Archive for the 'Update(d)' Category

The Holiday wish list

Published by
FFEJWORLD
December 20, 2008 in Update(d) and Wish list. 0 Comments

[UPDATED: fixed links, added more stuffage, firmed up the style a bit, mixed personal pronouns]

Want to support this site by laying gifts on it’s writer? Want to know what to get the geek in your life? Late as always, we present the FFEJWORLD holiday wish list.

In a break from our usual more practical bent we present actual gifty typ items. Buckaroo Banzai memorabilia. The Guardian call it one of the 1000 most important movies of all time. I call it one of the best things that happened in 1984. Just Don’t Call It A Cult Film, damnit. Used copies of the tie in paperback still go for big bucks, I wish I still had mine. Yes, I had several of the much coveted original run shirts and patches, which took me years to hunt down. The Team Banzai and Banzai Institute shirts, pins and patches are my favorites, followed by the Yoyodyne ones. prices 8-20 bucks, contact me for sizes. More BB info here.

Next up The Bianchi/Gregory UM22r backpack. Scroll down the page past the 2 small packs till you get to the UM22r. Possibly the best large backpack ever made in America. By all the tests I’ve read it was the most ergonomic and best balancing of the COTS (consumer off the shelf) packs that were tested for the Marines ILBE (improved load bearing equipment). It seemed it flunked the trials because of it’s inability to easily carry a mortar tube or round. Which wouldn’t effect my usage, it’s almost perfect (I really prefer a panel loading Kifaru Navigator, but who has that kind of money?). And you know how nerds like the underdog. What does all that mean? It’s unbelievably adjustable to your form, rock solid, slightly heavy, hyper comfortable really large capacity backpack, the perfect replacement for my lashed up MOLLEII rig. It rocks, It’s made in America, it’s sturdier then you are, and at $119 it’s a bloody steal. On closeout, these are the last of them, I’ll gladly take any color they have left. Gregory charges 3-6 times this amount for it’s less sturdy current models…

2.5″ laptop hard drives. Every geek I know needs these, I need a few ;-) Newegg has this 160 gig Hitachi, this Western Digital 120 gig or this Seagate 120 gig for $60 each.

PowerBook RAM, Crucial PC2700 SODIMMs, 26 bucks from Newegg, free shipping! Or $13 from Amazon. These are getting harder to find, since the machines that need them are pushing 6-8 years. I need 2…

5.11 Clothing. Nerds need pockets. Nerds sweat. Nerds have no fashion sense, or ia seriously warped one. All of which is why I love their Neru collared hidden placket H.R.T. shirt in black for $20. Or their Tactical Rain Pants. But as twisted as my fashion sense is, I love their loose crew in green or woodland for practical reasons-this is an insanely good deal in technical wicking clothing. The pattern, the way the shoulders and sleeves are joined, the flat seams, it’s just a brilliant design. All closeouts…

STABILicers Ice Cleats. Cheaper then crampons (a lot cheaper, look at these discount prices). Keeps you from falling on icy sidewalks with a 55 lb. pack on your back.

Power. What nerd doesn’t secretly desire it? What nerd isn’t desperate for it. What nerd isn’t always forgetting to charge his cellphone when he does find enough outlets? Ahem, I know one. I depend too heavily on my iGo AA battery powered emergency charger these days, since I tend to lose or destroy the wall wart charger for the phone. The iGo won’t take rechargeable batteries, which is hard on my wallet and the environment. This Iogear battery charger is only $10, charges a variety of phones and USB mini devices as well, and is it self rechargeable. This MacAlly charger is more robust, better rated, stores more power for those late nights at the bus stop but costs 20 clams more. It needs external cables or adapters to connect to your phone, the Iogear comes with a set. Like this Zip-Linq adapter kit. Those will also work off my laptop, so I might not need the battery pack ;-)

With great power comes great responsibility. Like keeping the rechargeable batteries that litter your pack together so they actually get used (you don’t want to know how many times I’ve only been able to find part of a rechargeable set for the camera). This is where battery cases or holders come in. They keep it together so you can actually use your great power and at $1 or $2 or they’re dirt cheap. And alway get them in pairs, so you can keep your dead ones separate from your charged ones.

Yes, we can!

Published by
FFEJWORLD
November 5, 2008 in Politics and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED:

And yes, we did. Although a part of me still can’t believe Obama won. But he did. More importantly we did. We stepped back from the precipice. The whole world heaved a collective sigh of relief.

For the first time in years I’m hopeful.

Now the hard part begins…

(And once more The Onion hits the nail on the head: Black Man Given Nations Worst Job)

What to get the nerd who has nothing: the Birthday wishlist

Published by
FFEJWORLD
August 13, 2008 in Birthdays, Update(d) and Wish list. 0 Comments

UPDATED: Broken headset has been repaired, removed from list! Various sold out items removed from list, replacement items and sources added where possible.

More than a little late this year, I keep getting phone calls and email asking where it is-sorry (and keep those cards and letters coming). Almost completely void of toys, despite being a wishlist for a nerd with ADD/HD, a true sign of poverty. As always, thank you all very muchand!

We’ll start off with the true wishes. After years of sleep apnea and other woes my once fabulous memory is failing, especially my short term memory. Vitamin B1 supplements only go so far and seem to take a while to be effective. In the meantime I can’t afford the surgery or the mask, so I’m dependent on outboard memory. for years my outboard memory was a Palm Pilot device, but now my last one is dead (I have a pile of dead ones secreted away). Apple has Refurbished 8gig iPod touchs for $199. Yeah, locked, walled garden, but they can be jail broken. And they kill the current Palm devices in features, network connectivity, battery life and price.

(UPDATED) For everyone everywhere who has ever told me “why don’t you just write stuff down, that’s what I do,” you can sort through the wads of rain and sweat soaked illegible notes that litter my pockets, vest, and pack. My handwriting is illegible even to me, especially when I’m trying to write fast, one of the many reasons I got into computers. And frankly I’m tired of killing trees. If you feel otherwise and wish to impose your views on me your welcome to get me a few dozen Rite in the Rain pads, a Fisher Space Pen, refills, and a Esstac black pouch to carry it all in ;-)

(UPDATED) Next up: a Macbook or PowerBook G4. My beloved 12″ PowerBook is dead, and the one I’m currently using is on it’s way. I’ve had to replace the hard drive and one memory card this week. (OK, I’ve replaced the hard drive 3 times and the memory card was also bad, so how about a couple of 1gig memory cards and a hard drive? Contact me for current prices)

The ever shrinking middle class: Snugpak poncho (one size $37.97). Odd for a poncho in that it has a hunched, longer back to accommodate a large pack, like my ever present 55 lb. pack, and it has a zipper and front pocket. Odder still, it has sleeves. So technically it’s a smock or honking large anorak. Waterproof.

What would a FFEJWORLD wishlist be without a plea for a vest of pockets? Cabela’s is blowing out the 5.11 vest (2x, Black, $49.99). One of the best vests out there. Please not the khaki ;-)

(UPDATED) Now on to the cheap seats. First strategic planning for wintering in bus stops: Waterproof mittens (Cabela’s, $29.95, yup, price went up 2XL, black) and handwarmer (any color but orange for $17.95) from Cabela’s. Someday I’ll write an essay on why you need more then one pair of gloves/mittens, and why handwarmers and muffs aren’t just for hunters and victorian revivalists. If the mittens sell out, go with the Thinsulate Fleece mitts for $17.99 I really, really need a few pairs of glove liners (Cabela’s, silk, XL $6.95).

Cabela’s packable waterproof rainpants (another closeout, black, $19.99, contact me for embarrassing size, Cabela’s sizes run small). Anyone who bikes or walks miles in the rain or snow knows why, but they also stop wind chill. Not as waterproof or durable as Gore Tex, but less maintenance and dirt cheap.

(UPDATED) LA Police Gear is blowing out 5.11 pants, which Andy Ihnatko has dubbed internet pants (satirized by Merlin Mann here). Yes, all the pockets a nerdling would want. $18 for the original, $10 for the dress, (Sold out in my size) $4.99 for the shorts, $10 for the short sleeve shirts (sold out). Contact me for sizing.

(UPDATED) As detailed in a previous post I’m always looking for PALS webbing pouches and pockets. Tactical Tailer is blowing out their Go Bag (sold out). Damn good medium sized pouch, will hold 2 water bottles to the 55 lb. pack. Triple Aught Design’s are still blowing out their BC8 pouches (SOLD OUT), I could use a few for fiddly bits. Sat-Com Bag it’s a shoulder bag originally designed to carry a satelite communication system antenna in the field. It’s also a movie star thanks to a certain movie :-) A cross between a messenger bag, tripod bag and a sleeping bag carrier for the 55lb pack (County Comm, $26.50, black)* And you can never have enough County Comm EOD utility bags ($19.95, black).

In a similar but not PALS equipped vein, the Nite Ize Hip Pockets ($18.95), a variation on the fanny pack with loads or fiddly pockets for my tools.

4 gig flash drive from Newegg ($9.99 free shipping!). Cheap, not the fastest, but I could use a handful, they’re the floppy disks of the current age ;-)

*You could lash 2 together using it’s PALS webbing to make a backpack. I’m going to lash it to the 55lb pack. I really wish I had one of these back when I was dragging around Gitzo and Bogen tripods
for a living…

Firefox 3.0 download day poised to set the record on Tuesday

Published by
FFEJWORLD
June 16, 2008 in Software and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED: Mozilla’s sites are being hammered, use this direct link to download. And Furbism has some optimized builds up already! No, I do not and will not provide links to Windows optimized builds (don’t know or care if they exist). Added mini review.

UPDATED: Firefox 3 has surpassed Internet Explorer 3.0′s download record of 1.5 million over 24 hours in august of 1996! 1.9 million already and the day is still young! Follow the numbers here.

UPDATED: Techcrunch reports Firefox 3.0 was downloaded 8.3 million times in it’s first twenty four hours.

According to Mozilla Foundation CEO John Lilly, that gives Firefox 3 a four percent market share of browsers worldwide straight out of the gate. Mozilla’s servers sent out 83 terabytes of data during that time, and at the peak there were 17,000 downloads per second (with an average of 4,000 per second).

Ok, I’ll spare you hype. Suffice it to say that manana, the 17th of June 2008 is the release date of the freeware Open Source webrowser, Firefox 3.0. And the Mozilla foundation, developers of Firefox would like you to help set a world record for software by getting your free copy. If you’re on Linux, Mac OS X, or even Windows you should get it. For Windows users it provides a faster, more secure and more extensible browser, for the other operating systems it gives you the extensibility and choice-you might find you like it better then your default system browser. Get Firefox here.

I realize not everyone is as browser nerdy as me. I usually have 5+ browsers installed: Opera, Safari, Firefox, Camino, Webkit nightly builds and Firefox nightly builds. But you should have one browser set up as default with cookies turned off, and another one with cookies on (no third party) that you only use for your secure browsing (like banking, bloging, or any website with your billing info).

For the nerdly like me who use the links in my sidebar for browsers optimized for specific processors, you might want to wait a few days for the optimizers to recompile. Optimized browsers tend to be faster and less memory intensive, so us laptop lovers can have more tabs open. And yes, this post was written in Firefox 3.0 release candidate 3, PowerPC 7450 optimized which runs best on my loaner laptop.

MINI REVIEW. New look, blends better with whatever OS your running, can now search your bookmarks (and history) through the addressbar, smaller memory footprint, no more memory leaks, new privacy and security features, better and more standards complient rendering, Faster!

RIP Bo Diddley

Published by
FFEJWORLD
June 2, 2008 in Music, obit and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED: spelling checked, content added.

Ellis Bates, who was Bo Diddley was 79.

Otha McDaniel, who was Bo Diddley was 79.

Mr. Diddley claimed many different names as his real name, all usually being some variant of Ellis, Otha, Bates and McDaniel. He also told many different versions of how he got the nick name Bo Diddley (during telling one version of the story at a show, in which he claimed Bo DIddley was a curse word, someone in the audience yelled out “WHAT DOES IT MEAN?” and he yelled back “it means I fuck up people who interrupt my story”).

It doesn’t really matter, his real name was Bo Diddley. 

There is lot being left out of today’s obits is how he was the Great Black Menace, the Despoiler of White Woman, The Breaker of the Rules. Rock and Roll was dangerous, teh same people who ailed at comic books were out to shut down rock. Bo was dangerous. Bo Diddley was a Gunslinger, Chuck Berry was a hair dresser (no lie, Chuck really was a hair dresser).

Another thing left out of the obits, glossed over or misstated was his guitars and his sound. He was the first rocker to get a major guitar company to custom make him on off guitars (Gretch). He claimed al the Gretch’s had been stolen from him or lost, and kept patronizing the smaller custom makers, like Tom Holmes. I’ve seen him play guitars with LEDs that flashed his name. He made his own effects, famously fashioning a tremolo out of a wind up alarm clock. He experimented in the studio back in the 50s, and kept on doing so his entire career. One time I saw him do a Pat Metheny style solo using Metheny’s signature sound, another time I saw him play around with a harmonizer. His sound was as important as his beat, and hugely influential. We wouldn’t have had Buddy Holly or Marc Bolen with out him…

Comcast employee asks “what can I do to change your mind?”

Published by
FFEJWORLD
May 14, 2008 in Customer Service, Rants, Social Software and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED: Frank (@comcastcares on Twitter) is on this this week’s TWIT podcast for a few minutes explaining what you can really expect from Comcrap’s boost technology. Leo’s going to bring him back for more explanations. Frank’s job at Comcast is to monitor social media and help- so use him. After he left the podcast to take care of his baby, they covered a story that the Max Planck Institute in Germany has proven that Comcast (among others) is still blocking peer to peer despite their statements to the contrary.

A Comcast employee on Twitter asked. So I’ll answer. You can’t can’t do anything. I don’t doubt your sincerity, you may in fact be the only honest person in your company. Your company needs to change.

Corporate culture doesn’t start at the bottom, it’s starts at the top When your leaders are greedy scum, it filters down. Greedy rapacious boards and management make scummy business decisions. They hire scum, although every now and again a good person sneaks in. In Comcast’s case, they prefer to hire contractors, who hire subcontractors. No insurance for the workers, and plausible deniability for management.

So start by replacing the current board and firing all management from assistant VP up (unless that applies to Frank). Hell, I’d cut all management salaries too.

Acknowledge you lied. All the lies, all the lies your contractors told, all the ones you told Congress. Even the ones you haven’t been caught on ;-) And stop doing the things you lied about.

Apologize for lying.

As an act of contrition, hire all those subcontractors. Unionize. Retrain them. Invest in infrastructure, like fiber or wimax or 700 spectrum, anything to get you away from the current one person on the cable loop eats all the bandwidth-because that will cut down on this (read it all the to the bottom and follow the link).

Stop flooding our mailboxes with junk mail. Plant some damn trees.

That’s a start.

(Part of my antipathy towards Comcast comes from dealing with them on behalf of my elderly parents. I spent hours every month on the phone. Hours after their contract finally ran out I switched them to AT&T-and I can’t tell you how much I hate dealing with those people. But so far, I’ve spent less then 8 hours in total dealing with AT&T.)

BTW, if you’re on Twitter and are having problems with Comcast, Tweet Comcastcares. John C. Dvorak even likes him :-)

Congratulations to Mariapaz and Matt

Published by
FFEJWORLD
April 27, 2008 in Friends, Gossip and Update(d). 0 Comments

(Updated)

Mariapaz & Matt\'s weddingMs. Camargo and Mr. Malooly are now married! Jerry diss-officiated brilliantly (and almost cried). I cried. The reception/dance/Versionfest wrap party is still going on (at this writing) at the Co-Prosperity Sphere on south Morgan, so head on down there. Congratulations again, and the best of luck! (and what would a wedding be without a fuzzy out of focus poorly composed photo by a former wedding photographer?)

 

The end of the Gillmor Gang?

Published by
FFEJWORLD
January 18, 2008 in Attention, Gesture, Gossip, New Media and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED: The Gang never went away, it now has a daily version, NewsGang Live, where norms and civilians can call in and listen or comment live,  in addition to the weekly Gang roundtable. You can now get the podcasts feed here and the new NewsGang news aggregator which will work on iPhone or other mobile browsers. I still think Jason’s behavior was craptacular.

So I just watched the Gillmor Gang’s current version, The Gang, self destruct. I think. What I actually saw was a series of Twits by Jason Calacanis.

[snip]

should i twitter the Gillmor Gang conference call code?!?! we’re live on right now. about 1 hour ago from
web

the confence call number for Gillmor Gang live right now is: 1.800.704.9804 about 1 hour ago from web

the code is six digits…. the first four are 5287 about 1 hour ago from web

if you guess the last two digits you’re on the call. about 1 hour ago from web

the last two digits are under 50 and not 38 about 1 hour ago from web

it is not 43 about 1 hour ago from web

@connectedgeek: don’t publish the number! about 1 hour ago from web in reply to connectedgeek

Larry is now on the Gillmor Gang. about 1 hour ago from web

i think three folks are now on the call… about 1 hour ago from web

the gillmor gang has imploded 27 minutes ago from web

the gillmor gang is live right now 1.800.704.9804 six digit conference code.. here are the first five: 52872 you have to guess the 6th 27 minutes ago from web

Steve Gillmor left the Gillmor gang–hung up! we had to beg him back on IM 24 minutes ago from web

Tell steve you love the show… 1.800.704.9804 x528727 17 minutes ago from web

Until:

Steve Gillmor quit the Gillmor Gang
13 minutes ago from web

While this is primary source material, it doesn’t tell the whole story. I hope this isn’t what it looks like…

Spec Ops T.H.E. Pack bag close out

Published by
FFEJWORLD
November 17, 2007 in Backpacks, Load Bearing Equipment, Update(d) and Wish list. 0 Comments

 UPDATED: They’ve run out of stock.

I’ve found the Spec Ops T.H.E. Pack in the old desert camo pattern being closed out for $55, here. That’s about $95 off. It is smaller then my current every day carry, but it includes enough PALS webbing to hang all my pouches and then some. Which should more then make up for the size. And of course, your milage may vary.

One of these days I’m going to finish my essay on bag size discrepancy, sigh.

Art Walk begins tonight, with new added features

Published by
FFEJWORLD
September 28, 2007 in Art, art walk, Chicago, district, Fashion Police, Pilsen and Update(d). 0 Comments

UPDATED:

Check out this Pod mailing:

You will notice security personnel in the neighborhood. They will be patrolling the neighborhood and interior of the buildings until around 1:00am. In light of the consistent problems we have been experiencing with the 2nd FRIDAYS events, we felt it was necessary to have security staff on hand to deter vandalism and malicious or rowdy behavior.

The story behind this is Pod has a couple of new tenants, rich little school kids who are paying out the ass to live in Genteel Bohemian Squalor ™ and are partying like they think bohemians party. They’re actually partying like kids who have a rich daddy to buy off the cops and otherwise keep their asses out of jail, and a maid to clean up the mess. Pod doesn’t like this, the story goes, but rather then jeopardize one of his few big money tennats or arouse the kids dad’s lawyers, he passive aggressively woke one of their neighbors at daybreak to scream at the neighbor about the kids partying. He got an ear fuill of “it’s your tennat, you deal with it,” and he supposedly evicted the tennat he got all PA on–a particularly stupid thing thing to do to someone who lived in a building of Pod’s for which pod is under investigation for illegal asbestos removal (and supposed fly dumping). But then most landlords would rather pick up the phone and scream at the troublemaker rather then incur the expense of hiring security, and all the attendant problems (nothing attracts thieves and hoodlums like added security, it’s like producing a commercial that says “here’s where there are things worth stealing, here’s where the rich people are to mug”).

The rent-a-cops are also supposed to be “reminding” you and your visitors to not smoke in common areas or carry open liquor between spaces, as well as “reminding” you about not giving liquor to minors. I’m going to be paying close attention to how many patrons are amused/pissed off by being coerced by the rent-a-cops.

And how many come back. People with money buy art, and people with money like to do what ever they want, and not be put upon by any one, especially minimum wage rent-a-cops.

(The rent-a-cops asre only suppose to be on the street and the common areas of the buildings, but they’re going to wander, especially considering their mandate. But, to paraphrase the line from the movie, there are certain parts of Pilsen you don’t want to wander into, (even if you’re the 82nd Airborne), (especially if you are a rent-a-cop), even in Podspace-I only hope I’m not there when the wondering takes place, my Dragonskin hasn’t come back from the cleaners yet… )

Non of this will of course have any effect on the Smash-N-Grabbers who’ve some to prey on the cars parked on Halsted from 18th to Cermac, who have come to rely on Second Fridays for their rent and Art Walks for their xmas shopping. None of the heightened police patrols have caught the Smash-N-Grabbers yet, and no rent-a-cop is going to risk his ass for your car.

So feel secure, Pilsen. Secure in the feeling that all those minimum wage rent-a-cops are scoping your shit out for their hoodlum buddies. Secure in knowing that if you don’t slip them a bottle, they’re going to narc you out to Pod. And mostly secure in the notion that you’re now living in a run away freight train of a sitcom run by a passive aggressive megalomaniac that has just left the rails and is heading downhill toward the chemical refinery…

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