The Alamo -- Preview--Christmas 2003

PCWorld.com - Sneak a Peek at Next Year's Tech Tools

Need a PC shaped like a plant or a cow (not a Gateway), check out what's coming down the pike.

MIT for free, virtually | CNET News.com

A year ago, it was just a seed of an idea. Now, you can learn from the courses taught at MIT. Be sure to visit and check out the free content.

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Trailer

Behold a glimpse of the finale...

Cute GE Commercial: Imagination At Work

Wired News: IBM Examines How Inventors Invent

I love the idea of Innovation Days. Break up the routine, do something different, kill all the meetings and forbid, no e-mail?? Think about it.

Measure The Speed of Light With Chocolate and a Microwave

Experiment when you're hungry. Jason Foxtrot recommends it.

WiFi Speed Spray

WiFi, wireless network connections, are popular these days. If you want to make them a lot faster, just get this product. It's 802.11b compliant!

Gollum And Sméagol Debate ‘Two Towers’ DVD - Chattanoogan.com

Authoritative DVD review.

The Matrix Revolutions - Coming Soon!

Keeping track of upcoming movies?? Full trailer is out for 'Revolutions'

New e-paper could show moving images

Minority Report isn't too far off.

Top Eleven Strangest Star Wars Action Figures - UGO.com Film/TV

With Star Wars III in the wings coming 2005 and a possible original Star Wars DVD collection next year, it's time to visit the original Star Wars' and the pop culture figurines it created. Personally, I like the Wampa.

CNN.com - Study: Sleeping position reveals personality

According to this, I'm brash and gregarious.

NPR : All Things Considered for Thursday, September 18, 2003

"If you didn't hear..." may become a regular feature here at the nest. Some of us don't get to hear all of NPR's broadcasts and the convenience of listening online time-shifts relevant content for all. I do usually hear some and I'm inspired again to share it. The Home Anthropologist comments made me think I was listening to a story about my three year old. I guess she's three going on six cause it fits her to a tee. Next, if you thought bed bugs were a thing of the past, wrong. They're back!

NPR : All Things Considered for Wednesday, September 17, 2003

If you didn't get to hear these two stories, give them a listen. One is on hurricane forecasting, moving from the days of "Clipper" to 5 day forecasts. The other is about telemarketers and the Do-Not-Call list. One comment about this one...listen for the claim of the "consitutional right to come to your front door". Hmm, I didn't study that one in law school.

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

Two days warning...don't forget. Practice yer pirate lingo fer the celebration. (Thanks to David E. & Dave Barry for this one)

Wired News: Garage Doors Raise DMCA Questions

If you wonder about the implications of digital rights, you need to read this story.

Blog of Rob: Rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy II

“Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.”

It' s been making the e-mail rounds (I got it four times yesterday) but I must admit, it appears to be a joke. It even made a few papers.

DRM Takes a Hit

Short article, but I concur. Digital rights must extend to me as a user of a product. Making it difficult for me to use something I purchase for the sake of copyright will kill the medium.

Setback for Microsoft Ripples Through the World Wide Web (NY Times Subscription Required)

It always amazes me how courts don't consider the larger impact of decisions. Courts need to render technology decisions with the entire end-user population in mind under an equitable standard and not just strictly adhere to patent law.

Parents...watch this if your child is sharing internet files

It's pretty basic stuff, but a good starting point to stay out of legal troubles. Visit EFF for more info.

Fun with Nigerian spam

We've all gotten forlorn e-mails from Nigerian wanting money for desperate times. Here is an article about one guy who pursued the request of one of these scammers. Read the actual exchange here:

Think You're Smarter Than Your Computer?

In many ways, I think we are still smarter than our computer. But that's not to say that Mr. Bailey isn't correct in plotting the evolution of thinking and pointing out that systems can reveal patterns and "think" in ways which human beings cannot.

His Name is Linux

Do you think everyone will know how smart Linux is after seeing this...IBM, please send apologies to Mr. Spielberg for attempting to duplicate A.I. (which I love dearly).

How Old is Your Inner Child?

My inner child is 10 today...and to quote

The adult world is pretty irrelevant to me. Whether I'm off on my bicycle (or pony) exploring, lost in a good book, or giggling with my best friend, I live in a world apart, one full of adventure and wonder and other stuff adults don't understand.

Yummy, Krispy Link

Jon Udell: Politically incorrect observations about Mac OS X and Windows

Nice to hear and see the truth once in a while.

How Much Does a Hurricane Weigh?

This story got passed along from one of my sources and explores the fascinating calculation using elephants.

PCWorld.com - DSL Speeds, Cellular Coverage

Cool story about up and coming wireless technologies, introducing WiMax into the common newbie vocab.

How to destroy your computer!

Please review this article which may be helpful one day.

Microsoft: Hated Because It's Misunderstood (Opinion)

Many folks think Microsoft is just plain evil and should be stopped. Much of this perception is based on poorly founded beliefs from people who have never been on the Microsoft campus, nor have they ever tested their beliefs against what other companies do. I look at Enron and WorldCom and the executives who swindled those companies and I see evil. I look at the millionaires the .COM era created by ruining retirement funds and see evil. I see CEOs who increase their own compensation while laying off employees and cratering their company's stock and see evil. I look at Oracle's attempt to destroy PeopleSoft through hostile takeover and I see evil. I look at Sun Microsystems, which put in post 9/11 protection just for its executive staff, leaving most of the employees exposed, and I see evil.

Mistakes aren't in themselves evil, they are often just mistakes.

Some nice balance to the press I read all the time. My experience has shown Microsoft does care. I can list numerous other vendors that don't but Microsoft isn't one of them. I love what Microsoft has done and is doing to take technology to new heights. I'll continue highlighting articles which reflect the true Microsoft and counter the bashing that's going on.

Experts Playing Taps For CDs, DVDs

So what do you think? The "end of physical media" may be coming as a result of fast Internet connections and I would advocate, more storage in compact size. What happens to physical media when you can fit terabytes of storage in a device the size of your pinkie?

Networking From the Rooftop

Check out MIT's Roofnet project. Pretty cool!

Sci-Fi Storm | Babylon 5 Still Flying High

Babylon 5 is one of my favorite all-time TV series. Here is a nice piece on why the depth of the show made it stand out.