I have no idea whether this is true or not, but apparently Pokemon causes cancer. I'll check up on their credentials, just like I made comments on the Oscar nominees.

I love my iBook. Thank you for listening. I just had to get that off my chest.

And here's a link for Curtis.

(via boingboing)

Holy crap.

(via boingboing)

So APPARENTLY the server can't get a message unless you actually SEND it. That's retarded.

This post is brought to you by skipping PMath 330.

Do clothing and coding really mix? I don't know. But I aim to find out!

Don't worry, I'm wearing a hat.

Oh, and in pop culture news, the Oscar nominees are out. I may provide some commentary on them tonight when I get a chance to look at the list; it's time to put on my pants and head out for the day.

From an article on GameSpot, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi comments on the unresponsiveness of one of the PSP buttons: "I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that."

He's picked the wrong analogy, of course. That gate still works. This is more like a renowned architect making the gate too thin and too short, so a significant percentage of the population can't get through. And that architect will get slammed for making such an idiotic design decision.

I would like a PSP. WipEout has ALWAYS been a weakness of mine. But reports like this and the ability to fire the game media out of the system make me nervous as to whether I can trust the damn thing to last.

Superbowl party at my house February 6! The NFL championship game starts at 6:30 PM featuring the Eagles and (unless something weird happens, since they're beating the Steelers 31-10 right now) the Patriots; be here before then. There will be food and beer. Feel free to bring your own food and beer, although that's not necessary. Except maybe if you're a vegetarian. Or want more than, like, one beer. Need directions? E-mail me or a housemate.

After surviving for the third time, you struck a
deal with the fleshling organization known as
Cobra. They rebuilt your body into a new
form...a tank. When you got what you wanted
you betrayed them. You were stronger then
ever. Then the next generation of Transformers
came. You fought Jhiaxus and lost. With a
truce, and now peace, you left Cybertron....
You are Marvel G2 Megatron.


Which Megatron are you? (Version 2)
brought to you by Quizilla

So yeah, I know it's pretty crap out there on the roads... But don't do this.

It's my Dad's birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!

(I don't think he reads this, actually. Nevertheless...)

Here's something CO 487 related. Now, to write more Perl scripts to solve the damn things!

(via wired.com)

Validation for me or showing that the test is bad? U-DECIDE!

I wish I was in Brazil.

Hookers have the real power!
...

Okay, I'm done.

Here's one for Raymond:

Advertising. And Jenna Jameson. What would Emily say?

(via boingboing)

Curling was a wash, because I had no real interest in playing in a possible 10PM draw - 6 and 8 were full. Bah. :(

An update for Jim: click me!

(via warrenellis.com)

Now leave me alone, dammit!

While I'm posting pictures:

So this is California right now:

(pic from yahoo and the AP)

Oh dear. I've been informed one of Annie's puppies, "red girl," died. This is sad.

I don't have any decent pictures of "red girl," so I'm afraid this is all the memorial it seems I'll be able to give her. :(

First week of class went well. Monday: I will finally get my textbooks. Maybe.

Three-a-days at Lost Causes start today, only a week and a half after I said they would. That's almost like being on time!

image001
Originally uploaded by CapeMonkey.

In other news, Annie's been at the breeder's since Boxing Day since she was having puppies. She had them yesterday, ending up with 5 little breathing puppies. I haven't seen them, since the breeder is in Missisauga and I was on my way from St Catharines to Waterloo, but... the dog had puppies!

update: They removed the original article, but this is the internet and you can't get rid of things that easily.

This pisses me off. (via superfrankenstein)

Summing up the content, the US government (although all arguements could be applied to just about any government) should not be giving out disaster relief, although it's quite all right for private individuals and organizations to do so. Why? Because the government's money is not the government's to give.

Which is bullshit. The government can do what it damn well pleases with the money.

The thing the author, David Holcberg, misses is that government spending is approved by the people implicitly, through the election of those politicians he rails against. The people making these decisions are there to represent the interests of the people residing in a particular geographic area. If they are not going to approve of some measure, then it is the MPs/Congressman/whatever's JOB to vote against that measure. If you don't like it - protest. Express your disagreement, keeping in mind this opens you up for rebuttals. Next time around, vote for someone who will look after your interests the way you want them to, because if your representative has a history of supporting what you don't like, clearly they are not the person who should be representing you. He also throws up a smokescreen concerning whom the aid is going to, using the nebulous "enemies of the United States" and mentioning aid to North Korea and Palestine under Clinton and Bush.

The second point he makes is that politicians get away with it because they have altruism on their side. Which is true. But the government's decision is not your decision. While the government represents you, it also represents everyone else - if what is being done is against your values, whatever they are, then tough - it's being done because it is along the lines of most people's values. Feel free to disagree, and if you can, demonstrate that most people disagree.

(aside: If you don't vote, can you still complain about the government? Yes, of course. Just because you did not vote does not abrogate a politician's job of representing you.)

This quote sums up his arguement: "The question no one asks about our politicians' 'generosity' towards the world's needy is: By what right? By what right do they take our hard-earned money and give it away?" This sentence reads to me like "That's MY money! Don't you DARE spend it on people who are dying!" I'm almost definitely reading in to this a tone that isn't there, but the "don't you DARE do such-and-such" arguement holds little water with me.

Fucking "rational self-interest."

Back in Waterloo. The Bills lost today, so they're out of the playoffs. The cable guy is coming to the new place on Friday, so I'll be able to watch the Bill-less playoffs. If anyone needs new contact info RIGHT NOW, drop me an e-mail. Or leave a comment, which will in turn drop me an e-mail.

Well, it's 2005. Happy New Year!

Here's a link to a recent post by the incredible William Gibson. He often posts incredible insights into the world - this isn't quite that. Or maybe it is. Basically, he's listed a whole whack of Canadian charities involved in the tsunami disaster relief, which makes it easy to pick where any donation you'd like to make will go. Also, he notes that the Canadian government will match your donation to a Canadian-based charity dollar-for-dollar until January 11.

Posting this on my blog probably won't make much difference, since I'm a very small fish in a very, very large pond. But every little bit helps.