post 137

By jp 15 Oct 2000

so I went back to bates for the alumni weekend this weekend. highlights included some batesie getting the tar beat out of them at a bar and going to the hospital (I didn’t do it), some batesie getting shot at (I didn’t do it), and someone tagging this idiot’s souped-up ford expedition with “soccer mom” in bright red something (I wish to hell I did it, but alas). I also got to even be in an improv show a little bit. I unzipped a portapotty door when no one was looking.

very tired right now. festivities didn’t end till about 5 this morning. I needed two complete breakfasts in order to get on my feet and drive home. maine remains a depressing place to enter, and a lovely place to leave in a hurry.

I got a kick ass shirt too. lebanon has absolutely NO second hand stores, and so I’m without a market for clothing. but I hit the salv army and got one of those funny shirts with the ruffles and all the extra buttons — they have a funny name in spanish, and are all the rage in cuba. so says daphne, who’s half cuban. so maybe that’s half right. in any case I own a shirt with 16 non-functional buttons now. I rule.

anders, I had no idea that Jimbo was your first roomate. makes me wonder if those people that are supposed to match up freshman year roomates actually do anything other than masterbate constantly. Jimbo’s not a bad guy, but you two? I don’t think so.

post 136

By anders pearson 14 Oct 2000

the pen i bought came with the following ‘helpful hint’ on the back: “when using any brand of liquid ink pen on an airplane, be sure to remove the cap with the point upward to avoid problems that could occur due to cabin pressure.”

pens explode on airplanes? cool. that is a helpful hint. next time i have to fly somewhere, i’m bringing about a dozen with me.

post 132

By tuck 12 Oct 2000

if you need close personal protection or any sort of investigation done and for whatever reason you don’t/can’t use the police department (i.e. you are unsatisified with their work/they won’t do it/you have little confidence in them/you just plane don’t like them) use my new employer Defense Investigators Group, Inc.. we cover 13 eastern states, as well as international operations (including germany) so do it today!!

(please make sure you are rich as hell first.)



post 130

By anders pearson 11 Oct 2000

i thought i’d try to be cool like mimi and do a ‘sketchblog’ type thing. so i took all my notes from my classes this semester and scanned in all the little doodles that i draw in the margins while i’m bored out of my mind and trying not to fall asleep. now i figure that i can dole them out one a day for the next few weeks. and if i keep scanning in new doodles, this can continue indefinately. none of these are works of art; most are done with a ball-point or felt-tip pen and are about 2 or 3 cm in size. don’t ask me what they are. damned if i know. i just figure they’re a good way to keep people entertained and fill the dead air on here when no one really has much to say for a few days at a time. so without further ado, here’s the first; drawn during operating systems today:

sketch number 1

post 129

By anders pearson 07 Oct 2000

Consolization
a follow-up to ander’s post #126…
there are growing numbers of embedded linux appliances already. an investing-savvy friend of mine has asked that i keep him informed and, not that they are well hidden, these are the major companies i keep running in to:

because i am a game-console follower: “Indrema’s revolutionary high-end game console will capitalize on embedded Linux and open-source software development.”

what will Indrema’s product be? “The Indrema Entertainment System (IES) is packaged in a sleek enclosure with the look and feel of a top-of-the-line VCR. ‘You don’t know that it has Linux in it,’ said Gildred [Indrema’s CEO] ‘You turn it on and it runs like a consumer electronics device. You can watch TV as you normally would. But you can also pull up a screen and start playing your MP3s. Or start the web browser and begin browsing on the Internet.” although primarily a high-end gaming system, because it allows lots of additional audio/video capability, some likely other uses include “providing enhanced HDTV and downloading and playing music video, and TV from partner sites.” Also, “Personal TV” where users will be able to download and play specific TV programs on demand.

the first company to get behind the “home music network” concept was S3 which owns the Rio line of portable MP3 players. The Rio Receiver uses embedded linux, which provides “out-of-the-box networking and enough power to handle downloading, ripping, streaming and listening at the same time.”

the Kerbango Radio (now owned by 3com- thanks to $80 million)“looks like a cross between an old Wurlizer jukebox and the dashboard of a ’54 Buick.” “Right now, the Kerbango has three unique properties, the radio, its tuning system and its website, which give computer users direct access to thousands of stream sources- the ‘stations’ the Kerbango radio will tune when it sits on your kitchen counter plugged into the household network…” The operating system for the Kerbango is linux.

for all other home appliances, check out Adomo who “wants to fill your home with a network of low-cost, easy-to-use information appliances.” All of which have linux inside. It’ll use voice commands mostly and can run just about everything you’d want it to… microwaves, lights, heaters, radios, dishwashers… the true “intelligent home” that Gates spent millions building for himself, soon available for all of us at a decent price.


there are more- but you all probably know of most of these anyway.