http://www.slugsite.com Random musings on history, politics and more Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:08:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A couple of geeky food-related things I've come across recently, that you might find interesting: First, a fairly spiffy recipe for hayashi raisu, a Japanese beef stew that's served with rice. I don't cook much Japanese food, because finding the ingredients can be a challenge, and I'm annoyed by the ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1302 Way back in the day when 9600-baud modems roamed the earth, I used to hang out on local BBSes a lot. I met a lot of very interesting people that way, including the first two people I ever dated. I know, I know; meeting people online? Well, ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1301 I have a deep and shameful secret: Back in the day, I used to play RPGs. I was never obsessive about it, but, yes, I did enjoy them. "Back in the day", I might add, was the misty days of yore when there was still "Dungeons and Dragons" and "Advanced ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1300 As it'd be a bit hard to miss, if you've read the paper today or watched or listened to the news, a gentleman was killed last night after pulling a gun on two security officers at The Pentagon. The shooter, John Patrick Bedell, was a white American male. Don't get ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1299 I know it's not a subject that's of terribly high interest to everyone, but I figured I'd do a couple of paragraphs on properly fitting and fit-testing a respirator. This is not meant for people who are required to use one at work, but aimed at urban explorers, in ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1298 I enjoy reading old newspapers, in large part because they provide a very visible demonstration of why newspapers today are dying. They also have their moments of unintentional humor, and the strange values dissonance that exists can sometimes provide some amusement, as well. In today's Saint Paul Pioneer Press, page ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1297 In the wake of the Cryptome brouhaha with Microsoft over the publication of the latter's "Online Global Criminal Compliance Guide", all sorts of people have been complaining about Microsoft's heavy-handed DMCA tactics, and how you'd really think they would know better than to try and bluff Cryptome, of all places. Unfortunately, ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1296 Apologies for not posting anything yesterday... and nothing of substance today. I'm a bit... distracted. I had to take my oldest cat to the vet yesterday, and, um... have a look for yourself: There is a mid to left mid abdominal mass measuring 4.5cm deep X 7.5cm long X 6.5cm ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1295 As you (probably) know, the Department of Justice released on Friday the "final report" for the "Amerithrax" investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks. Much of the report details evidence against the late Dr. Bruce Ivins, who the FBI alleges was the sole perpetrator of the attacks. I say "alleges", of ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1294 James Cary, the writer of innumerable BBC radio productions - including the smashing good Hut 33, about assorted goings-on at Bletchley Park in 1941 - wrote an interesting piece the other day about the "curiously British" tendency to quit an endeavour (in this case, sitcoms) at your, or its, peak, ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1286 Some time ago, I wrote about the nightly problems we've been having with our DSL service at home, which is, sadly, powered by Qwest. Every evening, speeds drop to... slower than dial-up, usually... and latency becomes a huge issue... and then things return to normal around 11pm or midnight, ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1293 Random things of - hopefully - interest from around the globe: How bad are the roads in the Twin Cities? Bad enough that the local newspaper is publishing haikus about potholes. Presumably, not fixing the roads is part of the "stimulus package" for auto alignment and wheel-repair businesses... I shoveled ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1292 One thing that has often amused me about the guidance offered to novice or would-be employees in the intelligence field - be it national security intelligence, law enforcement intelligence, or business or competitive intelligence - is that there are any number of books, websites, classes, and other resources that tell ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1291 Went to a hockey game last night with some coworkers. Oooh, the Coyotes are in town, they suck, let's go see the Wild win. I hadn't been to a Wild game before; I probably won't go again. Scalped tickets in the last row of the upper deck: $25 Uncomfortable seats ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1290 Over the last year or so, some merchants - on eBay and elsewhere - have been selling some very compact - and very heavily hyped - headphone amplifiers designed around the 6DJ8 vacuum tube. Despite their low costs - usually around $50 USD - they're touted as being high-quality ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1289 While one of the unabashed joys of the ABC comedy Better Off Ted is the interplay between the reasonably normal underlings and their not-quite-human boss, Veronica (played by Portia de Rossi), let's face it, everybody loves a science nerd, right? Or, as is usually the case, two science nerds, ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1288 I saw you in Life magazine back in Fifty Two Lying awake intent at learning all 'bout you. If I was young it didn't stop you coming through. Oh-a oh They took the credit for your proud efficiency. Worked over by machine and new technology, and now I understand the problems you can see. Oh-a oh I met ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1287 BatchPCB offer an innovative service to electrical hobbyists - the ability to have single circuit boards - or small quantities - professionally manufactured at a relatively reasonable cost. They've been around for a while, they're relatively easy to use, and they've become something of a de-facto standard recommendation in ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1285 I'm home sick, after somewhat foolishly eating something I shouldn't have last night. As I have a blinding headache that no reasonable quantity of painkillers seems to have an effect on, this will be relatively brief: A government commissioner in the UK bemoans England's hostility to young people. Notably ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1284 It gets cold in Minnesota, in the winter. This is not an anomaly, or a carefully guarded secret of some sort. Minnesota + winter = cold. That's just the way it is, and most people are aware of this, especially if they have the misfortune of living ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1283 Random thingies of little import: For a couple of weeks now, we've been having horrible problems with our home DSL connection, which is Powered By Qwest(TM). (Well, there's your problem!, I hear you all shout. I know, I know.) From about 1600-2330 local time, we're frequently unable to get ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1282 Bruce Schneier yesterday posted about the dots that weren't connected in the Christmas underwear-bomber plot. After something like this happens, it's very, very easy to point figures and assign blame, and say "the system failed". That may even be true in this case; I don't know, and neither ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1280 Over the weekend broke the superficially comical news that Pakistani terrorists are planning attacks in India with the aid of paragliders. There are several things about this which I think beg questions from the analytically-minded... U. K. Bansal, an Indian Home Ministry official, told reporters that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba faction ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1279 In 2007 - yes, 2007 - I came across a reference to a paper written by Chris Rasmussen - who some readers might recognize as a NGIA employee and one of the more vocal and visible proponents of Intellipedia. The paper was entitled Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants in ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1278 Not too long ago, the BBC produced three radio programmes looking back at the history and influence of Monty Python, the popular comedy troupe from way back when. They've been made available on a certain file-sharing website, but because I'm a nice person like that, I've made them available ... http://www.slugsite.com/archives/1277