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Sunday, March 20, 2011

The End Is Nigh!

Folks can't be blamed for thinking we are living in the "end times," what with the nuclear catastrophe in Japan and all the wars and upheavals happening in the oil-rich part of the world. I found an unambiguous sign of the apocalypse in Burlington, MA.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Healthnet of California WIN

http://www.darkreading.com/database-security/167901020/security/attacks-breaches/229301155/health-net-breach-exposes-1-9-million-records.html

In 1999 I worked for a tiny, non-profit entity in Watertown, MA called healthnet.org. They had a time share on a low-earth-orbit, commercial satellite and used it to relay email via "packet radio" to ground stations in Africa. It was the most effective way to provide email service to places Africa where there was no dial-up Internet service.

Healthnet of Watertown had registered healthnet.org in 1995 iirc and were minding their own business when they were sued by HealthNet of California, which is a health insurance company. Healthnet of CA claimed that we were "diluting their brand," and wanted to take the healthnet.org domain away from us. They failed. The Californian bullies lost their case in part because Healthnet of Watertown had a connection to a Harvard Law School prof. Anyway, Healthnet of CA is reaping the wages of sin now. What dirtbags.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Friday, March 11, 2011

Hunting with Frisbees

What a concept. I can throw a frisbee pretty far and with great accuracy so the next logical step is to use it as a weapon against defenseless animals. I'm thinking ducks and geese would be the easiest targets. Hitting them on the wing would earn you extra points. Squirrels might also be a possibility. Throwing into a large flock of starlings might be a good way to persuade them to leave.

Weaponized frisbees would be made of aluminum or titanium, or at least be reinforced with such metals. Is there a DARPA program for these?

This idea really captures my contradictory nature. 

Friday, March 4, 2011

Fresh Pond parking lot

I paid a visit to the Whore Foods at Fresh Pond to get some $5 lb. hake and as I return to my car I see a middle-aged black man immaculately dressed in a suit with thick-rimmed glasses but wearing a huge Marge Simpson hairdo under some sort of rasta-inspired head covering. A giant sock on his head, basically.

Then I notice he's hanging around a Mercedes Komprressor SLK, which might actually be his car. I wonder how he can sit down in the car without mashing his giant hairdo. He asks me if I know what "those things in the sky" are. He points at the sky. I look up.
"Uh, contrails left by airplanes would be my guess. Condensation."
He replies, "military or civilian?"
"Civilian, mostly."

I get in my car and out of the corner of my eye I see he's pointing a small digital camera at the sky.

He had no discernible accent. Could have passed for a college prof but I can easily imagine him as a conman bilking hundreds of his "brothers" out of their savings with promises of bestowing upon them Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Powers, or some such codswallop.

Just a typical day in the People's Republic of Cambridge.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Officialy Obese

My BMI puts me in the obese range. Go me.

The hazzards of gyms

I guess I need to buy an iPod or the like because last Sunday I spent about 45 minutes in the gym and was forced to listen to pop rock classics including REO Speedwagon's Take It On The Run.

"It's in my brain now." -- Meat Beat Manifesto

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Pizza (pee) Peel

I bought a granite grilling stone on sale at Marshall's a few days ago so now I'm shopping for a pizza peel because I'm planning to use the grilling stone in my oven to cook pizza. The granite may not be quite as porous as the pricey ceramic pizza stones on sale but I bet it will hold more heat.

Here's the item I bought: http://tinyurl.com/d3tvb2

Anyway, I stumbled over this post at bedbathandbeyond.com.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=14457607

DrPizza26 in Tampa says,

"This peel is durable, strong, heat resistant, and great to cut and serve on. However, when wet it smells like urine or formaldehyde. The odor is not as prominent when the peel is dry, and does not impart anything on the food. I would have selected a different peel with this knowledge."

Despite this fatal flaw, the dude gives the peel he bought three stars! Many people find it impossible to admit they have made a mistake, or have been ripped off. Then again, this guy was good enough to warn us, and I thank him for that.

Just goes to show you, you're better off avoiding products made of sawdust held together with some miraculous, next-generation synthetic resin. What was wrong with plain wood?