res ipsa loquitor...
Friday, May 30, 2003
listed w/ blogshares...
thought i'd have a little fun and see how much i can lose in the fantasy market - we'll see if this site looks like a good buy...
posted by dave @ 5/30/2003 09:12:00 AM - Google It! -
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
hillary - norgay 50th anniversary...
at 11:30 am on the 29th may 1953, tenzing norgay sherpa and edmund hillary reached the summit of mount everest. this week various events are planned around the world to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their accomplishment.
however, the mount everest jubilee celebrations have been overshadowed by a fatal helicopter accident. while attempting a landing @ base camp, a helicopter has crashed killing two and seriously injuring at least six. check out the story @ mounteverest.net.
currently, there are more than 1,000 people are @ everest base camp, part of more than 20 expeditions trying to climb the world's highest mountain for thursday's 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent. as part of the celebrations, sir edmund hillary, yesterday, took part in a procession of veteran climbers through kathmandu. gyalzen sherpa, 85, one of three surviving sherpas from the 1953 british everest expedition, also joined hillary and his wife june in the horse-drawn carriage leading the procession. jamling norgay, the son of the late tenzing norgay, who with hillary was the first to reach everest's summit was also present at yesterday's event. other climbers who attended yesterday's event included junko tabei from japan, the first woman to summit everest, and reinhold messner, the first person to reach the summit without oxygen in 1978.
the nepalese government are hoping the jubilee celebrations will help boost tourism in the country. the tourist industry has suffered in recent years due to bloody maoist insurgency. nepal's king gyanendra is throwing a gala dinner in hillary's honor tomorrow, and will also make him an honorary citizen.
the anniversary is being commemorated around the globe and websites have been set up solely to keep people up-to-date with the celebrations. for full information on the events taking place this week see the mount everest golden jubliee website.
posted by dave @ 5/28/2003 09:47:00 AM - Google It! -
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
microsoft what?!?!...
microsoft linux: shipping in november 2003...
wow... just seeing the words 'microsoft' & 'open source' in the same sentence gives me the creeps, but it looks like they have actually embraced the open source notion and are planning to ship their own flavor of linux. the question is - will the geeks be appeased or outraged?
"Microsoft Linux provides all the power of the Linux Operating System with the ease of use you've come to expect from Microsoft Products.
Microsoft Linux brings a new level of productivity to Linux, without sacrificing flexibility, performance, and control. In addition to features like My Home Directory and My Configuration, Microsoft Linux contains greatly improved support for Web and Enterprise development." more...
posted by dave @ 5/27/2003 01:31:00 PM - Google It! -
spacecraft snaps first earth portrait from mars...
"NASA released what it billed as the first portrait of Earth as seen from Mars. The colorized photograph shows Earth from 86 million miles away as a small blue dot orbited by its even smaller moon." full story here - very cool...
posted by dave @ 5/27/2003 08:00:00 AM -
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Saturday, May 24, 2003
man's life saved by his erection
'doctors say a prolonged erection almost certainly saved the life of a romanian hospital patient...' too easy - nothing i can say that hasn't already been thought of.
posted by dave @ 5/24/2003 01:04:00 PM - Google It! -
Friday, May 23, 2003
the numbers speak for themselves...
leading broadband providers add nearly 1.9 million users - "According to the latest report from Leichtman Research, the top cable broadband providers in the US added over 1.2 million subscribers during the first quarter of this year, while the leading digital subscriber line (DSL) providers in the US added over 650,000 new subscribers."
if dsl is a superior service to cable broadband, and it's priced competitively, then why is it that cable broadband is growing at nearly twice the rate of dsl? - two words - "customer service" - the phone companies figure this out and do something about it then cable is in trouble. fortunately for the cable companies, this is an unattainable goal.
posted by dave @ 5/23/2003 05:52:00 PM - Google It! -
dude, where's stiffler's bulletproof mom's car?
bulletproof monk? sure - i like chow yun-fat... and the trailers look cool - in a tibetan monk meets stiffler with limited matrix effects kind of way. the problem is, i can't see seann william scott and think of anything other than stiffler. if i do happen to think of him as someone else, it's just the stoner in 'dude, where's my car' or the tree-hugging crooner in 'jay and silent bob strike back'
posted by dave @ 5/23/2003 05:35:00 PM -
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quote of the day...
felix ungar: in other words, you're saying you want me to leave?
oscar madison: not in other words! those are the perfect words!
posted by dave @ 5/23/2003 04:38:00 PM -
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Thursday, May 22, 2003
trinity really knows how to hack...
looks like the bros. wachowski did their homework for their latest project - the matrix: reloaded. there is a scene in which trinity cracks into the power plant computer system using the Nmap and sshnuke tools. apparantly this is meeting with approval from hackers because of the credibility and realistic use of these tools.
posted by dave @ 5/22/2003 01:23:00 PM - Google It! -
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
hst has developed new rules for america's pastime...
he is the founder of gonzo journalism, and a sports gambling addict. he collects guns and peacocks, his favorite drinks are chivas and wild turkey, and he sniffs ether. - hst posted this a couple years ago for espn's page 2 - i ran across it the other day hiding out in one of my folders and couldn't refrain posting it here...
Baseball has become unruly
By Hunter S. Thompson
Hi, folks. My name is Thompson, and I don't have much space for this high-speed presentation, so let's get started and see how tight we can make it. My job is to devise a whole new set of rules and concepts to shorten the time it takes to play a game of Major League BASEBALL, or any other kind.
Everybody agrees that Baseball games Must be shortened, but nobody is really Working on it. ... And meanwhile, the games get longer and longer. The good old "meat in the seats" argument won't work after midnight, when the seats are mainly Empty, and TV networks get nasty when they start having to refund money to advertisers when the ratings sink lower and lower. Pro wrestling and golf are bigger draws than baseball games. ... I have not been to a live baseball game in 20 years, and I hope I Never see another one. Not even the New Rules would drag me back to the Ballpark -- but I am a Doctor of Wisdom, a professional man, and some of my friends in the Business have asked me to have a look at this problem, which I have, and this is my solution, for good or ill.
I am keenly aware of the angst and bitter squabbling that will erupt when somebody tries to screw with the National Pastime. ... But it must be done, and if I don't do it somebody else will. So here's the plan.
ELIMINATE THE PITCHER: This will knock at least one hour off the length of a game, which is now up to 3:42. One World Series game took five hours and 20 minutes, which is unacceptable to everybody except the Pitchers. Yes. ... So we will ELIMINATE THE PITCHERS, and they won't be missed. Pitchers, as a group, are pampered little swine with too much money and no real effect on the game except to drag it out and interrupt the action.
LIMIT ALL GAMES TO THREE (3) HOURS: Like football and basketball and hockey, the Baseball game will end at a fixed time. THE SCORE, at that moment, WILL BE FINAL, based on an accumulation of TOTAL BASES IN 3 hours.
ALL BASE-RUNNERS MAY RUN TO ANY BASE (but not backward) -- First to Third, Second to Home, etc. And with NO PITCHER in the game, this frantic scrambling across the infield will be Feasible and Tempting.
ALL "PITCHING", by the way, will be done by a fine-tuned PITCHING MACHINE that pops up out of the mound, delivers a remote-controlled "pitch" at the batter, and then drops back out of sight, to free up the whole infield for running. ... If a batter hits a home run with the bases loaded, for instance, his team will score 16 total bases (or 16 points). But, if it's 3 up and 3 down in an inning, that team will score Zero points.
Think of 22-5, perhaps, or 88-55. Yes sir, we will have Huge scores and constant speedy action for three straight hours.
The heroes of the game will be CATCHERS, not Pitchers. The CATCHER will dominate the game and be the highest-paid player. ... With no Pitcher and no Mound to disrupt the flow, runners on base will be moving at the crack of the bat, and it will be the catcher's job to shut them down or pick them off whenever possible. Foot-speed and a bazooka throwing arm will be paramount. ... There will be no more of this bull about Bullpens and Managers scratching their heads on TV for hours on end, no more lame pick-off throws to first, no more waving off signs and agonized close-ups while pop fouls bounce off the roof.
No, there will be no such thing as a base on balls. Each batter will get five "pitches" from the robot -- only FIVE (5) and if he doesn't get a hit by then, he is Out. ... And the CATCHER will control the kind of drop or curve or speed he wants the machine to throw. And it will obey.
Those damn pitching machines can put a Slider past you at 98 miles an hour five times in a row, with no problem. They can throw hideous wavering knuckleballs and half-moon curves -- all depending and according to what the CATCHER wants to dial up on his remote-control unit. He can even order that the batter be whacked in the ribs by a 102-mph fastball, although that will cost his team TWO (2) bases, instead of one. And you won't want to have some poor Cuban drilled in the ribs when you're nursing a 31-30 lead.
OK, folks, that's it for now. I am already late, and I have written too many words -- but the Concept is sound, I think, and there is a clear and desperate Need for it. ...
Next spring ESPN will put my theories to the test by sponsoring a series of "New Rules" baseball games in New York, Chicago, Omaha and Seattle, among others. ...Tickets will be sold and big-time sports talent will be employed. The success or failure of these Games will determine the fate of Baseball in America.
Purists will bitch and whine, but so what? Purists will Always bitch and whine. That is their function. Res Ipsa Loquitor.
-HST
posted by dave @ 5/21/2003 08:41:00 PM - Google It! -
Sunday, May 18, 2003
dante has passed his judgement - & i have been banished...
while bobby funk, no doubt, knows deeper levels personally, the dante's inferno test has banished me to the second level of hell! - here is how i matched up against all the levels:
| Level | Score |
|---|---|
| Purgatory (Repenting Believers) | Moderate |
| Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) | Very Low |
| Level 2 (Lustful) | Very High |
| Level 3 (Gluttonous) | Low |
| Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) | Low |
| Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) | High |
| Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) | Very Low |
| Level 7 (Violent) | Moderate |
| Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) | High |
| Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) | Moderate |
take the dante's divine comedy inferno test
posted by dave @ 5/18/2003 09:04:00 AM - Google It! -
Friday, May 16, 2003
hugo chavez: free-market hero
a miami herald column suggests that venezuela's president, hugo chavez should be awarded the milton friedman prize for advancing liberty and free-markets... the rationale? - here's the jist...
no other head of state has done so much in such a short time to wreck his country's economy, and to discourage his neighbors from engaging in the kind of finger-waving populism that has brought about massive capital flight and record poverty levels in venezuela.
if it weren't for the disastrous performance of chávez's ''peaceful revolution,'' brazil's new leftist president luiz inácio lula da silva would have probably launched the anti-free market policies he had championed for the past three decades, several foreign diplomats and politicians told me during a recent trip to brazil.
absolute genius...
posted by dave @ 5/16/2003 11:33:00 AM - Google It! -
Thursday, May 15, 2003
new content...
pictures from destin, florida added...
posted by dave @ 5/15/2003 01:46:00 PM - Google It! -
Monday, May 12, 2003
the 'real' black hawk down...
while on vacation in florida with friends and family, i watched 'black hawk down' again for the 4th or 5th time. it's a great film - and i've always heard here and there that it's pretty accurate and true to what really happened. g. gordon has this letter posted on his site - the story of one of the helo pilots that was active in the mission. if you saw the film, this is a must read.
posted by dave @ 5/12/2003 10:24:00 PM - Google It! -
Friday, May 09, 2003
poor cards...
maybe steve kline needs to add something new to his cap - perspiration, dirt, spit, brake dust, and tractor grease don't seem to be doing the trick as of late.
posted by dave @ 5/09/2003 01:17:00 PM - Google It! -
Sunday, May 04, 2003
from the beach...
while vacationing @ destin florida this week, mike, tim and i found something very rare. we took this pic to document the event.
posted by dave @ 5/04/2003 11:59:00 AM - Google It! -
