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"I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version."

Don DeLillo
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[livejournal.com profile] blueeowyn and I are in the midst of Buffy, season 6. We just watched episode 5, in which three inept nerds use inventions and magic to try to take down the slayer. As I was watching, I couldn't help but notice similarities between this plot and Dr. Horrible. All it needed was singing!

Geek toys!

Sep. 23rd, 2008 04:40 pm
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200x USB microscope

EDIT: more geekery

geek love shirts

Too cute

and another shirt

LOLcats, beware!
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Wikipedia has an entry for Chess humor that has some absolutely wonderful chess in-jokes. Especially the two chess endings under the "Offbeat interpretations" section.

Enjoy!
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What the heck is going on with Internet Explorer? I've had this problem for a few days now, on multiple computers, and it seems to be getting worse. I get error messages and then IE closes. I don't even know if I'll be able to finish this message.

Yes, I know there are other browsers, but I'm stuck with IE at work -- no downloads allowed, yadda yadda.

Gah.

EDIT: OK, it seems to only happen when I go to MSN's home page. If I go to msn.com by hitting back, home, or typing in the url, it gives the same error each time. So I'll avoid MSN today. Maybe better for my overall health anyway.
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There are a lot of mini-laptops popping up nowadays, and many of them use solid-state memory instead of traditional hard drives. Kind of like an on-the-mobo flash drive. The problem is that such "hard drives" are limited in size. Can a modern PC really function on 16GB of hard drive? Once you've loaded XP and Office and auntie Virus (she's a sweet old lady), is there any room for anything else?

Yes, I know that full installs of xp and office are about 1.5 and 3 GB, respectively, and I can do the math.

But is 16GB really enough for anything other than running a browser and checking e-mail?
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In a recent response, [livejournal.com profile] acroyear70 pointed out that during a routine traffic stop, cops can confiscate large sums of cash, to investigate whether it is "drug money" -- and even if they never charge you with a crime, you may never get your money back.

A very scary thought, and worthy of examples and details. So here, some bedtime reading to give you nightmares.
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A friend asked me for advice, and I have no idea. So I'm asking you guys.

Will car dealers change a car's price if they know you'll be paying cash instead of taking a loan?

Vader Love

Sep. 17th, 2008 05:42 pm
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Vader Love Photo at Gizmodo.

Really, everything is on the net.
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Why is Albannach charging $20 at Fest for their live CD? It's cheaper (including shipping) to get it on their web site...
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Slate article about campaign lies -- warning, this may make you weep for our country.

Of course, why should we trust Slate any more than anyone else?
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If you have a daughter, how do you test suitors for worthiness?

Here's a great way for board gamers to do this!
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Apparently, Astroland, on Coney Island, New York, is closing for good.

Details

The Cyclone roller coaster, and the big Ferris wheel have different owners and will not be affected.
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According to this MSN article, severely obese government workers in Alabama will have to pay a $25 fat fee each month towards their health insurance, unless they can show significant improvement.
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If you take any of the following drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, read this article and talk to your doctor:
Humira, Cimzia, Enbrel and Remicade

WTOP News article
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Yes, it seems true that you can die from eating too much chocolate.
We've all heard that you shouldn't feed dogs chocolate, that it makes them sick and can kill them. What I didn't know is that cats are even more sensative to chocolate than dogs are!

Here's the really wacky part that I just learned: it's not an issue with cats because they don't usually like chocolate -- they have no sweet receptors! Wacky, I tell you! Just plain wacky!

The problem for dogs and cats (and horses and some other animals) is an inability to metabolize theobromine, a major chemical component of chocolate. Even humans can die from eating too much, overwhelming the body's theobromine metabolism. But don't worry -- the amount for humans is about 22 pounds in one sitting.

Check out the Wikipedia page on Theobromine poisoning for more information.
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Dilbert's page-a-day calendar from Wednesday:

Dogbert talking to Dilbert:

I decided to start a new religion. The tithing would only be 5% and I'd let people sin as much as they wanted. The only problem is that I don't want to spend time with anyone who would join that sort of religion.
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Apparently this is for real. Can't believe I'm just now reading about it. One of the big screens at the birdnest for the Olymipic Opening Ceremony went frakky, and the audience was treated to the Blue Screen of Death.

gizmodo link
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OK, they're not Diebold anymore. Those sly bass-turds changed their name to Premiere Election Systems to avoid bad name recognition. But I digress.

I learned about the current issue through a recent XKCD comic strip. It turns out that PES machines (or is that PEZ?) were used in about half of Ohio's counties for this year's primary. In eleven counties, the machines "dropped votes." Once the problem was discovered, the votes were somehow found, and recounted.

What was the problem? An antivirus conflict in the machines. Of course, this begs the question, why do you need antivirus software on a stand-alone machine being used for one purpose only?

How many ways did this go wrong?

A nice article about the issue and an pending lawsuit
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