HD). IMHO, soccer benefits the most from HD; you can see more of the off the ball action.

Best World Cup Blogs:

worldcup.blogs.nytimes.com
Ives at the World Cup by Ives Galarcep of NorthJersey.com . Also his ESPN columns.
Soccer Sweep at USA Today
The Soccer Daily
Deadspin World Cup coverage (a Gawker blog)

Also check out the video highlights at official World Cup website.

Italia Trener

2006-06-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Video of Italy's men's national soccer team's special training. No match fixing or gambling involved, though.

[ via http://dunord.blogspot.com/2006/06/quickly-churned-butter-news.html ]

YouTube - Ronaldinho vs Zidane

2006-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

The best two players of the last decade. If I were a defender or a goal keeper, I would not want to face these guys one-on-one.

[via http://worldcup.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=91]

It's a Whole New Ball Game

2006-04-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Check out the video at about a quarter in: the locker room ceiling tiles are jumping up and down from the crowd activity in the stands above.

The Tank Man

2006-04-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Food for thought about China.

FRONTLINE: the tank man | PBS

Read Warren Ellis

2006-04-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Read a chapter from Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan. Cryogenically frozen woman is revived and meets an uncaring future.

Link: Warrenellis.com » “Another Cold Morning”

Looking for New Music?

2006-03-30T15:50:00.000-08:00

Looking for new music? Well, go and find it at the same place the music industry does: the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Check out sxsw.com and listen to their music player. While listening, check out the musician profiles and download mp3s.

Finding new stuff to listen to can be a pain: iTunes is useful but hardly does it for me. I find MySpace a big fuckin' mess. So, I'm down to WFMU (a bit TOO eclectic) and Warren Ellis' podcasts.

Links:
south by southwest festivals conferences
Musicians in Search of Discovery

Google Mars

2006-03-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Google Mars

Check out Valles Marineris, a canyon that's more than two thousand miles long.

Human Evolving

2006-03-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

Sugars and spice and Still Evolving, Human Genes Tell New Story both report on A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome, a genetic study of the three groupings: East Asians (Han Chinese and Japanese), Europeans (northern and western) and Yoruba (of Africa).

The subject is also explored in an episode of African American Lives.

In fact, because as a species we spent the most time in Africa, the greatest amount of genetic variations are currently found among people living on the African continent -- on a genetic level, an individual of East African ancestry may have more in common with a European than with a West African.

More reading on human evolution:
SURVEY: HUMAN EVOLUTION, The proper study of mankind
Guns, Germs and Steel
Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Red Bull Buys NY/NJ Soccer Team

2006-03-09T11:14:00.000-08:00

Why do I care? I'm a soccer fan in NJ. $100 million and a corporate rebranding: is this progress for soccer?

Jack Bell, who's the soccer beat writer/editor for the NY Times - see "Red Bull Buys the MetroStars" - also adds more tidbits of info via du Nord, including the horror that is Giorgo Chignalia.

And build that stadium in Harrison, already.

Edit: Red Bull Is New Owner, and Name, of MetroStars says $100 million.

Flickr

2006-02-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Now I need something to take photographs with.

Joga Bonito

2006-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

This commercial made me knod and smile.

www.nikesoccer.com

Help Us Love Ads and Soccer Again

We hate ads but we dare you to hate this Nike soccer campaign.

A Truly Monstrous Ale

2006-02-17T14:08:00.000-08:00

Go out and get Brooklyn Brewery's Brooklyn Monster Ale, a barley wine. Don't chug it, as it's about 11% alcohol.

Supposedly barley wine can be aged; the brewery even has vintages. I'm tempted to buy a case or two and have it sit around.

Wonderful World of Work

2006-02-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Evaluate Motivations Before Job Change

A World of Affordable Choices
Go overseas- because that's where the jobs are going.

"Web 2.0" meets career management and job hunting.

More Jobs Being Found Online, but That Doesn't Mean It's Easy - The bigger the landfill, the more valuable stuff is in it.

And if the whole process seems like bullshit, well because it is: EducationGuardian.co.uk | higher news | Say the magic words

The Origin of Today's Holiday

2006-02-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Enjoying Valentine's - er, Horny Werewolf Day?

Beyond E-Mail and Web Browsing

2006-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Someone really needs to come up with a better term for the next generation of Internet applications and services. Hopefuly, it's not "Internet Bubble 2.0".

O'Reilly -- What Is Web 2.0

Anyway, what do I think "Web 2.0" is? I'm not sure, but I can list some distinguishing characteristics: for most of the services, the web browser is the client software. What else? Thin clients. Centralized data. Distributed applications. Open Source bias. AJAX. Mobile integration.

Next generation things I use:
Flickr, BitTorrent, Wikipedia, blogging, tagging

Edit: Also read "Web 2.0: Does it Exist, and Why on Earth Should You Care"

Read a Sample of Warren Ellis' Fell

2006-02-09T00:30:00.000-08:00

From one of my favorite writers, Warren Ellis:

NEWSARAMA.COM: IMAGE COMICS #1 WEEK: FELL #1

Using an iPod Beyond iTunes

2006-01-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

WSJ.com - Personal Technology describes various ways of getting music off your iPod and a few ways of dealing with multiple libraries (except for the writer doesn't mention using multiple user accounts).

There's also gtkpod, hymn, and an iPod hacks collection.

New:
Hack Attack: Get the most out of an old iPod
QuickTime Components for getting QuickTime/iTunes to play Open Source audio/video formats

China's Youth Look to Seoul for Inspiration - New York Times

2006-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

The Koreans have really arrived. In addition to cell phones and flat panel TVs, Koreans now export pop culture. Consumer electronics, video games and movies come to mind. Especially the video games.

China's Youth Look to Seoul for Inspiration - New York Times

Further Reading:
Samsung Is Now What Sony Once Was
13.05: Seoul Machine

Looking for Something to Watch...

2005-12-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

The Promise looks promising.

Meanwhile, Google has more video too watch, and Boing Boing points out a public domain movie BitTorrent tracker.

Time to exercise that broadband connection.

Better Web Browsing

2005-12-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

Get Firefox 1.5, then get extensions. Read The Firefox Hacks You Must Have and the Firefox Tweak Guide.

Boing Boing: Experiment: How hard is it to shoot off a lock?

2005-11-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

TV and movies get it wrong, again:

Experiment: How hard is it to shoot off a lock?

A Look at Blogging Software

2005-11-17T16:34:00.000-08:00

Tools of the Trade:
Blog Software Smackdown: The Big 3 Reviewed [Site Planning]

Mark Cuban vs. Sir Charles and Kenny Smith

2005-11-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

Tempest in a TNT Pot

Besides finding this little exchange between the TNT crew and Mark Cuban amusing, I picked out a few important aspects. There's actual substance here, unfortunately the clash of personalities is what's being played up.

1. Blogs vs. television. Older forms of media have been trying to grapple with emergence of blogs. Now, the media backlash has a high profile example in sports. Charles and Kenny dont "get it" about blogs, or the Internet.

2. Computer statistical analysis. Examples of such analysis can be see at http://www.82games.com/ and The NBA Tries to Make Teamwork a Science. Again, the TNT analysts don't "get it".

3.NBA analysis shows. Mark blogged earlier: 'Watching the ESPN crew with Stephen A, Greg Anthony and Tim Legler is painful. They are a cliche a second. Same soundbites every single game, just the player names are changed. TNT isnt much better. At least Barkley is entertaining at saying nothing." Indeed. How about relevant lessons from Hoops 101, instead?

New Toy: iPod Nano

2005-11-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

I now have an iPod Nano. Yes, it's awesome. Yes, it's covered with greasy finger prints, though that can be fixed.

Check out this interesting iPod nano review . Don't try this at home.

How can I iPod my car:
Offical accessories homepage
FAQ & Instructions: Aux Audio Adapter - From Selection to Completion

Living with Windows

2005-10-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

Pepping Up Windows
Windows Spyware Survival Tools
How to Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data

Because Windows could be better.

Ten Tips for Better Blogging

2005-10-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

The link below has some useful blog advice, especially if you want to be read by a wider audience. Even if the blog is meant for a handful of people, having good design and good practices just improves blog readability.

Boing Boing: Nielsen's top-10 blog usability mistakes

Craft Beer in a Can

2005-08-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

It's about getting and selling beer in new places. And to shed the snob facter.

WSJ.com - Can It

Food for Thought

2005-08-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

WFMU's Beware of the Blog reviews tropical fruits. My favorite is the Dragonfruit.

Forbidden fruit? No longer. Sichuan's Signature Is Now Legal Again. Where did those Szechuan places get their Sichuan peppercorns, anyway? And I'm craving some ham right now. Now that's a meal: ham and Szechuan thrice-cooked pork.

New: Durian, Durian- If only you were a mangosteen

WSJ Does a Beer Tasting

2005-08-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

WSJ.com - Tastings: "A couple things became obvious. The panelists couldn't easily distinguish the imported lagers from the craft-brewed American lagers. But almost everyone was able to spot the national-brand lagers when they tasted them -- noting a smooth sweetness and a clear lack of the hoppy aroma or bitterness that distinguished many of the others. Often, they didn't care much for what they tasted, with beers from the big U.S. brewers grouped among the lowest scorers."

I probably can't distinguish the American craft lagers and import lagers either. I always go for the local brew to encourage diversity and variety.

A Fistful of My Movie Dollars

2005-08-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Some links about movies and directors which I favor.

There's a trailer for V for Vendetta. The movie touches upon terrorism and other -isms; I wonder how well the movie will stay true to the spirit of the graphic novel.

'Once Upon A Time in Italy': The Films of Sergio Leone is an interview of Christopher Frayling on his new book, Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone.

The Last of the Indies is an article about Jim Jarmusch. I particularly like Dead Man and Ghost Dog. Check out who did the soundtrack for Ghost Dog.

Harrison Soccer Stadium

2005-08-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

The long, torturous journey of getting a soccer stadium built in Harrison, NJ finally has come to an end. Thanks to St. Phil.

ESPNSoccernet.com: MLS: MetroStars secure stadium deal

MAKE: Blog: @ DEFCON - The Kegbot project

2005-08-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I want to make one of these.

MAKE: Blog: @ DEFCON - The Kegbot project

Korean Gamers

2005-07-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Korea = Gamer Nation? Koreans take their games seriously. Mainly Starcraft, I've been told. And what enables it? Twentish bucks a month for broadband? A "wired culture?

Why not here, in the US? An article in Foreign Affairs tries to explain.

Choosing Athletic Shoes

2005-07-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

I need to start running again, but I'm getting shin splints and sometimes my arches hurt. Maybe I should find running shoes that feel like soccer cleats? Or try the Nike Free?

The How To's of Choosing Athletic Shoes
New Wired Article: Nike Makes Barefoot Breakthrough

Bringing Starbucks to the Home of Coffee

2005-07-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia (along with Yemen) is generally accepted at the birthplace of coffee. The circle starts in Africa, through the Middle East, eventually to Italy and making a last stop in Seattle before returning to Africa.

Along With That Caffeine Rush, a Taste of Seattle - New York Times

Hideous Soccer Kits

2005-07-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

ESPNSoccernet.com: ExtraTime: 10 of the worst...football kits. Too bad the article author isn't familiar with US Soccer.

Here are some ugly MLS kits.

NY Times On Beer

2005-07-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Summer days and beer: Ale or Lager? Am I a beer snob? Probably.

Crisp, Complex and Refreshing - New York Times
Finding Gold in a Glass of Pilsner - New York Times