AtomicBaboon!?!

So, I went to the DMV and had them put the official 'M' on my license to show that I have a motorcycle endorsement. The addition of that letter cost me $20.

The weird thing about that is, when I obtained my motorcycle permit the DMV printed a new license just like they did today. The permit has 'PERMIT' printed in all caps behind the normal license info, and that is only 3 or 4 bucks. I'm not sure why a normal looking license with just the 'M' added is $20.

Anyway, I spent this weekend taking the Rider's Edge New Rider Course which was an extremely valuable learning experience and well worth the $275 fee. I learned that riding a motorcycle properly (i.e. so you don't kill yourself) is not as simple as many people probably think, and that physics is your friend if you let it be. It is an activity that I think demands more respect and caution than most people give it.

The instructors were awesome. Between the two of them they had 60 to 70 years of riding experience. They gave constructive criticism, and shared their years of wisdom about what to look out for on the road, the correct way to react to a situation, and the likely consequences of reacting improperly. I have a great deal of respect for them. I am not big on having the government control when we can or cannot do something we want to, but I think it should be required by the state that people take this course before they get their motorcycle license.

So, I have the basic training, and I have the license. This coming weekend I go pick up the bike. I'm nervous.

PS. If any of you decide to sign up for the Rider's Edge New Rider Course let me know. If I get someone to sign up I get a $50 gift certificate for Cycle Connection.

Via Threat Level I ran across a blog by a guy named Dancho Danchev called Mind Streams of Information Security Knowledge. He is an information security expert and managing director of Astalavista Group's Astalavista.com. You can read more about him here: Dancho Danchev's Section.

I mention it because he describes his research into the methods used by criminals and terrorist organizations to gather and distribute information, malware, etc. Threat Level mentioned him in a recent entry describing how Islamic Extremists are using Tor to anonymously distribute their material to and communicate with each other.

He also has information describing how malware and phishing attacks are performed exploiting unpatched client-side vulnerabilities. It's very valuable information. Know your enemy.

I like this new blog: The Voice Of Truth. It's truthy.

It's Ordered.

Iranian police captured 14 secret squirrel spies along the Iranian border. They were supposedly equipped with spy equipment from foreign intelligence agencies. According to Sky News, a foreign official told them "The story is nuts."

First its man eating badgers, now its nut-lovin' rodent-spies.

I'll see you in the year 2500 when I'm rich and powerful and finally have my flying car and people travel in tubes! Future Horizons Inc: Time Travel.

There are some good lines and quotes in this BBC article:British blamed for Basra badgers

"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."

"British forces have denied rumours that they released a plague of ferocious badgers into the Iraqi city of Basra."

"One housewife, Suad Hassan, 30, claimed she had been attacked by one of the badgers as she slept. 'My husband hurried to shoot it but it was as swift as a deer,' she said. 'It is the size of a dog but his head is like a monkey,'"

Amazon.com and TiVo teamed up to make Amazon's Unbox service available on the TiVo. So, I can bring up the menu on my TiVo and browse movies for rent or purchase and have them downloaded directly to my TiVo. I grabbed "Smoking Aces" and "The good Sheppard" last night.

The first movie downloaded was Smoking Aces which is just under 2 hours long. It took longer than that to download it. It started downloading around 6:54 PM and didn't finish until sometime after 10:00 PM. They aren't DVD quality videos so I did notice some compression artifacts, but they weren't bad. They are better than the picture I get from cable.

I also have a 16:9 television, and have my settings in TiVo adjusted to account for that. However, since the resolution of the movie was lower than that of my screen it was stretched out when I played it. It didn't look bad except that it only stretched horizontally. This struck me as odd since the movie was wide screen. So, I ended up having to use the zoom feature on my television to stretch it vertically. After that it looked great. The sound was good and the picture wasn't bad. That said, I would rather watch it on DVD. I bought a fancy TV and Stereo because I like a good picture and sound.

The rentals cost me $3.99 for each movie. This is comparable to a normal video rental price-wise, but what you get in return leaves a bit to be desired. As I stated before, it isn't DVD quality and I had to fiddle with some settings to get it to display correctly. Another issue is that once you press play you can only keep it and watch it for 24 hours before it is automatically deleted. So, to get the "convenience" of being able to download movies directly to my TiVo without leaving the house I have to sacrifice picture and sound quality, the ability to watch it more than once in a week, and I had to manually adjust things. Add to that the fact that it took at least 3 hours to download the movie I am not sure it is worth it. I could have driven to the video store and picked up the movies on DVD and been back watching them in 20 minutes.

It is a neat idea but they need to work on it. Dropping the price would be a good start. I could see paying maybe $1.50 or $2.00 at the most, but $3.99 is pushing it. I should also be able to watch it for 3 to 5 days like I can when I rent a regular movie. I would even be interested in a Netflix like system where I download say 3 videos at a time for a flat monthly rate, and when I am done with a movie I can delete it and the next movie in my queue will download automatically.

The limitations are due to the same stupidity we hear about from the MPAA all the time. People in charge of the industry that are trying to fight where technology is sending us instead of embracing it. Until they figure that out cool ideas like this will be limited by their short-sightedness.

I figured I would be able to escape the clutches of the Vicious Meme. However, having had his brain infected by its viral control, Secret Drinker led the meme to my secret bunker 40 stories below sea level. I battled with the meme for days, trying to escape its evil clutches but in the end it won. So, here I am, divulging eight of my deepest, darkest secrets to you... my many two's (maybe three's) of readers so that the meme may live to claim more victims.

1. I too have seen one of the unmarked, black, silent helicopters oft spoke of by conspiracy theorists. I saw it fly low over the (S)MSU campus toward downtown. No one believes me either. You are not alone Secret Drinker!
2. I was captured by the police and "taken downtown" when I was in 8th grade. My crime: curfew violation! *gasp*
3. I made it to the rank of Life Scout, just one below Eagle, before quitting Boy Scouts.
4. I had some art work sold at auction when I was in 6th grade.
5. I used to play trumpet in the high school jazz band.
6. Movies about honor and patriotism bring a tear to my eye.
7. The sight of The Rockies gives me chills.
8. I've never been outside the lower 48 of the United States.

There you have it. Eight things about me. Let's see, who will battle the meme next... Zach is Here, Ed, and Jipsta.