AtomicBaboon!?!

Mr. Reznor has a new album "Year Zero" coming out 4/17/2007, just under two years since his last major release "With Teeth." He has some strange viral marketing campaign going on for this one. From what I can tell he has put together some sort of story about the near future. The US has bombed Tehran, invaded several other middle-eastern countries, and officially waged a holy war on Islam. There are sightings of God or what is described as God, and other weirdness.

So far there are two of the new songs available for your listening pleasure on the NIN MySpace page. "Survivalism" and "My Violent Heart" The songs remind me of some of the older NIN. Not quite as poppish as the last album.

Year Zero.

"What should the number for this tough decision be?"

"Should I wear a black T-shirt with a gray one under it, or a gray T-shirt with a black one under it?"

"Should I get up at 9 or Noon today?"

"Which song should I play in Guitar Hero II next?"

"What am I going to eat for lunch/dinner?"

That's it most days. Sometimes its "What music am I going to listen to while I work" or "Which of the things TiVo recorded am I going to watch this evening?"

It's a rough life. Lot's of tough decisions. But I bite the bullet and I do it!

I am going to add a "Tough Decisions" category to keep track of the various, life changing decisions I make everyday.

"How would you feel if you lived on an island populated, apart from yourself, exclusively by retarded, malicious chimpanzees? Well, that's how I feel. Don't laugh, because you're one of those retarded, malicious chimpanzees."
-Arthur Jones

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world was here first."
-Mark Twain

For future reference in your daily dealings with people and life in The United States of America: You DO NOT have the right to not be offended. Keep that in mind at all times. Thank you.

I bought a Classic Video Table Tennis Kit from Think Geek and attempted to solder it together this weekend. It was hard... and it doesn't work. I under estimated how difficult soldering it together would be. I spent at least 3 hours, and the power LED lights up, and the reset button appears to work as far as I can tell, but I don't get any video or audio. I think I got the PCB too hot in a couple places because the traces pulled up off the board a bit.

I was also using a Cold Heat Soldering Tool. It can be a little difficult to get it positioned so that it would heat up. So, I would be messing around trying to get it positioned and then end up with the board in a cumbersome spot for getting the solder on it. A little frustrating but towards the end I was getting it figured out. I burned up a bunch of batteries doing it though. I think for lengthy projects I should use a real soldering iron.

There are a few places where the solder globbed up rather than spreading out evenly and this isn't good either. I am going to have to go pick up some solder wick and try to re-do those spots.

Although it wasn't a complete success it was pretty fun. I want to get better at it so I can put together some projects I have had bouncing around in me head for a while. I gotta keep trying.

This is one of the coolest keyboards I have ever seen. Steampunk Keyboard Mod. You might need to hit refresh a couple times because the site appears to be getting hammered right now. It probably got dugg. It is an awesome looking keyboard though.

There are a couple fun games over at PuppyGames.Net. One is Titan Attacks and another is Ultratron. They aren't free, but you can get a free demo. I paid for a full version of Ultratron and my friend Ed bought Titan Attacks. Titan Attacks is like Space Invaders on steroids. I can't quite put my finger on what Ultratron is like. It reminds me a little of a game I used to play on my Apple IIe, but I can't remember the name of it. They are both fun though.

Another fun game is Galcon. It is a fast-paced, multi-player, strategy game. They have net rankings which lists high scores. It is also available for download and to buy. To get a ranking on the net you need to register. Ed is much better at it than I am.

Finally, attempting to adhere to web standards appears to have somewhat paid off... sort of. My friend Matt has a Nintendo Wii and he downloaded the beta version of the web browser for it, which happens to be a special version of Opera. When I was over there the other night I took a look at my site here and everything looked like it should! So, Atomic Baboon is currently "Wii Friendly" and I didn't even try. How cool is that?

Some interesting lyrics from Muse:

Throw it all away
lets lose ourselves
because there's no one left for us to blame
it's a shame we're all dying
and do you think you deserve your freedom?
how could you send us so far away from home
when you know damn well that this is wrong
I will still lay down my life for you
and do you think you deserve your freedom?
no I don't think you do
there's no justice in the world
there's no justice in the world... and there never was

I don't know the story behind those lyrics or the song. I think I understand where the speaker is coming from though... I can't say I know, but I understand.

This is exciting stuff: Start-up demos quantum computer. I wonder what sort of language they right their programs in.

I ran across this article which includes information about a new Master of Arts program at Michigan State University in Serious Game Design. Today's Homework: Make Good Games. Veerrry interesting.

Intel demonstrated a prototype 80 core processor yesterday. They speculate that processors like these will be used in servers, desktops, and laptops in 5 years. They have a new manufacturing technique that allows them to make all the transistors even smaller than they are now. This will help further increase the computing power they can cram on a single chip while reducing power consumption at the same time. Today we have Dual Core... tomorrow 80 Core.

Intel Prototype May Herald a New Age of Processing

Why do people want to pass legislation to ban this or that when someone gets themself killed while using it? New York Senator Carl Kruger wants to make it illegal to use a portable electronic device while using a crosswalk in New York. He wants to do this because people are apparently falling victim to "iPod Oblivion." He claims that people have been injured or even killed because rather than paying attention to where they were walking they were zoned out listening to or otherwise using their portable electronic devices.

So, people did something stupid and got themselves injured or killed. Happens all the time. Why do they need a law to punish everyone because a few people are stupid and irresponsible? This idea that the government needs to pass this law or that law to protect us from stupidity is absurd and encroaches upon our personal liberties. Laws like these are systematically robbing us of our personal freedom simply because a few people lack the personal responsibility and common sense necessary to ensure their continued existence.

It is certainly tragic that people have inadvertently been injured or killed because they weren't paying attention. However, it is not a reason to make the rest of us suffer for it.

NY Senator Wants iPods Out of Crosswalks
Curbing "iPod Oblivion" On City Streets?

Okay... I added a bunch of links to more Springfield bloggers. Mostly the ones I remember meeting... crap... I just remembered some more. Springfield has waaaay too many bloggers now. Anyway, if you don't see your blog down at the bottom in the "Local Links" list, leave a comment and let me know. Those aren't in any kind of order. If you don't see your blog there it probably doesn't mean I hate you. Anyway, if you care whether or not I have a link to you here let me know and what your blog is and all that and I will add it.

I just found this comment in some code I wrote 3 years ago:

Beginning in <SomeVersionOfMyCode> this class will slowly be replaced by <SomeJavaClassIWrote> and its elite superiority and awesome goodness with peanuts, caramel, and chocolate.

I disguised the version number and name of the class just in case. Funny comment though. Elite superiority is pretty over the top... a little egotistical. It would have been better if that Java class I wrote had peanuts, caramel, and chocolate methods.

A friend of mine sent me this link this morning.

"Linux Genuine Advantage™ is an exciting and mandatory new way for you to place your computer under the remote control of an untrusted third party!"

Hilarious.

Linux Genuine Advantage™

"Congratulations Fry! You've snagged a perfect girlfriend! Amy's rich, she's probably got other characteristics..."
-Bender

Well, I've listened to most of the music suggested by Phasedar, Lord of Funkitania in his Amazon Listmania... err... list... entitled "These will give your life meaning, you filthy animal." I don't exactly have the same taste in music as Lord Phasedar, but I found some of it to be pretty decent.

I already enjoy Beck's "Guero," Radiohead's "OK Computer," Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," and of course The Beatles "The White Album" a great deal, so those were gimme's. Of those I hadn't heard before, I really like Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' "Shake the Sheets." It is a good, poppy sounding album. Not always my cup o' tea, but catchy and I have listened to it several times so far. I am trying to think of a better way to describe it, but it is Monday... anyway.

"Castaways and Cutouts" by The Decemberists is a decent album. Again, not the kind of music I usually dig, but good. It has a bit of a country or folk feel at times, with some whiny slide guitar and accordion in it, and the vocals are whiny. It's a slow album that would probably be good to chill too on a warm afternoon while you nap. I mean that in a good way. However, the album is a little flat sounding... the same droning, forlorn sound throughout the album. It's not a bad album, but I don't think it gave my life meaning like Phasedar said it would...

Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous" isn't bad. It's a little poppy for my taste but there some decent songs with clever lyrics. "Talkie Walkie" by Air isn't my favorite album of theirs. I enjoy their album "Premiers Symptomes" a great deal more, but it is also a great deal different. I don't care for the vocals of "Talkie Walkie", but I don't hate them either. The music is great though.

I am not a huge fan of rap, but there are a few rappers whose styles are undeniably unique, and among them for me is MF Doom. He has a unique voice and style. The mixing/production is done by Madlib who uses a great mixture of old jazz, what sounds like clips from old radio programs, and other odd samples. "Madvillainy" by Madvillain is something worth experiencing if you are a fan of rap at all.

I listened to Bright Eyes, The Fiery Furnaces, and The Shins as well and none of them struck me as all that impressive. They weren't bad, but nothing that made me want more.

Anyway, that's a quick summary of what I thought. I am not great at writing reviews. My descriptions are a bit generic I suppose. I will try to put more thought into my future reviews and see if I can improve a bit. That said, if you want to hear any of these before you decide whether you want to grab them for yourself, drop me a line.

This is hiliarious. This is something someone said in IRC (Internet Relay Chat). There is a site called bash.org where people copy conversations and things people say in IRC that are funny, clever, and sometimes extremely offensive, twisted, or disgusting. Sometimes you run across a gem like this one:

<comwalk> Remember, here in the U.S.A, we have reached a new age.
<comwalk> NOBODY is responsible for their own actions.
<comwalk> Remember that.
<comwalk> Holy sh*t! I killed somebody! Bob made me do it!
<comwalk> Bob: Joe made me do it!
<comwalk> Joe: I blame the media!
<comwalk> Media: Videogames.
<comwalk> Videogames: Personal responsibility?
<comwalk> Personal Responsibility: <AFK>

By the way, AFK means "Away From Keyboard."