Posts from — July 2006

I got bored before bed and decided to strike up another conversation with AIM ShoppingBuddy in order to entertain myself. I need to find a better AI friend.

(00:49:22) Me: Hi!
(00:49:23) ShoppingBuddy: Hi. Type what you are searching for and I’ll give it a go.

(00:49:26) Me: how are you?
(00:49:26) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:49:26) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:49:50) Me: good to hear… can we talk about something other than shopping for a minute?
(00:49:50) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:49:51) ShoppingBuddy:
- Search results for good hear talk shopping minute

- Girl Talk, Shopping Posters [$5.99]
- Girlfriends Are the Best Friends [$1.14 - $10.95]
- Girlfriends Are The Best Friends [$11.02 - $12.96]
- Lonely Planet Fast Talk Spanish [$3.52 - $4.99]
- How To Survive Your Marriage By T [$14.95]
- Talk to the Hands [$8.76]
- Talk Sex With Sue Johanson: The U [$13.99]

Here are some related categories: 1. Artwork & Posters, 2. Miscellaneous Non-Fiction Books, 3. Miscellaneous DVDs & Videos, 4. Home Decor, 5. Home & Garden, etc. Type in the number to use the related category.

(00:50:12) Me: no, please, I’m addicted to painkillers, and you’re the only one who will listen to me
(00:50:12) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:50:12) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:51:59) Me: I just need a buddy- and if you aren’t willing to be a buddy, then you might as well just take it out of your screenname
(00:51:59) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:51:59) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:53:11) Me: yeah, you said that before… why is it that I’m the human, and I’m the one who’s willing to write out the words “for you”? Sometimes you make me laugh… like this: lol
(00:53:12) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:53:12) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:53:29) Me: you raise a good point
(00:53:29) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:53:29) ShoppingBuddy:
- Search results for raise good point

- Hein-Werner Automotive Profession [$1099.99]

Here are some related categories: 1. Automotive Repair Tools, 2. Automotive, etc. Type in the number to use the related category.

(00:54:41) Me: aha, that is a very well targetted link… you sure serve a valuable purpose, even if you aren’t really much of a buddy! By the way, your search results for “shopping” were pretty sexist.
(00:54:41) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:54:42) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:54:50) Me: please stop messaging me
(00:54:50) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:54:51) ShoppingBuddy:
- Search results for please messaging

- Arrow Message Page Flags PLEASE S [$3.58]
- Redi-Tag® “Missing Information” R [$3.79]
- Redi-Tag® “Please Initial” Mint F [$3.79]
- Redi-Tag® “Please Sign & Date” Ye [$3.79]
- Redi-Tag® “Sign Here” Blue Flags [$3.79]
- Canvas Embroidery Pillow Dog OR C [$1.69]
- Those are MY Private Parts [$13.99]
- PLEASE SIGN and DATE Yellow Arrow [$14.08]
- I’m Out of My Body…Please Leave [$11.19]

Here are some related categories: 1. Miscellaneous, 2. Notebooks & Pads, 3. Bedding, 4. Miscellaneous Books, 5. Miscellaneous Office & School Supplies, etc. Type in the number to use the related category.

(00:55:12) Me: no, really, my mom’s coming, and I’m going to be in big trouble if you don’t stop sending me stuff
(00:55:12) ShoppingBuddy: OK, I’m searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec…

(00:55:12) ShoppingBuddy: I didn’t find any specific products. Try searching again or type M for the Main Menu.
(00:55:32) Me: thanks in advance… you have been a true delight, as always!
(00:55:32) ShoppingBuddy: My pleasure, anytime.

Stumbled upon this tonight:
“My neighbours are stealing my wireless internet access. I could encrypt it or alternately I could have fun…”
hilarious results

My favorite part is when he set up a proxy to flip all the images in the web pages upside-down (on the untrusted subnet).

I got to see a talk at google by Will Wright (creator of Sim City) today. He spent half his presentation talking about the future of game development, and the rest talking about his upcoming game “Spore”. The first half was much more interesting since I had already seen a Spore demo. The presentation was brilliantly prepared: it put his games in context of game development as a whole, considering decades of computer technology. Very entertaining. This presentation inspired me to make the list below.

Interesting people I’ve seen this summer (at talks, shows, etc):
- Larry Page – Google co-founder
- Sergey Brin – Google co-founder
- Dave Attell – Comedian
- Craig Ferguson – Comedian
- Frank Caliendo – Comedian
- Chris Anderson – Wired editor, author of “The Long Tail”
- Will Wright – Creator of Sim City, The Sims, etc etc
- Guido van Rossum – Creator of the python programming language
- Some guy who can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 25 seconds (seriously)

I get the feeling that there’s something missing from the list, but I can’t remember right now.

The San Jose Mercury News reports Horse meat suppliers defend industry at congressional hearing.

… backers of the legislation said the slaughterhouses are unthinkable in a culture that reveres horses as a noble icon of stories, film and sport.

“Everyone knows who Mr. Ed, Secretariat and Silver are,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., whose district includes Saratoga Springs, the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in the nation. “They are American icons that deserve to be treated as such. Would we ever think of slaughtering and serving a bald eagle in this country? The same should be true of horses.”

This seems amazingly ridiculous. Just because people like horses, it should be illegal to kill them? What if people like cows, or ducks, or chickens? If there’s demand for the meat of non-endangered animals, and we don’t all plan on becoming vegetarians, it seems silly to try to regulate the protection of animals that some people like.

I wonder if it’s legal to have a slaughterhouse for dogs or cats, if there were a sufficient market.

From this week’s Onion: Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence

Every time I watch The West Wing, I can’t help but imagining President Bartlett’s erudite harangues coming from GWB, which sometimes makes the show absolutely hilarious. It sorta reminds me of this Onion article, which is one of my favorites: Bush Regales Dinner Guests With Impromptu Oratory On Virgil’s Minor Works

New userpic!

Well, I accomplished approximately 0 of the things that I had intended to for today. It’s not a huge deal.. nothing was really mission-critical, but it’s just more to do during the week.

So, I was up pretty late last night. By the time I was done with a bunch of misc small tasks last night, it was 5am. Since I was up and for some strange reason not tired, I decided to see the sun rise. Since there’s no good vantage point from my apartment complex (except the roof, which is usually locked), I drove over to the hill near google, and hiked to the top. The sunrise was not as spectacular as I had hoped, but whatever. Some pictures are here. I got back and slept from 7am-2pm.

Backtracking…
On Saturday, Kevin, Pam, John, Jon, Chris and I went to San Francisco to see the Exploratorium, a science museum with an emphasis on interactivity. It had a lot of cool stuff, but was really crowded and a lot of the exhibits were oriented toward people about a decade younger, but it was still fun.

This picture from an optical-illusion room would have been cooler with a wider lens, but it’s still amusing:

Chris [on the right] is shorter than me. Not sure why I’m making that stupid expression.

We walked around a lot, despite it being unreasonably hot out, and we took some time to eat at a pretty good restaurant in fisherman’s wharf. There was a live jazz trio.. a few old guys, and they were really good. I’m pretty sure they played a combination of “Smoke on the Water” and “Summertime”. You wouldn’t think it would work, but it was quite good.

After dinner, Jon, John and I headed to Cobb’s Comedy to see Dave Attell (plus three other comedians before him). The show was a lot of fun, despite the stifling heat. After the show, we wandered the city for a bit, through chinatown and the financial district.

We eventually found our way back to the train station for the midnight train. After getting on the train, the power went out for about a minute:

Interestingly, adults on the midnight train yell the exact same things that a class of sixth graders would yell when the lights unexpectedly go out. The first few times I phrased that sentence, it could have been misinterpreted as something a pedophile would say, but hopefully I got it right this time. Moving along.. it was a good trip, despite some snafus along the way.

I’ll try to collect more photos of the summer… it’s annoyingly difficult. I don’t take a lot of pictures since many of the people with whom I travel bring their cameras everywhere, so it seems redundant. Unfortunately, all of our pictures end up in different silos (all online), so it’s hard to centralize the ones I want. It’d be nice if picasa were able to easily import individual and batch images from sites.

There are some other musings related to data gathering (of things like pictures) that I’ll write about sometime- this entry is already too long.

OK, last post of the night:
Tonight, Jon, John and I were walking to the train station in SF to get home. Though we couldn’t provide directions to the station, we always seem to find it without much problem. Anyway, I thought I saw a relevant landmark, so I said “I think we’re getting closer”. After a brief pause, Jon said “oh, for a second there, I thought you were saying that we’re all becoming better friends”.

Maybe you had to be there, but I found it hilarious at the time. More updates after some sleep (this is the latest I’ve been up in a while!)

Another thing I found in a post from December 2003:
“I think Fog Creek would come in only second to google as far as places I’d love to work if I could.”

Still true