iOutage

I have been without internet at home sine Monday. During this outage I considered canceling my Internet service and becoming an Internet HoBo (DT, UD). iHoBO?. Using either an iPod Touch, or a MacBook Air I could hop Wi-Fi hotspot to Wi-Fi hotspot when I need Internet access. Internet usage would be limited to only the necessary activity. Inconvenience of accessing the Internet become a productivity boom. This week I made a to-do list of what I needed to do on the Internet.

However, I’d be:

• slowed down in responding to e-mail or updating home computers.
• asking friends to download and burn DVDs when I want to try the latest Fedora or VMware ESXi.
• planning when to take the laptop when I want to download podcasts, or upload files to my websites.

Yeah, internethobo.com is already taken. cyberhobo.net is also taken, but that’s a different kind internet hobo.

This?

I’m paying $65 (includes TV) for this? Ars Technica (Gizmodo) covers some stupid stuff on YouTube. However, most constructive is eating of a canned cheeseburger. Not that eating canned cheeseburgers is construction, it show’s the inferiority of the canned cheeseburger.

Clearly, my Goerge Foreman grilled cheese hamburger is much more appealing.

GizMag also mentions:

• a chocolate mousse dessert
• powdered red wine

The emergency rations taste test (MP4](http://lyndell.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/ext/yt/emergency_rations.mp4) (YouTube) might also be worth a watch if you plan on buying those. Without watching it, I think I’ll stick to cans of Wolf Brand chili in a http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ZAA066-1.html“>.50 caliber ammo can.

TV

TV can easily be replaced with wireless TV, er, broadcast TV. Ironicly, my TV has been restored just in time for the termination of the analog signal I don’t use. Strange how high-tech broadcast TV sounds when you call it wireless TV.

I won’t buy a converter. Can’t conventiently change the channels from the computer. The coupons are $40, and I haven’t found a $40 converter.

Even thought of selling the TV. I prefer watching TV on my computer instead. I made my own DVR with a WinTV-PVR-150 PCI TV-Tuner. A couple month of Internet/TV payment would cover the cost of a new ATSC tuner.

Benefits

However, there are good thinks on the internet, such as this article on the realism of the balloon lifted House (Wired) in movie Up Rakkav emailed me. Additionally, this article, “Blah, blah, blog!”, prodded by:

• raising the bar on my blog by writing more meaningful brainy posts rather than just compiling links to interesting pages.
• less frequent updates; saves time too
• changing the name and slogan, intentionally alluding to Star Trek
• changing the theme, even though preferred the previous theme

Fun

Just found played a while with tetris, thanks to Google. Good clean fun, but a reason to cancel my Internet to save time.

The Jones Hall marquee caught my attention with “Music of Star Trek and More Sci-Fi”. They’ll be playing themes from the various Star Treks, including the new movie. They’ll also play the themes from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Battlestar Galactica. I wonder if they will play the theme from Red Dwarf.

If music isn’t enough, there’s a costume competition.

And the Houston Chronicle Dollar Concert will be playing Holst’s “The Planets”

If you prefer music from video games, see the Gamer MusiCON 09.

The Terra Cotta Warriors are on exhibit in The Houston Museum of Natural Science

From yesterday’s 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast podcast:

…if an object were to fall into a black hole it would actually get stretched out and then ripped apart. There’s a great word for that; do you remember what the word for that is, Cameron?

Cameron: I believe it has something to do with Italian cooking…

Robert: It does — spaghettification,

I saw Star Trek last night.  It was surprisingly amazing. Rotten Tomatoes rate it at 95%.  It compares well to Ratatouille at 96%, and the incredible The Incredibles at 97%.

Before watching the movie, having seen only the trailers, and paid little attention to review and commentary, I complained this Star Trek movie is nothing like the original.  It’s a just modern action adventure.  That’s consistant with the reason for the release delay.

Star Trek broke the unspoken rules of time travel fiction:

• always restore the time line
• don’t speak to or meet yourself from the past or future
• don’t tranfer knowledge back through time

Doing this is as revolutionary as breaking the fourth wall. Back to the Future restored th time line at the end of the first and third movie.  Star Trek: Voyager always reset the time time too.  I like interest in Star Trek during Voyager, and am not familiar with all it’s details and Janeways big cheap to return home in the end.  Except for Janeway’s Search for Home, episodes had no permanant affect.  The cast ended where they began.  I recall Friends offten ended in the same predicament they began in.  This was almost tiresome in Gilligan’s Island, except for everyone’s unhuman patience with Gilligan restoring the castaways to standedness; must be some Vulcan in their distant ancestry.

Star Trek: Search for Zefram Cochrane, er, First Contact, the Borg attempt to use time travel to manipulate critical past events to their advantage.  We see a glimpse of the the Borg do to Earth, but the time is restored to the familiar. the timeline is also restored in ST:TOS “The City on the Edge of Forever”.

This time in the Star Trek prequel, the time is left altered.  Contrary to elder Spocks advice:

• he graciously meets and talks with his younger self
• shows Scotty his formula before Scotty devolops it

Now that I think about it, Scotty transfered knowledge in Star Trek IV (Search for Whales) to make the aluminum glass plate.

But for the paradox, how did destroying the ships and villan pivitol to this time travel sequence of events not restore the timeline?

Uh, Star Trek icons. Now where can I get a Federation ring? ThinkGeek is offering a Star Trek spork. I want one…for my Wolf Brand Chili. However, the plain one is cheaper and appeals to my inner Scrooge. Now these icons are free.

The Incredibles Comics Preview

Star Wars asciimation — telnet://towel.blinkenlights.nl (port 23)

– from telnet.org

See also asciimation.co.nz.

I’ve recieved an email showing some bizarre juxtoposition in Photoshoppery like the Predator & Prey Series at worth1000.com. Some are adorable, like the Kitten Duckling. I didn’t find the dogbirds I saw in the email. Lambchop is clearly the wolf in sheeps clothing.

Some are bizarre like Boba de Milo – bounty hunter disarmed. Leia Reclining is classic. But the Last Supper? More can be found in the Star Wars Ren Series.

instant katz recreating a Far Side comic won’t win friends.

For some punnerific goodness, or not:

• Size Matters
• MAT*H
• BACH to the Future
• Mars Cars
• Bad Toys
• Womb Rider
• Jurassic Lark – if Bug’s Life didn’t scare you enough about Birds.
• Blazing Paddles
• Piddler on the Roof
• Mars
• Bet Smart
• Ice Ale – Carpe Cerevisi – Seize the beer!
• HELLBOT – two parodies in one!
• Wonderful Lime
• Wall – a show about nothing.
• ark knight
• The House Nunny
• Paws – Dreyfuss was in Claws?
• President Evil – our current Commander in Chief is not so supportive of gun rights.
• Gone
• FINDING EMO
• FATatouille
• HellToy II
• WAL*RUS

Miscellaneous:

• Aston Martin – Now that’s a flying car
• BOND CAR – Road supremecy
• 0.25mm Gatling Pen – The pen is mightier than the sword.
• 12-tone-music – “Even though he wasn´t really a good pianist, he was the only one, who could play Schönbergs 12-tone-pianosuite op. 25 flawless.”
• Bart pan.
• Marshmellow Igloo

Oh, and the Star Trek Parodies

• Termidata
• Marvin and the Enterprise
• Toilet Trek – just sad
• Just Hanging Out
• Monologue
• Bean Trek
• Leutenant Commander Bean

and Star Wars

• Attack of the Muppets
• Jabba Cone
• Jedi Shrek/Princess Fiona Organa
• Attack Of The clowns
• saving anakin skywalker
• Macey at the Bat
• Fly Casual
• iDeath – Fully operational Mac!
• Dark Knight – “No, Robin. I am your father!”

Even the Statue of Libery is not exempted.

• Originality
• Lady of the Sea
• Statue of oil Liberty
• Arrested Liberty – “you have no rights, so remain silent… anything you do say will be deemed unpatriotic and used against you in a court of law.”
• frodoliberty
• VIGILANCE3 – Homeland Security
• Great Wall Liberty
• Stairway to Lilberty
• Sexy Liberty – Good thing Liberty wasn’t made in more modern times.
• Redentor Liberty

Wired brought this to my attention.

More at Flickr, and Wordpress.

Pic Shows Man Robbing Stores With Klingon Sword: Clerks Recognize Sword As ‘Bat’leth’

I am just not into sports.  Only the commercials are interesting. I suppose a lot of guys could sympathize with Mr Potato head.

Bridgestone’s lunar rover if more fun that anything NASA has produced.  It’s rocket powered even!  Must be why the space program is not as exciting as it used to be.  The new, real rover brought up the rear at the inaugural parade, but this fictional rover appeared during the Superbowl.

Coca-Cola – Heist is worth watching and having in QuickTime, but…  At least the movie spots are available at Apple.com/trailers/.  The other Coke ads and Budweiser ads are good.  Here are the links to their pages on Spike.

• Budweiser – Clydesdale Fetch
• Budweiser – Clydesdale Returns Home
• Budweiser – Clydesdale Immigration

Pepsi Max – I’m Good make Pepsi’s customers look better than Pepsi – MacGruber.  Teleflora.com – Sassy Flowers make you want to get her something from 1800flowers.com. Spike lists these as the top 10 commercials of the 2009 Superbowl.  GoDaddy, is still up to their same mischief and can’t get ‘em on TV.  The others I just won’t mentions.

Superbowl ads also available at Hulu.com.

Pens for Geeks

• A pen for geeks too old fashion for yping on laptops: 5-in-1 Geek Pen
• A pen for geeks too old fashioned for typing on laptops, but rather have the laptop do the typing: LiveScribe SmartPen

ThinkGeek toys

• I could use a Mug Boss for my beer mugs; except I rather use beer mugs for beer.
• tuner, LED light, bottle opener keychain for musican who appreciate an occasional brew.
• Swiss Army knife for computer repairs.
• Plasma Ball – It’s electrifying, glowing, USB powered, but oh, the EMF

From the web

Some how this police car remind me of the villianous Mustang in Tranformers.

Don’t miss 40 Years of Mighty Mice

Polaroid film is a thing of the past. However, I wonder how much of that technology relates to ZINK. That make for a very small printer.