New website

I almost forgot about this blog... Anyway, my new website is over at areohwhy.com. Check it out!

New website to launch

Now that I have some webspace, I am in the process of creating a website of my own with lots of great content... well, "with content" anyway. I hope to launch it around the first of the year so watch this space for the URL (which is an interesting take on my name). If you have suggestioins for content, please leave a comment. Happy holidays!

Movie equations

In looking at some upcoming movie releases I noticed that some seemed rather familiar. I decided to encapsulate my impressions as equations. Enjoy.

Corpse Bride = The Nightmare Before Christmas + (more Tim Burton weirdness)²

Flightplan = Panic Room × (Airplane! − the comedy) + that episode on Star Trek: The Next Generation where everybody keeps disappearing until it's just Dr. Crusher on the bridge

Oliver Twist = (Oliver! − the music) ÷ fleeing a statutory rape conviction

Into The Blue = ¼(The Fast and the Furious) × National Treasure + Jessica Alba in a bikini    or    3Fast3Furious

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit = (The Wrong Trousers − March of the Penguins) + (A Close Shave − a movie about sheep) + (Watership Down × a visit from Jose Canseco)

Zathura = Jumanji... 'nuff said

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire = J.K. Rowling + $ + £ + € + ¥

Geek pic of the -week- unspecified length of time-4

My friend Keaven sent me the link to this Jinx baby creeper with the comment that it is "the only baby outfit [he] would happily buy."

All aboard the Linux train...

I have decided to start testing out various distros of Linux in an effort to learn more about an OS that I am sadly completely unfamiliar with. The coup de grace for my mostly illogical reliance on Windows happened today when I received my Windows Secrets newsletter that contained a story about how vulnerable Microsoft's new "Windows Genuine Advantage" validation scheme was (still is?). It took no more than one day after Microsoft required validation for someone to find a way around it. Then two more (and easier) tricks were discovered. I think this sums up the worry:

[T]he weak stress testing that the software giant obviously conducted on Genuine Advantage — an initiative it knew would be high profile — is disturbing. If Microsoft allows such elementary weaknesses to ship in its most visible campaigns, how many holes still exist in Windows' less-well-known software components?

I currently have versions of Fedora, Knoppix, SuSE, Debian, and Xandros, and I'll probably end up downloading Mandriva and Ubuntu to try those out, too. So now you know what I'll be doing this weekend.

diggnation: Episode #004

I just got into this 'podcasting' thing over the weekend, but my favorite so far is diggnation hosted by those former ScreenSavers Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht.

Check out Episode #004 for some beer-drinkin', tech-talkin' fun:
- Follow-Up on Xbox 360 Picture Leaks
- Speilberg Speaks on Transformers Movie
- Scotty Beams Up For The Last Time
- Hacker Erased Spammer’s Database
- Fake Nukes ....check out the pictures
- World's First Open Source Beer
- Flash Video Showing Microsoft IIS Being Hacked
- Rockstar Ceases Manufacturing Of GTA: San Andreas
- Profile Links

Restarting the blog

After a bit of a break (I'll just blame it on recovering from the completion my third decade on Earth), I'll be restarting my blog. Since I have gotten requests for more personal updates (you know who you are), I'll include things that occur in my life although I can't guarantee that they will be numerous or exciting. See you in the blogosphere.

Geek pic of the week unspecified length of time-3

Another t-shirt from ThinkGeek:

I'd get this except the 'gird your loins' bit seems a bit like overkill.
Pun intended.
The best part is the ThinkGeek writeup:

Sometimes we like it standing up, sometimes on our knees, and sometimes we just like to sit back and enjoy someone else serving us Hot Coffee.

Wow...

Gaming goes symphonic

My clock-radio's alarm is set to NPR and sometimes I don't completely wake up right away. This can lead either to some oddly political dreams or to me saying to myself "Did I just hear that right?" This morning fell into case #2. Apparently the piece in question was about a Los Angeles Philharmonic concert at the Hollywood Bowl where they will be performing music from video games! It seems it is a part of a touring event called Video Games Live. It is described as "a stellar event, which includes performances of the music, video and specially designed laser and light sequences showcasing over 50 different games in a wide variety of styles." Also, "selected audience members will actually play a game live onstage while the orchestra plays the music." How cool is that?! The list of games are:

Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Metal Gear Solid®, Warcraft®, Myst®, Castlevania®, Medal of Honor™, God of War™, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic™, Tron, Tomb Raider®, Advent Rising, Headhunter, Beyond Good & Evil™, Splinter Cell®, Ghost Recon™, Rainbow Six®, EverQuest® II and a special retro arcade segment that goes from Pong® to Donkey Kong®

The show will be at Nissan Pavillion on August 19th so needless to say, I hope I will be able to go...