Skip to content

IggBlog

I’m writing on the internets

According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools’ administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines.

Click for full story (boingboing.net): Clicky

I don’t even know where to start with this. But Lord knows I have a lot to say on this subject. This is legally and technically very close to a lot of things I do. And is not ok in any way imaginable. Seriously… What did you think was going to happen? To the school admins: You all are lucky that (as far as anyone knows) you didn’t catch anyone undressing or something of the sort. And that aside, I hope you have a strong door and decent defensive fighting skills, because you’re going to have some very angry parents. There’s a Noah Bennet inside of most fathers I know, and he’s best not provoked.

…But happy early V-Day from the random awesomeness that is the internet. I don’t usually make “hey check out this pic” posts, but this one is kind of a gem. And it’s almost seasonal.

“A Polish newspaper mistakenly identified “Pedobear”, a notorious internet meme, as one of the mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

It appears that the newspaper lifted the picture from Google Images, unaware that it had been created as a prank by Michael Barrick, a Canadian artist and graphic designer. “

Full Article: Clicky

Woot.com shirt of the day today. So pissed it sold out before I saw it

So this little diddy popped up on Digg today (and I’m sure slashdot). It basically makes you a “super control panel” where you can tweek all your settings and set up / configure anything all from one nice neat place. It’s “meant” for Windows 7, but works just fine on Vista 32 bit. Apparently it messes up Vista 64bit though, so steer clear if you have a 64bit version of Vista. But anyways, here we go…. Make a folder, and name it the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

The icon will change to a control panel sort of icon, and you’re good to go. just double click on it and check out all the options. A few other good ones for network types like myself that hate having to drill down through menus to get to network related features:

Network Connections.{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}
Wireless Networks.{1FA9085F-25A2-489B-85D4-86326EEDCD87}

Give them a shot, internets. You won’t be sorry.

Original Reference: Clicky

I posted the following entry in my LJ blog back in 2004 (before it was the haven of emo ranting that it’s become). Normally I don’t like to recycle material, but this may become an annual post since it never seems to become any less true. I love snow… but like many things in life, it’s ruined by other people.

——————–

Snow. Snow is funny stuff.

Snow appears harmless enough when blanketing the scenery in peaceful whiteness. Its very nature is almost “kind”. Light… fluffy… delicate. BUT… Something darker lurks beneath the surface. The docile exterior of ice belies an ethereal core of absolute stupidity.

The snowflake is a complex object. The crystal husk is merely a carrier vessel for a small portal to another sort of supersymmetrical dimension. The true quintessence of snow lies in this ethereal form. The particles from this dimension exist partially in our realm and partially in the supersymmetrical realm. The component of these particles that exists in our dimension is very small. These “fingers” into our “heavy space”, known as an LSSP (lightest super-stupid particle) is what snowflakes seed upon.

The mechanism by which snow “works” upon humans is even more interesting. Snow would normally float about in the upper atmosphere since snow clearly floats. Throw a snowball into water and you’ll see what I mean. But this superdimensional seed of stupidity adds just enough mass for the snowflakes to fall slowly and gently to the ground. Upon reaching the ground, the LSSP is released from the snow, and rises to the upper atmosphere to seed another flake. While in these states, snow is harmless. It could even fall on your head and it wouldn’t matter… there’s simply not enough force to drive the LSSP into your head. After alighting on your head, it floats back into the atmosphere like normal. However, a curious thing happens when snow is hit by a car. The crystal is hit with such force that the payload of stupidity is ripped from the core of the snowflake, and travels through the windshield of the car, leaving its icy prison behind. The LSSP is driven into the driver’s brain, where it is pulled the rest of the way into our dimension. It expands to its full size and darkles the driver’s mind, impeding neural activity and impairing the subject’s higher functions.

Normally, one such incursion into the human brain has little effect (especially in the state of Massachusetts, where the drivers give the LSSP very little to impair on in the first place)… but during a snowstorm, the drivers are pelted with countless vessels of crystalline stupidity. They are reduced to a near inanimate state (except in Massachusetts, where they become only slightly less intelligent than normal).

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Im thankful for a lot this year. I’m thankful for Emily. She’s my angel, and has done me more good than I desirve. The squad of insufferable asshats that i work with, that allow me to work without a filter. Matt, jay, and all the friends that put up with me in a regular basis. My family that i wish i could visit more. And the internet that lets me keep in touch with the world, and the friends that i dont see nearly enough (lookin at you Brian, i’ll be bothering you soon). Eat too much and drink too much, everyone. You’re all pretty awesome.

The voodoo section of the supermarket creeps me the fuck out. I’m nit even talking about Agatha’s Creepy Corner Market, I’m talking Stop and Shop. This is the part of the meat section with all the crazy random animal parts that one would have an easier time finding an application for in black magic than in food preparation. A sampling of what was there today next to my beloved bacon: pig tails, split pig feet, beef marrow chunks, chicken feet, cow tongue (yes, really), pig spinal cord (nerves, not bones), etc. I guess one could argue that stuff like this is perfectly fine if you’re brewing up a stock or something… but I think my stock can do without chicken feet and pig tails, I’ll add a dash more chipotle powder to mask the delicate missing flavors. Besides, I don’t want to go snapping up all the ingredients for someone’s love potion or effigy dolls and have them use yucky chicken breast or filet mignon instead. No pics for this post, you’re welcome.

The turkeys are back at work. Careful guys, thanksgiving is getting pretty close

Who needs a lucky clover when you have bullets? Maybe she just waned Starbucks to know that she meant it when she said “splenda not sugar”. For the record she had a badge on her belt too but I couldn’t get a discrete shot of it.