 | You scored as James Bond, Agent 007. James Bond is MI6's best agent, a suave, sophisticated super spy with charm, cunning, and a license's to kill. He doesn't care about rules or regulations and somewhat amoral. He does care about saving humanity though, as well as the beautiful women who fill his world. Bond has expensive tastes, a wide knowledge of many subjects, and his usually armed with a clever gadget and an appropriate one-liner.
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com |
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Yes, it's a meme. It's still fun.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
First Snow!
The title says it all. I live too far south for this -- my Minnesota bones have been aching for lots and lots of snow since before Halloween! At least we'll hopefully have a white Thanksgiving! :P
Some Technical Musings (with Job Offer Potential!)
I took a break from my regular busy grad-student life to attend a seminar today hosted by National Instruments regarding their new LabView software revisions. As Pegasus uses LabView for nearly every aspect of data acquisition and control (at one level or another), it seems well worth my while to learn about the subject from the people who make it!
While the experience was what I expected -- marketing hype mixed with real engineering tidbits thrown in -- a conversation with the presenter at the end was not. I had asked a question regarding some of the finer points of his talk, when he abruptly changed topic, asking me about my background and job prospects! He seemed disappointed when I told him I was in for the long haul with the Ph.D, but wanted to emphasize how my "significant" (I would have chosen "meager") understanding of LabView makes me much more marketable in today's job market.
I suppose that makes sense, given that lots of Big Companies are now using LabView to automate very large production systems, etc. Still, it's fun to know that I have a fall-back skill to sell to industry -- even to the point where I get an easy crack at a job just by attending their seminar!
On another note, I've been reading with disgust about the new Sony Rootkit technology that has been secretly corrupting the Windows OS for the express purpose of enforcing its DRM -- to the point where one is prevented from ripping the tracks from the raw audio data for use on an iPod! (Before I go off the deep end in techno-babble, you can find out more about rootkits and how to find them, as well as more on the Sony rootkit here.) On top of the flagrant breaches in computer security and trampling of consumer fair use rights, the uninstall program that was initially published by Sony after an uproar of public anger -- which requires use of an ActiveX controller using Internet Explorer -- turns out to allow arbitrary code to be run by any subsequent website that a victim of this rootkit may visit!
Let's hope that Sony gets slapped with some huge civil and criminal suits as a result of this massive attack on computers worldwide. (It is a Federal crime, after all, to knowingly and maliciously alter computer systems without owner consent!) Heck, there's even been reports that it may contain LGPL software components without redistribution of source and object code modules -- meaning we may see yet another trial of the GPL in court!
While the experience was what I expected -- marketing hype mixed with real engineering tidbits thrown in -- a conversation with the presenter at the end was not. I had asked a question regarding some of the finer points of his talk, when he abruptly changed topic, asking me about my background and job prospects! He seemed disappointed when I told him I was in for the long haul with the Ph.D, but wanted to emphasize how my "significant" (I would have chosen "meager") understanding of LabView makes me much more marketable in today's job market.
I suppose that makes sense, given that lots of Big Companies are now using LabView to automate very large production systems, etc. Still, it's fun to know that I have a fall-back skill to sell to industry -- even to the point where I get an easy crack at a job just by attending their seminar!
On another note, I've been reading with disgust about the new Sony Rootkit technology that has been secretly corrupting the Windows OS for the express purpose of enforcing its DRM -- to the point where one is prevented from ripping the tracks from the raw audio data for use on an iPod! (Before I go off the deep end in techno-babble, you can find out more about rootkits and how to find them, as well as more on the Sony rootkit here.) On top of the flagrant breaches in computer security and trampling of consumer fair use rights, the uninstall program that was initially published by Sony after an uproar of public anger -- which requires use of an ActiveX controller using Internet Explorer -- turns out to allow arbitrary code to be run by any subsequent website that a victim of this rootkit may visit!
Let's hope that Sony gets slapped with some huge civil and criminal suits as a result of this massive attack on computers worldwide. (It is a Federal crime, after all, to knowingly and maliciously alter computer systems without owner consent!) Heck, there's even been reports that it may contain LGPL software components without redistribution of source and object code modules -- meaning we may see yet another trial of the GPL in court!
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Putting Money Alongside the Mouth
The few frequent readers of this blog know by now that I have a rather strong affliction for the civil liberties that I enjoy as a US citizen. I've even joined the EFF, an ACLU-like group for Internet and digital freedoms.
This past weekend I had a chance to clear off my desk and take care of other miscellaneous stuff. When I was done, I sat down and immediately realized that I wasn't done. There was something that had been quietly nagging me in the back of my mind for some time that was suddenly becoming louder. Whether it was from reading another article about incompetence in Washington (both sides of the aisle!), corruption, or blatant misinformation campaigns regarding AIDS and sexuality by Bush cronies, I decided to start contributing to organizations that I have favored for some time now.
You can now count me among the card-carrying members of the ACLU, and an official Planned Parenthood supporter. In that vein, the ACLU is coming out with a new TV show, The ACLU Freedom Files. It should be on Court TV, as of November 10th. With luck, it will be interesting!
This past weekend I had a chance to clear off my desk and take care of other miscellaneous stuff. When I was done, I sat down and immediately realized that I wasn't done. There was something that had been quietly nagging me in the back of my mind for some time that was suddenly becoming louder. Whether it was from reading another article about incompetence in Washington (both sides of the aisle!), corruption, or blatant misinformation campaigns regarding AIDS and sexuality by Bush cronies, I decided to start contributing to organizations that I have favored for some time now.
You can now count me among the card-carrying members of the ACLU, and an official Planned Parenthood supporter. In that vein, the ACLU is coming out with a new TV show, The ACLU Freedom Files. It should be on Court TV, as of November 10th. With luck, it will be interesting!
Friday, November 4, 2005
Doublespeak in the Media
Since the American public instated and re-affirmed the current Republican leadership in Congress and the Presidency, I am not surprised at all about the recent passage of measures to allow for oil drilling in the ANWR national wildlife reserve. (Facts have yet to phase these politicians; rather, lucrative oil contract profit-sharing (kickback?) contracts seem to have been driving some senators.)
That topic aside -- we were asking for it -- I am appalled at the poor reporting that Congress is getting from CNN today. Note their article on a recent budget bill that would "slash spending" through $35 billion in discrestionary funding. Some of the cuts seem quite reasonable, such as subsidies to insurance companies. However, one quote made me really wonder whether he's in touch with reality:
"Bush didn't make too much of the veto threat issued in his name, instead thanking the Senate for the cuts to health care programs for the elderly, poor and disabled while leaving food stamps untouched." (emphasis added)
By the end of the article about Republican fiscal irresponsibility, the bombshell: countering the $35 billion in cuts is an additional $35 billion in new spending.
So, we see that this is not a deficit reduction bill at all! Why then is this bill being lauded by Congressional Republicans and being described by the media as a deficit-fighting measure?
Hopefully they'll be able to start cutting out most of the fluff with their improved Newspeak.
That topic aside -- we were asking for it -- I am appalled at the poor reporting that Congress is getting from CNN today. Note their article on a recent budget bill that would "slash spending" through $35 billion in discrestionary funding. Some of the cuts seem quite reasonable, such as subsidies to insurance companies. However, one quote made me really wonder whether he's in touch with reality:
"Bush didn't make too much of the veto threat issued in his name, instead thanking the Senate for the cuts to health care programs for the elderly, poor and disabled while leaving food stamps untouched." (emphasis added)
By the end of the article about Republican fiscal irresponsibility, the bombshell: countering the $35 billion in cuts is an additional $35 billion in new spending.
So, we see that this is not a deficit reduction bill at all! Why then is this bill being lauded by Congressional Republicans and being described by the media as a deficit-fighting measure?
Hopefully they'll be able to start cutting out most of the fluff with their improved Newspeak.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)