Dumbass: Contraction of the words 'dumb' and 'ass'.
Dumb: Definition: voiceless; Synonyms: impaired, inarticulate, incoherent
Ass: Definition: idiot; Synonyms: blockhead*, bonehead, dolt, donkey*, dope, dunce, fool, halfwit, idiot, imbecile, jackass*, jerk*, nincompoop, nitwit*, numskull, schmuck, simpleton*, twerp, twit*
These words are perfect descriptions for Scott Kurtz. This guy is a fucking idiot. A moron. A dumbass. And I'm done reading his shit.
PVP, what would be a decent web comic, is now totally bullshit for me. I've been reading for a year now and my opinion, my thoughts on it, have changed due to Scott's desire to prove he's a fuckwad on a daily basis. This is not designed to be a flame or a personal attack. I could care less for this shit. My biggest problem with Kurtz is it's so damned easy to make him feel like he's making a difference. He's begun going right-wing on the Net Neutrality issue and touting savetheinternet.com, a site that I disagree with on principle.
Yes, net neutrality is something the everyone should be pushing for. Yes signing petitions is a good idea. However this site has taken things to another level: personal attacks. You should not make something like this a person to person issue. It's about government regulations and big business limiting our right to accessing information. And the COPE act is a hollow injunction similar to the Emancipation Proclimation. It doesn't do anything, doesn't sanction or ban anything and has no real reprocussion except what you want to make of it.
My point is that this site is garbage in my opinion. Also I'm not trying to force you to stop liking Scott Kurtz or stop reading his comics and thoughts. What I'm trying to tell you is he's a dumbass. Fighting on the internet is like running in the special olympics: even if you win you're still retarded.
Oh, yeah, here's what I envision Scott Kurtz being like in real life, minus the anonimity thing. He knows he's getting traffic and that people 'listen' to him. What a fuckwad.
20060614
20060605
Such a freaking slacker...
I'm a slacker!!!
And yes I'm fully aware of this. There is no need to remind me. But damnit I deserve to slack a little bit. I'm a busy man! Anyway, since it's been over a month since I last updated I'm going to give you a real present: a full review on some flash animations. First up is one that, from the reaction I have received, needs some explanation.
Before I begin let me state that, for the record, I am not the artist for these animations. I do not know the artist nor am I aware of their opinions or motivations for the creation of their flash anims. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone and any correlation of my opinions to the authors are sheer coincidence and good artistic taste on both sides (viewer/creator). On the link provided for each animation is the author's report on the flash and I highly recommend viewing their statements. Also please watch each animation before you read my review. That said enjoy!
For what it's worth (I'm sorry)
Ok, so what I'm hearing from everyone is that this is a creepy animation. But how far from the truth are we here? We're talking about recycling humans for use as 'helpers'. Let's look at the title first: "For what it's worth (I'm sorry)". Which side of things is this statement coming from? There's no remorse from the 'person' who is making and selling this contraptions. Aside from the fact that they can't think there is no emotion from the automatons. No, the appology is coming from the 'users'.
That's what they are. They're users. They are using an appliance that is designed to make their life easier. What correlation do we have in our world? Computers, perhaps? I would say yes. We mindlessly use computers every day. We rely on them to help/force us to get up in the morning. We use them to give us the news of the morning as we are getting ready for school/work. We rely on them to get us to work in the morning when we start our communte. We rely on them to keep traffic flowing. To tell us how much we owe for breakfast. Keep track of hours at work... Print out reports and other things for work... We use them to learn... We use them for entertainment... To make our food... To track our resources... Manage our time... etc...
What if they all stopped working? The artist for this video, Matt Merrill, has shown us a different aspect of the computerised world that we live in. Rather than spending gobs of cash to make a computer or computerised man he takes a man, severs his free-thinking mind from his body and markets the 'robot' as a do-all machine to do our work for us. Then, when the robot malfunctions we get angry at it as though it will solve the problem or make them work harder. Only when one person realizes what's happening to things change for him. He realizes that having another do his work for him is accomplishing no good and he feels sorrow, remorse for his actions.
We've become a complacent society that gladly gives up working for itself and pushes the actual or perceived work off on others. We gladly force someone else to do our work so we can work on things that are more entertaining, more desirable, more fun. So we can be lazy.
On the horizon...
Within the next few years we are going to see a change, a shift in the computing and daily living world. There some devices and computing shifts that are going to affect our daily life in ways that most can't imagine. I'll highlight a few of these here.
1. HTPC (Home Theater PC)
Commonly known as Tivo, variations on this device are already prevalent on the market. Tivo uses a slimmed down version of Linux and a hard drive to record shows, replacing your VCR. It is able to record more than a typical tape and is much easier to maintain and program. You can even tell it what your favorite shows are and it will tape them automatically by downloading the times from a distributed database held by it's manufacturer.
You can build a similar device at home and completely replace your entire home theater system. For the same price you would pay for all of the components in the typical home theater/tv/gaming setup you can build a PC with the same functionality and better components. DVD player, Tivo-like functionality, good TV and a great 5.1 or better sound system. And it all fits in one box. Later I'll outline my ideal HTPC setup.
2. Quantum Computing
A new development coming down the pipe is the thought of quantum computing. This involves more than I can fully list here but I'll give you a rundown.
In computing currently you have what are called bits. A bit is a single-state object: either a 1 or a 0. Combinations of bits make up larger collections called bytes, then kilobytes, then megabytes, then gigabytes, etc... It's these collections of bits and bytes that make up things like documents and songs on storage devices within your computer.
The principle behind quantum computing is the qubit. A qubit is a quantum bit. Rather than existing in one state it is in a constant state of flux. The principle that allows it to hold information, in fact many times more information, is Quantum Bit Discovery. The theory holds that the bit does not have a definitive state until you examine it. Then and only then do you see what information it holds.
I wouldn't be able to say how viable the technology is. The reason is I can see both sides: It will work because the theory is sound and we have the ability and mindpower to make it happen. It won't work because we don't have anything that can exist in multiple states except for plasma (not blood plasma you phlebotomists) which is too unstable to work with currently.
3. Perpendicular recording
This technology, specifically for harddrives, reorganizes the magnetic structure of the recording layer by aligning the bits vertically rather than horizontally. This allows for higher bit compaction than is available currently: approximately 75% more compact for increased storage.
4. Mass quantity solid state storage
We are currently coming to a headway in harddrive technology where we are exceeding the physical limits of the recording media. The next closest technology that could solve these problems is solid state storage. Working similarly to the memory module in your digital camera they store bits within an electrically charged core of silicon, also similar to a processor. The current issue is the sophistication of these devices requires an extremely high price right now, upwards of $100 per GB. The technology is effectively here but it is not in high enough capacities or low enough price to be truly effective. But it will be soon.
5. Blu-ray
The industry is facing another format war similar to what was seen between DVD + and -. The difference is there is a clear winner this time: Sony's Blu-ray. BD (Blu-ray disc acronym and common reference) has 8x the capacity per single layer than a single layer DVD and 1.7x more than it's competitor: HD-DVD. The reason for this is the tighter focusing tolerance of the blue laser and the ability to cram more info on the same diameter disc. It is also thinner, lighter and more scratch resistent: it has a protective coating over the disc's play side, similar technology to your plastic-lensed glasses. This means a more resilient disc with higher capacity. And it's backwards compatible with your current collection. Oh, yeah, it's going to be the new format for the PS3. Need I say more?
Dumb fucker for the past month...
This award goes to someone who can't speak. She can't even walk anymore. Nope, she's dead now. And she used to be a ninja. Now she's not. My pet rat decided to take a header of the top shelf of her new cage apparently. I got home for lunch and Baren told me she was dead. She was more than dead. Her legs and tail were blue. We just can't seem to keep the little fuckers alive.
Dumbass award number two goes to Baren's little shit who drowned herself last week. I wish some people would do that to themselves... Wishful thinking.
Closing thoughts...
Get bent. It took to long to write this post and longer to read it. Good night.
And yes I'm fully aware of this. There is no need to remind me. But damnit I deserve to slack a little bit. I'm a busy man! Anyway, since it's been over a month since I last updated I'm going to give you a real present: a full review on some flash animations. First up is one that, from the reaction I have received, needs some explanation.
Before I begin let me state that, for the record, I am not the artist for these animations. I do not know the artist nor am I aware of their opinions or motivations for the creation of their flash anims. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone and any correlation of my opinions to the authors are sheer coincidence and good artistic taste on both sides (viewer/creator). On the link provided for each animation is the author's report on the flash and I highly recommend viewing their statements. Also please watch each animation before you read my review. That said enjoy!
For what it's worth (I'm sorry)
Ok, so what I'm hearing from everyone is that this is a creepy animation. But how far from the truth are we here? We're talking about recycling humans for use as 'helpers'. Let's look at the title first: "For what it's worth (I'm sorry)". Which side of things is this statement coming from? There's no remorse from the 'person' who is making and selling this contraptions. Aside from the fact that they can't think there is no emotion from the automatons. No, the appology is coming from the 'users'.
That's what they are. They're users. They are using an appliance that is designed to make their life easier. What correlation do we have in our world? Computers, perhaps? I would say yes. We mindlessly use computers every day. We rely on them to help/force us to get up in the morning. We use them to give us the news of the morning as we are getting ready for school/work. We rely on them to get us to work in the morning when we start our communte. We rely on them to keep traffic flowing. To tell us how much we owe for breakfast. Keep track of hours at work... Print out reports and other things for work... We use them to learn... We use them for entertainment... To make our food... To track our resources... Manage our time... etc...
What if they all stopped working? The artist for this video, Matt Merrill, has shown us a different aspect of the computerised world that we live in. Rather than spending gobs of cash to make a computer or computerised man he takes a man, severs his free-thinking mind from his body and markets the 'robot' as a do-all machine to do our work for us. Then, when the robot malfunctions we get angry at it as though it will solve the problem or make them work harder. Only when one person realizes what's happening to things change for him. He realizes that having another do his work for him is accomplishing no good and he feels sorrow, remorse for his actions.
We've become a complacent society that gladly gives up working for itself and pushes the actual or perceived work off on others. We gladly force someone else to do our work so we can work on things that are more entertaining, more desirable, more fun. So we can be lazy.
On the horizon...
Within the next few years we are going to see a change, a shift in the computing and daily living world. There some devices and computing shifts that are going to affect our daily life in ways that most can't imagine. I'll highlight a few of these here.
1. HTPC (Home Theater PC)
Commonly known as Tivo, variations on this device are already prevalent on the market. Tivo uses a slimmed down version of Linux and a hard drive to record shows, replacing your VCR. It is able to record more than a typical tape and is much easier to maintain and program. You can even tell it what your favorite shows are and it will tape them automatically by downloading the times from a distributed database held by it's manufacturer.
You can build a similar device at home and completely replace your entire home theater system. For the same price you would pay for all of the components in the typical home theater/tv/gaming setup you can build a PC with the same functionality and better components. DVD player, Tivo-like functionality, good TV and a great 5.1 or better sound system. And it all fits in one box. Later I'll outline my ideal HTPC setup.
2. Quantum Computing
A new development coming down the pipe is the thought of quantum computing. This involves more than I can fully list here but I'll give you a rundown.
In computing currently you have what are called bits. A bit is a single-state object: either a 1 or a 0. Combinations of bits make up larger collections called bytes, then kilobytes, then megabytes, then gigabytes, etc... It's these collections of bits and bytes that make up things like documents and songs on storage devices within your computer.
The principle behind quantum computing is the qubit. A qubit is a quantum bit. Rather than existing in one state it is in a constant state of flux. The principle that allows it to hold information, in fact many times more information, is Quantum Bit Discovery. The theory holds that the bit does not have a definitive state until you examine it. Then and only then do you see what information it holds.
I wouldn't be able to say how viable the technology is. The reason is I can see both sides: It will work because the theory is sound and we have the ability and mindpower to make it happen. It won't work because we don't have anything that can exist in multiple states except for plasma (not blood plasma you phlebotomists) which is too unstable to work with currently.
3. Perpendicular recording
This technology, specifically for harddrives, reorganizes the magnetic structure of the recording layer by aligning the bits vertically rather than horizontally. This allows for higher bit compaction than is available currently: approximately 75% more compact for increased storage.
4. Mass quantity solid state storage
We are currently coming to a headway in harddrive technology where we are exceeding the physical limits of the recording media. The next closest technology that could solve these problems is solid state storage. Working similarly to the memory module in your digital camera they store bits within an electrically charged core of silicon, also similar to a processor. The current issue is the sophistication of these devices requires an extremely high price right now, upwards of $100 per GB. The technology is effectively here but it is not in high enough capacities or low enough price to be truly effective. But it will be soon.
5. Blu-ray
The industry is facing another format war similar to what was seen between DVD + and -. The difference is there is a clear winner this time: Sony's Blu-ray. BD (Blu-ray disc acronym and common reference) has 8x the capacity per single layer than a single layer DVD and 1.7x more than it's competitor: HD-DVD. The reason for this is the tighter focusing tolerance of the blue laser and the ability to cram more info on the same diameter disc. It is also thinner, lighter and more scratch resistent: it has a protective coating over the disc's play side, similar technology to your plastic-lensed glasses. This means a more resilient disc with higher capacity. And it's backwards compatible with your current collection. Oh, yeah, it's going to be the new format for the PS3. Need I say more?
Dumb fucker for the past month...
This award goes to someone who can't speak. She can't even walk anymore. Nope, she's dead now. And she used to be a ninja. Now she's not. My pet rat decided to take a header of the top shelf of her new cage apparently. I got home for lunch and Baren told me she was dead. She was more than dead. Her legs and tail were blue. We just can't seem to keep the little fuckers alive.
Dumbass award number two goes to Baren's little shit who drowned herself last week. I wish some people would do that to themselves... Wishful thinking.
Closing thoughts...
Get bent. It took to long to write this post and longer to read it. Good night.
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