Someone just introduced me to the mad lyrical stylings (heh) of mc chris.
Specifically, his song “geek” (lyrics) which kicks MUCH ass and is full of references that only a geek from the right generation would fully appreciate. Now I must go forth and find his CD “knowing is half the hassle”… which is a friggin’ brilliant reference. (If you don’t get it, don’t ask. You won’t think it’s cool.)

Of course, now if I were to ever become an MC… I’d have to change my name.

Google inspires some good timewasters (such as GoogleWhack and GoogleFight) and the latest one I’ve seen provided me with a much needed 10 minute break during the workday today.

It’s Googlism.

Below are the highlights of what Googlism had to say about me.

The Accurate:
• cls is live
• cls is operational
• cls is out of the office [mentally, anyways -cls]
• cls is a once in a lifetime opportunity

The Wholly Untrue:
• cls is wholly owned by the university of saskatchewan [! -cls]
• cls is not exclusive
• cls is 501 [I think I'm more like 750, but some friends claim I'm more like 710 -cls]
• cls is stable
• cls is successful
• cls is completely equipped to deal with the complex requirements of your organisation’s customer relationships and the perfect tool to achieve

The Favorites:
• cls is not an issue that is high on the agenda of corporates [That's a relief! -cls]
• cls is now imminent
• cls is a boon to saskatchewan’s economy
• cls is a proud member of the strategic alliance group
• cls is welcome in nla [where?! -cls]
• cls is also caused by spontaneous mutation in which there is no family history of cls [ :( -cls]
• cls is able to conduct an immediate psychiatric assessment to determine whether an accused person is suffering from a mental illness [I told you you were crazy. -cls]
• cls is chosen as the initial support method [Talk to me. -cls]
• cls is an excellent way to ensure cross
• cls is the catalyst for the innovative
• cls is proving its conceptual strength even before operations have begun
• cls is a rare disorder that seems to affect mostly males [Most women don't talk to me -cls]

The Obvious:
• cls is a command which allows the user to clear the complete contents of the screen and leave only a prompt

Back to work.

One of my most valued possessions is a single piece of paper.

The valuable part, of course, is what’s printed on it. It’s not a deed, contract, license or any other legal document though. It’s a print-out of a short piece of prose posted to a BBS long ago. Too long and formless to be poetry and too short and plotless to be a story, it’s just some text that a friend once wrote about some of his friends. It placed each of our circle along with some of it’s fringe (not by name, but by description) in a fantasy world, going about our daily business. It was an elegeant and warm sentiment, if not exactly a statement.

This friend of mine was a dreamer. A beautiful fucking human being who left this world way too early. Too early for him and way too fucking early for the world. It’s a darker place without his dumb blonde ass.

I came across this paper again when I started to go through my things in preperation for moving. I read it over and over. It got me thinking about those days, and those friends I never see anymore. I miss them.

And I miss you especially, Randy.

You jackass.

Catty Cat Cat

The History of the Internet is an often debated topic. I’m glad someone finally drew a clear timeline that carefully explains everything. Thanks, The Lemon, for stepping up.

That’s the word.

Slashdot has an story on what strikes me as Lojack for People. It caused some interesting discussion amongst the geeks about the possible uses and abuses.

Here are some interesting (
5971264,

5971306,

5971604

) and funny (
5971374,

5971061

) comments.

Not that there aren’t some legitimate, beneficial, and ethical uses for something like this… but the potential future abuses still give my inner conspiracy theorist the chills. (And yes, I know I’m already quite trackable by the fact that I have a cellphone, lojack, and credit cards, etc. I can ditch all that stuff. :P) The mere thought that someday something like this could be required (or pseudo-required as MrFrenty hypothesized) fits right into a grim view of Orwellian future which, right now, doesn’t necessarily seem so far-fetched. (*cough* Patriot *cough* Act *cough*). Do I really think this dark future will come to pass? No, I do not. However, I do believe it could, and would, were there not for people who will actively work to prevent such oppression. After all, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.^“† It’s times like this I really value the EFF and even the ACLU.

^† This is a great saying with a murky past. Some call it a quote, others a paraphrasing, of Edmund Burke. Here’s an essay if you’re interested in a little rat hole. :)

I think this goes beyond the realm of a case-mod. (And, btw: Gah! and Rackmount? Ow! Hey! Ok, Sorry! Stop throwing rotten tomatoes!) Anyhow, it’s actually a pretty impressive piece of work… but maybe not the computer you want in your home when you bring a date home for the first time.

Check out some other cases here.

In other words: I got the apartement in LG, barring any unforseen problems with my criminal record check. (heh.) I go to sign the lease and pick up the keys on the 24MAY, even though my ‘official’ move in date isn’t until the 7JUN and I have the MV place until 14JUN. I have like three weeks within which to move. Cool.

And after I move, the bike comes back out of storage (hopefully)!

An article on Kiro5hin points to an article on The Scotsman about Russian Orthodox Monks “selling” prayers on their monastery’s website. I guess there’s more than a couple people irked by this, but I don’t see the big deal. I mean, in other churches throughout the world, churchgoers drop some cash on the collection plate and I don’t think most of them even get to make specific requests. Who’d have guessed these guys would be so technologically savvy. (I’m guessing the guy in the back with the shades is the webMonk.)