Jonathan Murray » Technology

Do no evil?

Jonathan — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:33:15 +0000

Seriously, when your own security system tells on you, you’re doing evil. Nice work, Google.

“Of the 383 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 11 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2010-06-26, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2010-06-20.

Malicious software includes 61 scripting exploit(s), 1 worm(s), 1 trojan(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 6 new process(es) on the target machine.

Malicious software is hosted on 8 domain(s), including 206.217.194.0/, 206.217.206.0/, 64.27.21.0/.

17 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including yieldmanager.com/, mojoadserver.net/, branchr.com/.”

Ever wonder how the machines are supposed to turn us into batteries?

Jonathan — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:58:31 +0000

As expected, we’ll do it for them…

Power from Glucose

Scientists have implanted the first functional glucose biofuel cell in a living animal. Unlike batteries that supply power to implants, a power-generating device may not have to be surgically removed and replaced, because glucose is a potentially limitless source of energy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A tool to split an MP3 into pieces

Jonathan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:53:48 +0000

I use Juice to download a couple of radio talk shows in MP3 format. Every night before bed I copy Fred Thompson, Mark Levin, and Power Line (when they do a show) to a flash drive to listen to on the way to and at work. Yeah, if I was one of the cool kids, I’d have a fancy smart phone with MP3 player built in. (Someday I’ll break down and spend hundreds on a damned PHONE, but not today.)

Awhile back, my workplace banned the use of flash drives on our computers, so I had to find another solution. Combined with a cheap USB->FM transmitter for the car, I can still carry my shows to work and listen to them.

There was only one problem that I was having trouble with. Neither device has any sort of controls to allow me to navigate within an MP3. If I listened to part of a show in the car, when I got to work, I had to listen to it all again at my desk in order to get to the point where I left off. If I missed something, or wanted to something again, I couldn’t get there without starting from the beginning. Far from ideal.

Aside from replacing these devices with “smarter” players, I determined that best solution to my problem was to split the files into chunks. I started with Audacity, which worked well, but was completely manual. Later, I found AudioBookCutter, which seemed nearly perfect, except for a few minor annoyances. Today I happened across the Slice Audio File Splitter, and at last, my search has ended. Not only is this program given away for free, it remembers settings between sessions, allows custom output file names, and doesn’t nag the user to upgrade. There are a few simple tweaks I’d make (I sent them in as suggestions), but overall this program is the cat’s meow. If you need to split audio files into manageable chunks, Slice Audio File Splitter is the program you need.

[note: None of the links above were solicited; I get no reimbursement from any of them. I would generate an Amazon link from my Associate account, but it's never made me a penny, why would I want to break a trend? I wrote this article to share the knowledge of a fantastic find (IMO)]

Impressed

Jonathan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:23:58 +0000

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s hit “reply” to a newsletter, just knowing that my words would fall on deaf ears, but needing to get a gripe off my chest. Generally, whatever brings me to that point also leads me to cancel my subscription to that newsletter.

Case in point: I’ve subscribed to Chaplain Klingenschmitt’s newsletter ever since he was drummed out of the Navy for refusing to use non-sectarian prayers in his services. I applaud the Chaplain’s willingness to put his faith before his career, and enjoyed following his story. (Note: as I’ve stated here and in everywhere I’m asked, I’m an agnostic, but a strong believer in the rights of anyone to practice their beliefs freely, so long as they don’t try to prevent me from living my life as I chose.)

Lately I’ve found the Chaplain’s newsletter to be a bit abrasive. Not so much the content, but more the the formatting, layout, and color choices; together with style often approaching the level of “rant”, not a great pleasure to read. See for yourself, but don’t blame me if you get a headache.

The newsletter last week was the final straw for me. I read it, was curious about the claims made in regards to the subject, and decided to click through to his website to find out more. Sadly, the passages announced to be behind the links were not there to read. Frustrated and realizing the results were not worth the effort, I fired off an email explaining my frustration and decision to drop the newsletter. I added a few thoughts on the topic that led me to start looking through the website – polite but definitely critical – and promptly unsubscribed.

I hadn’t thought twice about it until this evening.

Then I received this response from the Chaplain:

Got it sir, Semper Fi…..
In Jesus, Chaps

Enough to tell me he actually read the message. Completely unexpected and even a brief, polite response to my open criticism. I’m not going to re-subscribe to the newsletter, but that alone is enough for me to think I’ll go back and check up on the Chaps now and again. Chaplain Klingenschmitt, you have my sincere wishes for fair winds and following seas. Best of luck in your endeavors.

Life imitates Cartoons

Jonathan — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:00:12 +0000

It’s like the opener for a nice piece of slapstick: a 15 year old fucking moron walks into an open manhole…

It was an accident waiting to happen — an open sewer and a 15-year-old girl who was texting while she walked.

Alexa Longueira, a high school sophomore, was walking along Victory Boulevard near Travis Avenue on Staten Island Wednesday evening when she felt the earth move and was plunged into smelly darkness.

Shit for brains ends up literally in the shit. Perfect!

“It was just really gross and it was shocking and scary,” she said. “Because of their careless mistake I got hurt.”

Longueira has deep cuts and bruises and said she now has nightmares about falling, But she also did admit she was texting at the time.

“Regardless of whether I’m texting or not if there was a cone there I’m going to see a big orange cone,” she said. “I walk that sidewalk every day, I don’t expect a big hole there.”

Of course it was “their careless mistake”. Personal responsibility need not apply.

Of course they’re planning to sue.

There ought to be laws against aggressive stupidity.

Shopping for a new laptop?

Jonathan — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:00:07 +0000

Okay, so while I’ve been tempted by the rash of “Netbooks” on the market, I soon realized that there were a number of decent laptops on the market for not that much more. I’m open to suggestions, but I’m doing my own research and reading to find not only the best bang for my buck, but the best deal on the one I finally decide on. I love the fact that Dell has a factory outlet store that sells “scratch-n-dent”/refurb/off-lease! I know HP has a similar store, and I’ll be finding the same from the other major players before I stop looking. Interesting to note that (most) all the big boys get their laptops from a fewunrecognizable manufacturers… Makes it a lot less important to decide based on a name.

Anyway, while shopping around today, I came across this – I’m afraid some of the features might be out of my price range, but hey, I can dream!

Click here to view the embedded video.

WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane”

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:09:31 +0000

A very nice update – not much changed from the visitor’s standpoint (basically, nothing!), but the admin bits are very nice.

This little “Quickpress” editor could have a few more features, but it’s quite a handy way to drop in a short note.

WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane”

Amazing Chinese Prognostication

Jonathan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:22:20 +0000

These guys are amazing!

China space mission article hits Web before launch – Yahoo! News

BEIJING – A news story describing a successful launch of China’s long-awaited space mission and including detailed dialogue between astronauts launched on the Internet Thursday, hours before the rocket had even left the ground.

…

The arcticle, dated two days from now on Sept. 27, vividly described the rocket in flight, complete with a sharply detailed dialogue between the three astronauts.

Excerpts are below:

“After this order, signal lights all were switched on, various data show up on rows of screens, hundreds of technicians staring at the screens, without missing any slightest changes …

‘One minute to go!’

‘Changjiang No.1 found the target!’…

“The firm voice of the controller broke the silence of the whole ship. Now, the target is captured 12 seconds ahead of the predicted time …

Wow… they even predicted being 12 seconds ahead of their previous predictions! Now THAT’S incredible. I wonder if they’re filming on the same soundstage we used to simulate the lunar landings!?

“Never discuss religion or politics in polite company”

Jonathan — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:14:10 +0000

But since I know you all so well, and I don’t remember any of you accusing me of being polite… I present more random thoughts on religion.

(this article was written in my religion wiki, some formatting may not carry through – feel free to read the original, currently at the bottom of the “general” page if this turns out looking like some obscure variation of cuneiform.)

These ideas came to me today while having a discussion¹ on religion in general with a devout, (recent?) convert to Christianity. I struggled to hold them in my head until I could get them into words – too often I have amazingly lucid thoughts that never make it into any sort of permanent form; I need to get better at this.

The wave

In trying to determine an analogy for “god/God”, I came upon the idea that “god” is a wave², perhaps a harmonic, that we can feel. This wave pushes us through life on the path of “right”, and following that path, not fighting the wave, feels good/right. This idea was countered by the axiom that god gave us a conscience, which helps us to know right from wrong. This does not contradict my idea, just offers another demonstration of how humans have given a name to a concept.

My thought here is that the concept of god is another attempt to give a name to what we don’t understand; in this case, the wave.

I recognize the human need to quantify everything we encounter – thus, as I’ve stated before, the need for god to exist. Not God, in fact, but the concept of god as a name given to that tidal force of life that we all feel in various ways. Of course, this force can be misinterpreted just as easily as it can be accepted as a guiding force. The same human nature that drives some to seek comfort in staying on the path can drive others to fight it – thus not all visions of “god” are the same, and not all interpretations of the way to follow the path are the same.

The basic premise of the wave, that life must continue, thrive, and expand, is what brings people together to form communities, help each other, and ensure the continuance of their own. Unfortunately, these ideas, these driving forces, can also be used as justification to kill. When the driving force says “live, grow, expand”, the individual can come to believe that means them or their group alone. This is how religions grow to wage war on each other.

We fail as a species when we fail to understand we’re all hearing the same music; all feeling the same wave. The answer is not the abolition of religion, the answer is for all religions to understand they’re searching for the same thing.

To build on the ‘wave’ concept, and to offer religion a hand up, I could easily believe in the ability of some humans to be “sensitive” to the wave. These could be (some) modern day religious figures who do good work in the name of their faith, and they could be those who have gone before, framing the ideas that became modern day religions. Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, maybe even Lafayette Ronald Hubbard – all have vast followings who may feel the wave the same way (or at least, a similar way) as these men did. When you find someone who can describe that ever-present force of life the way you feel it, an explanation for the unexplainable that just seems to “makes sense”, perhaps that’s the driving force that creates what we know as religion. Maybe it’s enough to discover that others are hearing music, too; the actual notes don’t matter.

I think that may also be exactly the problem.

The catchy part about the concept of the wave is that, like faith itself, it cannot be quantified. Attempts to do so require compromise in order to put it into words. Parables are useful, as they show examples without trying to give a precise picture (which would well explain why the Bible is largely made up of parables). When individuals attempt to codify their vision of the wave, the meaning is compromised. When individuals determine that others should see/feel/experience the wave as they do, religion is created and sometimes, miscreated.

In the aforementioned conversation, I stated “you can’t put handles on the wave”; meaning that once you try to stop the wave to get a firm picture, you’re no longer riding the wave, and your perspective is skewed. Religion attempts to attach handles. The concepts may be right, but they’re always at least a little off, since you can’t fully describe a thing that never stops with words that have finite meaning.

¹The conversation started well, and didn’t end badly, but as usual when I get on a thought-roll, I did tend to hold the floor more than my share (sorry, Scott). I always find it disappointing when one of these conversations rolls against the “faith” line of reasoning, though. If the only proof of your faith is the book that describes your faith, why not take a mental leap into the possibility that there is a larger picture? I’m not saying religion (in general) is wrong, just that it may be merely a human attempt at quantifying the unquantifiable. To say humankind has all the answers, and they’re right here in this here book… is pretty damned arrogant. ‘Nuff said.

²after saying it over and over in my head, “wave” may be the wrong word here – “tide” might be more appropriate. I first used “the force”, but of course that made the whole concept go awry in a Star Wars themed way. If I rewrite this article into something more permanent, I’ll have to decide on a term that better demonstrates the intent. Of course, the fact that I am having a hard time giving it a name helps to illustrate my point… so perhaps I won’t change it after all.

Customer Service: The Good and the Bad

Jonathan — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:52:54 +0000

I am pleased enough with this transaction, I want to share. Here’s the comment I just posted to ResellerRatings:

Wrong item was shipped (I believe the problem is the manufacturer part number mix-up, not NewEgg’s error), called for RMA. Explained similar problem I have still not resolved with another company, CSR was *very* sympathetic and helpful. RMA issued, credit issued, replacement ordered, discount applied “for my inconvenience”, and return label provided to send the items back. I honestly can not think of a more satisfactory resolution to a problem like this. Bonus points for CSRs Nelda and Lory, who literally did everything right to ensure I will remain a loyal NewEgg customer. Thank you very much.

Note: I don’t get anything from NewEgg for my endorsement, I just believe they deserve a hearty pat on the back.

Thank you, NewEgg. You’ve made up for this error in grand fashion – and made it obvious to me that a few bucks’ savings is no reason to deal with a company like the one I’ll describe below.

Below:
Now, why I ordered these enclosures from NewEgg – after I had just ordered the exact same items from another company… that brings me to story mode:

Last fall I ordered three external hard-drive enclosures from a certain computer surplus discounter. These particular enclosures are a common variety sold by several companies, with iMicro commonly being the cheapest. What I received was the same brand, marked with the same part number – but definitely *not* the same enclosure. When I inquired about an RMA, I was provided a lengthy row of hoops to jump through in order to get one. I finally did obtain an RMA, although I am sure the non-English speaking customer disservice representatives still had no idea why I was dissatisfied. In my complaint, I thoroughly described the error, and suggested a replacement from a different manufacturer if the original wasn’t available (as I said above, several companies market the same enclosure). I mailed back the received enclosures at my expense, and waited to receive something in return.

A month later, after checking the tracking information to ensure my return shipment had been received, I emailed them to ask about my replacement. I received no response.

I called them, got a recording, left a message; I received no response.

Over the next few weeks, I sent several emails, ranging from inquiry to demand.

Finally, I registered a complaint with their local Better Business Bureau; they ignored the BBB as well.

I continue to receive the company’s emails offering their “deals of the week”, although I now filter them off into spam automatically. I am also working with my bank to take my money back from the sorry bastards. I’m very tempted to take them to small claims court here in NC (they’re in CA). I imagine I could justify taking a bit more from them if I bothered to go to that extent.

I wasn’t going to name the bad company… but screw ‘em. Surplus Computers (mash it together and add .com) are the bastards described here. They’ll never see another dime from me, and hopefully not from you, either. They’ve listed some decent prices, but Customer Service Reps can literally make or break a company; theirs ruined it for me.

Note: Everything stated here is true. If a representative of Surplus Computers wants to contact me to try to dispute (or resolve) this, they are welcome. They could still correct the mistreatment I have suffered, but that will neither change what I have written nor bring me back as a customer. I would, however, note any such gesture here with this complaint – and notify the BBB that they’d made amends.