...will he ever win?

Douglas Crockford: Quarterly Royalty Statement

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:44:48 +0000

Format	Net Units	Net Sales	Royalty %	Net Royalty
--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Book	4,019	53,009.79	10.000	5,300.98
License	2	89.41	10.000	8.94
On-Line Access	3	3,573.06	10.000	357.31
PDF	104	1,899.17	10.000	188.92
*Reserve Withheld				-1,060.20
	--------	--------		--------
Net	4,128	58,561.43		4,795.95

Douglas Crockford: Bertrand

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:34:01 +0000

Constraints are an interesting way to write programs. In a constraint system, instead of listing a jumble of instructions, you declare a set of relationships which when solved yields an answer. Amazing things have been done with constraint systems, including Ivan Sutherland's groundbreaking Sketchpad (1963), but they haven't received enough attention from the mainstream.

In 1988, Wm Leler published the brilliant Constraint Programming Languages: Their Specification and Generation, which describes Bertrand, a system for describing and realizing constraint languages. Bertrand uses Augmented Term Rewriting to build languages and to normalize and simplify a system of constraints. Leler has made the Bertrand codebase available at http://groups.google.com/group/bertrand-constraint.

Constraints can solve a large class of problems, including graphical layout. Design rules can be expressed as formulas which can yield a pleasing page layout that fits the constraints of a display device. I am optimistic that constraint systems can be used to repair or replace CSS.

Gizmag: Google releases Picasa for Mac OSX

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:06:58 +0000

Good news if you're frustrated by iPhoto's limitations - Google Labs has just released a 'beta' version of its Picasa photo management system for the Apple OSX platform. Picasa will import a copy of the contents of the iPhoto library and offer an alternative management tool that includes the ability to manage and synchronise selected photos, with their comments and tags, with an online Picasa Web Albums photo gallery. The original iPhoto data is left alone, so you can try out the Picasa beta without fear of losing or modifying their original image files...

Tags: Apple, Google, Photo

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Ars Technica: Fair Warning: Ars Technica at CES 2009

jon@arstechnica.com (Jon Stokes) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:30:00 +0000

We're headed out to CES in Vegas this week, so here's a quick heads-up on what to expect. And as always, we'd love your input as we roam the show floor looking for the ultimate gear.

Gizmag: Challis Heliplane: simple, cheap and twice as fast as a normal helicopter

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:29:36 +0000

Conventional helicopters are incredibly useful vehicles in many short-range scenarios - but their asymmetrical aerodynamics enforce a fairly low terminal speed limit of around 150mph, making them less than ideal for longer-range missions. Tilt-rotor aircraft like the Falx and Osprey, and coaxial 'copters like the Sikorsky X2 are tackling the problem from different angles, but both result in complicated and expensive solutions - which is what makes the new Challis Heliplane concept quite remarkable. Still in early stages, the Challis uses a very simple design to balance the lift forces of a helicopter and bring top speeds of over 300mph into reach. And wait 'til you see this thing accelerate!..

Tags: Aerodynamics, Helicopters, Sikorsky

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Ars Technica: Android netbook port leaves some pondering Google OS

erica.sadun@arstechnica.com (Erica Sadun) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:35:00 +0000

Will Google aim its OS sights at the PC market? A recent port of Android to a common netbook suggests that Google Linux could become a reality.

Gizmag: Pentax Optio P70 compact – 12 MPX plus 720p video

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:47:50 +0000

January 6, 2009 Digital still image and video continue to converge with Pentax announcing the US$200 Optio P70 at CES. The ultra-slim P70 takes 12 megapixel still images and 720p video, sadly at just 15 FPS, but it’s a start. There’s a 4X optical zoom (equivalent to 27.5mm-110mm), a 2.7 inch high-resolution, wide-angle view LCD panel, and new Pixel Track Shake Reduction technology to assure sharp images with low noise even in poor lighting. ..

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Hack a Day: tircd

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:43:58 +0000

tircd is an ircd proxy for talking to the Twitter API. It should work with any standard IRC client. After running the Perl script, you authenticate to the IRC server using your Twitter username as your /nick. Join the room #twitter and the /topic will be set to your last update. Any message you type will update Twitter and the room’s topic. All of the people you are following show up in the room as users and post messages as they tweet. If you private message one of them, it will become a direct message on Twitter. Other commands work too: /whois to get a person’s bio, /invite to start following, and /kick to unfollow. The project is brand new and will be added new features in the future like Search API support. Follow @tircd for updates.

Gizmag: Fuji’s new eco-friendly, long-lasting, guilt-free EnviroMAX batteries

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:34:02 +0000

Despite promises of portable alternative power sources, batteries still rule the roost and apart from being a costly form of energy, we all know that we’re contributing a little bit more to the planet’s indigestible waste with each one we purchase – until now! Fuji is announcing a new line of eco-friendly, high performance consumer batteries at CES. EnviroMAX batteries do not contain cadmium or mercury or any ingredients harmful to the environment, are packaged with recycled paper and fully recyclable PET plastic and can be disposed of through normal waste systems or in landfills as they degrade. Fuji is claiming equal or better performance/longevity to the major equivalent brands, and an affordable price. They’re due in stores in April. Stay tuned for more info when we get our hands on a set...

Tags: Batteries, Eco-friendly, Enviromax, Fuji

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Ars Technica: $1.5 billion Microsoft Vista-Capable booty hardly ill-gotten

jhruska@arstechnica.com (Joel Hruska) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:30:00 +0000

New information from an economist's deposition suggests that Microsoft made around $1.5 billion from the Vista Capable program, but shoving that number around without some perspective as a garnish changes the entire situation.

Gizmag: The Magpul FMG9 Netbook-sized Folding Machine Gun

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:41:32 +0000

You can’t always judge a book by its cover and the Netbook-sized Magpul FMG9 is about as deceptive as they come. It looks like an industrial torch or a portable radio, and will fit in a girl’s handbag or the back pocket of a pair of jeans. One click later, the spring-assisted deployment mechanism snaps and you have a sub machine gun ready to fire. The innocuous FMG acronym stands for Folding Machine Gun and its small size and lightweight polymer casing belie its firepower - folded it holds 31 9x19 mm NATO rounds in a Glock magazine and although the prototype was only semi-automatic, a fully automatic version will almost certainly be available if production goes ahead. What’s the bet Q hands one of these to 007 in the next movie?..

Tags: FMG9, Glock, Magpul, Military, Netbook, Netbook-sized, Prototype, Weapon

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Ars Technica: What piracy? Movie biz sees record box office in 2009

david@arstechnica.com (David Chartier) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Domestic film box offices broke multiple records this year, grossing an estimated $9.78 billion. Thanks to both major and not-so-major releases this year, films from studios like Warner Bros, Paramount, and Sony all contributed to the highest-grossing year in film history.

Ars Technica: What piracy? Movie biz sees record box office in 2008

david@arstechnica.com (David Chartier) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:25:00 +0000

bldgblog: BLDGBLOG @ Rice University

noreply@blogger.com (Geoff Manaugh) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:34:00 +0000

I'm excited to announce that I'll be lecturing at the Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas, in only two days' time, kicking off their Spring 2009 lecture series.

[Image: View larger].

I've clearly got some very large shoes to fill with this series, however, as I've been lined up with everyone from Beatriz Colomina and Cynthia Davidson to Reinhold Martin and Felicity D. Scott. Stan Allen, Juan Herreros, Richard Ingersoll, Pier Vittorio Aureli, Michael Weinstock, Peter Trummer – it looks like a fantastic series.
For my own part, I think I've got a great talk planned – called "Cities Gone Wild" – expanding from the lecture I gave back in November, sponsored by the Complex Terrain Laboratory, at University College, London.
This talk begins at 5pm on Wednesday, January 7; it's free and open to the public; and it will take place in Anderson Hall.
I don't know how many readers BLDGBLOG has in Houston – or, for that matter, at Rice – but I'd love to see some of you there. And please introduce yourselves, too, as I love meeting new people.
Also, at the end of my talk I hope to address the more general subject of blogging, if for no other reason than I can guarantee that there are students enrolled at Rice right now – and people living in Houston – who have something interesting to say and simply need a new platform from which to say it. I'd be happy to talk about establishing a blog and so on, as that's not a topic I've much addressed throughout all of these talks.
Finally, I'll be doing thesis reviews at the architecture department all day on Thursday and Friday, so if you happen to be enrolled in the courses I'll be visiting, then cool. I look forward to meeting you!
And come out to the talk – it should be fun.

EFF News: UMG v. Veoh: Another Victory for Web 2.0

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:29:46 +0000

Over the holidays, video hosting site Veoh won another victory under the DMCA safe harbors, this time against Universal Music Group (UMG). The ruling should put to rest the argument that transcoding and other activities necessary for making content accessible on the web are not covered by the DMCA's Section 512(c) safe harbor for storing material on behalf of users (i.e., hosting user-generated content). This is good news not just for Veoh, but also for YouTube and every other site that hosts material uploaded by users.

Like many other companies that host content on behalf of users, Veoh has been bedeviled by copyright lawsuits. The copyright owners make the same argument in each of these suits: the hosting service should be liable for every infringing bit uploaded by naughty users and responsible for the full cost of policing for infringement. Fortunately, Congress enacted the DMCA's safe harbor provisions back in 1998 to protect service providers from exactly these risks, offering immunity from copyright damages to those who implement a notice-and-takedown system. In August 2008, Veoh won a big victory against adult video purveyor Io Group, relying on these provisions.

Veoh's latest victory was against UMG, which sued Veoh because Veoh users allegedly uploaded UMG music videos without authorization. The issue before the court was whether the DMCA safe harbor for hosting only covers the actual act of storing bits on a server, or whether it also covers related activities, such as:

automatically transcoding video files uploaded by users into Flash format;
automatically creating copies of uploaded video files that are comprised of smaller “chunks” of the original file;
allowing users to access uploaded videos via streaming;
allowing users to access uploaded videos by downloading whole video files.

Relying on the statutory language, as well as the legislative history, the court concluded that all of these activities are covered by the DMCA Section 512(c) safe harbor. Lots of online service providers will greet this ruling with relief. If the court had accepted UMG's arguments, every web host would lose the safe harbor as soon as it made web pages available to the public. The ruling should also help YouTube in its ongoing battle with Viacom, which also turns on the continuing strength of the DMCA safe harbors.

But the Veoh ruling also points out a surprising irony: while YouTube and Viacom are fighting their interminable litigation trench war, many interesting DMCA legal questions are being resolved in smaller, faster-moving cases involving companies like Veoh. At this rate, the highly-anticipated Viacom v. YouTube lawsuit may end up a footnote in the legal fights that define the rules governing user-generated content.

EFF News: Al-Haramain Warrantless Spying Case Can Proceed

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:23:42 +0000

Today, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the United States District Court in San Francisco denied the government's third motion to dismiss the Al-Haramain v. Bush litigation. The ruling means that the case can proceed and the court also set up a process to allow the Al Haramain plaintiffs to prosecute the case while protecting classified information.

Al-Harmain Islamic Foundation, the Oregon chapter of an Islamic charity, sued the Bush Administration for the illegal surveillance of the organization and its attorneys as part of the NSA warrantless wiretapping program. The case was based on a secret document that was inadvertently disclosed by the government that, according to the plaintiffs, demonstrates that they were subjected to unlawful electronic surveillance outside the scope of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

In late 2007, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that despite the disclosure, the "Sealed Document" itself was a state secret, but sent the case back to the District Court to determine whether the FISA law nonetheless allowed the case to go forward, under a doctrine called "preemption." Last summer, the Court had ruled that FISA does preempts the state secrets privilege, and gave Al-Haramain the right to amend its complaint to show that they were "aggrieved persons" within the meaning of FISA through evidence other than the Sealed Document. If they could do so, the case could proceed.

In today's ruling, the Court held that in their amended complaint the Al-Haramain plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence that they were "aggrieved persons" and rejected the Government's claims to the contrary, saying: "Without a doubt, plaintiffs have alleged enough to plead 'aggrieved persons' status so as to proceed to the next step in proceedings . . ."

In order to allow litigation to proceed while keeping the secrets under wraps, the Court ordered the government to arrange security clearances for Al-Haramain's attorneys. The Court also ordered the government to allow Judge Walker to review the Sealed Document in his chambers by January 19th. Finally, the Court required the government to review the classified submissions in the case, and declassify as much as possible. The Court will schedule a hearing later this month to plan next steps.

Ars Technica: Norwegian podcast puts entire Beatles catalog online—legally

jtimmer@arstechnica.com (John Timmer) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:16:00 +0000

This may be a case of unintended consequences. The NRK, Norway's national broadcasting service has scored permission from the country's music rights holders to release podcasts of any programs that it's done that are less than 70 percent music. A notable component of the NRK's collection is a series of broadcasts that includes the entire Beatles catalog.

Linux Weekly News: AMD Releases Open-Source R600/700 3D Code (Phoronix)

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:04:00 +0000

Phoronix has the details on AMD's release of 3D drivers for ATI R600 and R700 graphics processors. "Since earlier this year we have been waiting for AMD to release documentation and/or code on the ATI R600 series concerning 3D acceleration so that the open-source Linux drivers can begin to support the newer ATI graphics processors. It has taken longer than expected for AMD to complete and release this information, but it's now available. AMD has released the fundamental Linux code needed to begin fostering the development of an open-source R600 3D driver. Furthermore, this code also concerns the latest R700 series of graphics processors! The microcode for the newest GPUs has also been released."

Gizmag: Audience response app for iPhone/iPod Touch

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:41:40 +0000

January 6, 2009 The Apple iPod/iPhone/iTunes App Store ecosystem is producing some remarkably useful tools for life, work, play, and now education. A free app for the iPhone or iPod Touch from ResponseWare transforms them into wireless, interactive audience response tools that could transform the way people learn and collaborate in many environments. The app allows alphanumeric entry for single response, multiple response, fill-in-the-blank and essay questions and the diversity of response types it offers enhances a presenter’s communication options. It displays the question and answer choices on the iPod/phone during polling and participants logged into an interactive session can review previous polls as well as instant message the leader/ with questions and feedback. Beyond education, we also see the platform getting a serious workout in any collaborative environment as a way of exploring and responding to the needs/views of an audience in any forum. This idea has legs!..

Tags: Apple, iPhone, iPod, Responseware, Software, Turning Technologies

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Hack a Day: 2y0d02b

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:08:15 +0000

The GP2Y0D02 is an infrared proximity sensor with a detection field that extends 80cm. This type of sensor can be used to build collision avoidance systems for robots. We’ll demonstrate this sensor using a single resistor and a multimeter.

Sharp GP2Y0D02 fixed 80cm IR proximity detector (Digikey #425-2064-ND, $14.38). Datasheet (PDF).

The GP2Y0D02 requires a 5volt power supply (not shown). A 0.1uF bypass capacitor between power and ground (C1) is a good idea, but we didn’t use it in our demonstration. The open collector output (pin 1) pulls to ground when no object is detected, a 12K pull-up resistor (R1) holds the signal high when an object is detected.

In the demonstration we connected the output of the sensor to a multimeter. When nothing is in front of the sensor, the detector holds the output low (0.40volts). When we put a PCB in front of the sensor, the output changes to high-impedance and the pull-up resistor (R1) holds the signal high (5volts).

Why open collector?

An open collector output doesn’t toggle between high and ground, it toggles between ground and unconnected. The unconnected state, also called high impedance, exerts nothing on the output and allows the signal line to float. This is an undefined state for most microcontrollers that returns rapidly varying values, so we use a resistor (R1) to hold the signal high. The open collector output overcomes the small amount of current flowing through resistor to register the low state. Without this resistor, the output will never reach a proper high state.

Open collector outputs are useful when several sensors need to share the same microcontroller pin. Multiple sensors outputting high to the same microcontroller pin is generally considered a bad practice that can damage parts of a circuit. Multiple open collector outputs, however, can only switch to ground; a single resistor holds the signal high. In the case of multiple GP2Y0D02s, the signal will be high only when all connected sensors detect an object and switch to high impedance state.

Like this post? Check out the parts posts you may have missed.

Douglas Crockford: Things I Learned As A Kid (Number 22 in a series)

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:44:26 +0000

There is a Santa Claus.

There isn't a Santa Claus.

The deal about Santa? The same goes for his elves, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, God, and the Halloween Ghosts and Goblins.

Linux Journal: What would you exchange Exchange for?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:52:35 +0000

It's long been clear to me that the biggest lock-in Microsoft has, at the enterprise level, is not with Windows or personal apps, but with Exchange Server. And the biggest problem there is this: it's good. Enterprises like it. And, since Exchange works only or best with Windows machines, the lock-in extends to much else. Linux and Mac boxes get purged and replaced by Windows ones.

Or so goes the story I hear from folks at big enterprises.

So I'm wondering about alternatives.

Bruce Schneier: FBI's New Cryptanalysis Contest

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:56:32 +0000

From their website.

Ars Technica: Last call for tech policy "Who's Who" nominations!

nate@arstechnica.com (Nate Anderson) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:30:00 +0000

It's the last week for nominations to our first-ever "Who's Who: People to Watch in Tech Policy" list.

Hack a Day: Caleb Kraft

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:24:04 +0000

[matiaz] has released an exploit which allows homebrew on the PSP3000. It takes advantage of a vulnerability when loading save games on a game called GripShift. You can see the PSP running unsigned code in the video.

[thanks wraggy]

Ars Technica: Twishing attacks steal data in 140 characters or less

jhruska@arstechnica.com (Joel Hruska) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:34:00 +0000

2009 is barely underway, and already we see new fun emerging from Twitter-phishing, also known as—you guessed it—twishing. Predictions for the effect this could have on the failwhale-powered service are numerous and varied as bloggers and journalists weigh in on whether phishing could sink Twitter in 140 characters or less.

Linux Weekly News: Openmoko: looking forward to 2009

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:38:40 +0000

Those who are interested in the Openmoko phone may want to look at this lengthy look forward by founder Sean Moss-Pultz. "Nobody will doubt the value of openness for the mobile industry anymore. This seems like good news at first glance. But what openness are they talking about? Look around and you'll find it's pretty different than what we've been talking about. Yes, the very definition of openness is changing. This troubles me because we cannot influence markets with our words - only our products. And the quality of our products is not world class yet. The bar has been seriously raised. Time is running out. We need to find a way to lead again. I don't believe playing catch up will work. Something fundamental needs to change."

Linux Weekly News: Monday's security updates

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:21:19 +0000

Debian has updated xterm (arbitrary code execution), ruby (denial of service).

Red Hat has updated kernel (multiple vulnerabilities).

Linux Weekly News: The GNOME DVCS survey

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:21:14 +0000

Elijah Newren has posted a lengthy analysis of the recently-concluded developer survey on distributed version control systems. "It looks like there's a strong preference in the community toward switching, and that git has a strong lead in preference among the community, followed by svn, then bzr, then mercurial."

Ars Technica: Used game prices tank as the market rewards big hits

bkuchera@arstechnica.com (Ben Kuchera) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:12:00 +0000

The gaming industry may look recession-proof, but new data shows the price of used games is going down, and poorly-planned new IP is wiping out smaller developers. 2009 could be rockier than we assumed.

Ars Technica: 2009: science celebrates 400 years of Galileo, 200 of Darwin

jtimmer@arstechnica.com (John Timmer) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:38:00 +0000

It's a big year for science, as anniversaries of major scientific accomplishments by Darwin and Galileo are set to kick off celebrations of progress in astronomy and biology.

Linux Journal: Season's Greetings Mass Mailer

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:29:15 +0000

In my last article for Linux Journal, (http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/best-wishes-new-year) I shared some of my New Year's Resolutions. One of those resolutions was to communicate more regularly with my friends and family. In this article, I'm going to describe one of the first steps I took toward making this happen.

robots.net: BaR2D2 - A Mobile Robot Bartender

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:26:10 +0000

Inspired by a Radio-Controlled cooler, Jamie Price got the idea to build a robot bar named BaR2D2. The result is a robot loaded with sound-activated neon lighting, motorized drawer for ice and mixers, and a rotating beer turntable that rotates beer bottles into position, where they are lifted to serving level by an elevator. It's also equipped with a six bottle shot dispenser. The base for the robot was constructed from an electric wheelchair obtained on Craigslist for $75. A 12VDC, 35 AH battery provides power. Victor 883 Speed Controllers are used with differential drive steering. While BaR2D2 needs to be controlled via radio at present, perhaps someone will tackle an autonomous creation along these lines. Such a beast would no doubt do well in the ROBOEXOTICA bartending robot competition.

Hack a Day: 7color_laser

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:13:23 +0000

[rog8811] sent in this really cool hack where he used the optics sled from a PS3 as a foundation for a 7 color hand held laser projector. Combining a green laser, a blue ray laser, and a red laser, he is able to produce a variety of color including white. There are step by step instructions on how to make a multicolored laser. He then goes even further, showing how to integrate this into a hand held projector with pre programmed patterns. You can see some examples of the different colors and patterns in this video.

Ars Technica: Netflix bypasses US mail, set-top box with new HDTVs from LG

jacqui@arstechnica.com (Jacqui Cheng) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:03:00 +0000

If you don't like having handfuls of set-top boxes for every little thing, LG Electronics hopes that its new line of "Broadband HDTVs" will help cut down on the clutter by integrating Netflix streaming directly into the TV.

Linux Weekly News: Palm needs Nova to shine (San Francisco Chronicle)

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:47:30 +0000

The San Francisco Chronicle looks at another entry into the Linux-based mobile phone space. Palm is expected to unveil "Nova" as a replacement for Palm OS on both phones and mobile internet devices. "Palm is poised to make what some analysts are calling its last stand at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, where it is expected to introduce its long-awaited Linux-based operating system. [...] Code-named Nova, it will power a new generation of smart phones and potentially other devices. The move is Palm's best chance to get back into the smart phone market, which it pioneered with its Treo handsets and later ceded to companies such as BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion and Apple with its iPhone."

Cool Tools: 5-in-1 Painter's Tool

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:47:05 +0000

I'd seen these scrapers for years and always figured them to be a gimmick, just a glorified putty knife. Then a friend helped me with a roofing project and brought one along. The more I used it, the more I came to see it as the single most handy, versatile and cheapest jobsite tool I've found. The basic functions: scraper, putty knife, chisel, pick, paint roll cleaner (squeegee).

I have probably a dozen of them floating around right now, always one or two on a jobsite. At a buck or so a piece, they are an incredible bargain. The pointy end does a great job of cleaning out crevices, scraping off excess glue or weld slag, prying up staples and getting into tight places. Makes a great little pry bar for wood trim. They can be used as a wedge and make a dandy temporary door stop/door hold open. The point can double as a Phillips screwdriver in a pinch. The flat side does a great job of opening cans. Sharpened up, the large flat blade can be used as a wood scraper or wood chisel. Great for those places where you may hit metal and don't want to trash a good chisel.

You can also customize them for specific tasks easily by filing or grinding them down if, say, you're refinishing and need a specific-sized scraper for the trim or you want to sharpen one side to a near-razor edge. I have seriously beat on these with a hammer and never had one shatter or snap. But they don't bend like a cheap screwdriver when prying with them. The steel is high-quality enough to do the task -- quite stiff and does not bend easily at all -- but still relatively easy to work with, file, etc.

I've had more expensive versions and cheaper ones and there isn't a noticeable amount of difference in the tools. I prefer the Dollar Store ones with the wood handle (great for hammering cans closed, etc.), but the scrapers with the nylon handle (below) are also sufficient.

-- Norman Bolser

5-in-1 Painter's Tool
$2
Available from Amazon

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3M Masking Tape Dispenser Unger Trim Scraper COOL TOOLS UNTRIED

Linux Weekly News: 6 best personal finance apps for Linux (TechRadar)

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:39:36 +0000

TechRadar takes a look at personal finance applications for Linux. The article looks at five free applications (GnuCash, KMyMoney, Buddi, Grisbi, and JGnash) as well as the Moneydance 2008 proprietary solution. "This kind of software is all about the data; getting it in, getting it out and doing useful things with it. In terms of getting data into the package, there are three things we need. We want software that makes it easy to add items to the spending side because you'll be less likely to update your ledger if doing so proves annoyingly difficult. [...] We want filters that will import transaction data downloaded from our bank account and allow easy reconciliation between local and remote records. Finally, we want to be able to set up periodic transactions that can be added to the ledger at certain points each month to deal with things such as mortgage payments."

Ars Technica: China targets Google, Baidu in latest 'Net filth crackdown

nate@arstechnica.com (Nate Anderson) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:31:00 +0000

China's state agencies are porn-hunting again, but this time their targets also include search engines like Google and Baidu.

bldgblog: Stonehenge Beneath the Waters of Lake Michigan

noreply@blogger.com (Geoff Manaugh) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:08:00 +0000

[Image: Standing stones beneath Lake Michigan? View larger].

In a surprisingly under-reported story from 2007, Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan ~~University~~ College, discovered a series of stones – some of them arranged in a circle and one of which seemed to show carvings of a mastodon – 40-feet beneath the surface waters of Lake Michigan.
If verified, the carvings could be as much as 10,000 years old – coincident with the post-Ice Age presence of both humans and mastodons in the upper midwest.

[Image: The stones beneath Lake Michigan; view larger].

In a PDF assembled by Holley and Brian Abbott to document the expedition, we learn that the archaeologists had been hired to survey a series of old boatwrecks using a slightly repurposed "sector scan sonar" device. You can read about the actual equipment – a Kongsberg-Mesotech MS 1000 – here.
The circular images this thing produces are unreal; like some strange new art-historical branch of landscape representation, they form cryptic dioramas of long-lost wreckage on the lakebed. Shipwrecks (like the Tramp, which went down in 1974); a "junk pile" of old boats and cars; a Civil War-era pier; and even an old buggy are just some of the topographic features the divers discovered.
These are anthropological remains that will soon be part of the lake's geology; they are our future trace fossils.
But down amongst those otherwise mundane human remains were the stones.

[Image: The "junk pile" of old cars and boat skeletons; view larger].

While there is obviously some doubt as to whether or not that really is a mastodon carved on a rock – let alone if it really was human activity that arranged some of the rocks into a Stonehenge-like circle – it's worth pointing out that Michigan does already have petroglyph sites and even standing stones.
A representative of the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology has even commented that, although he's skeptical, he's interested in learning more, hoping to see better photographs of the so-called "glyph stone."

[Image: The stones; view larger].

So is there a North American version of Stonehenge just sitting up there beneath the glacial waters of a small northern bay in Lake Michigan? If so, are there other submerged prehistoric megaliths waiting to be discovered by some rogue archaeologist armed with a sonar scanner?
Whatever the answer might be, the very suggestion is interesting enough to think about – where underwater archaeology, prehistoric remains, and lost shipwrecks collide to form a midwestern mystery: National Treasure 3 or Da Vinci Code 2. Even Ghostbusters: The Return.
But only future scuba expeditions will be able to tell for sure.

bldgblog: Of networks, grids, and infrastructures, or: How to make a planet

noreply@blogger.com (Geoff Manaugh) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:13:00 +0000

If I have several blogging resolutions for 2009 – and I do – one of them is definitely to read InfraNet Lab more often.

[Image: Offshore energy islands, via InfraNet Lab].

Easily one of the most interesting architecture blogs out there today – though it's really an infrastructure blog, hopefully heralding a new focus for design writers in the next few years – and written by Toronto-based architect Mason White, it tracks massive infrastructure, waste, energy, and design projects across the global landscape, taking in geology, engineering, network economics, ecology, construction innovation, future fuels, and much more.
Read it and you'll know how to "harvest energy from the earth's rotation" using mega-gyroscopes, you'll discover how a more efficient offshore seaweed industry might work, you'll pick up clues for how to design a mountain and then how to connect that mountain to others using aerial tramways, you'll get an architectural glimpse of habitat meshing, you'll take an hallucinatory tour through Taiwanese mushroom farms, you'll visit underground waste isolation sites in New Mexico, you'll turn around and go the opposite vertical direction – into the sky – to farm water from the atmosphere, and you'll even punt around the artificial inland waterways of Britain using strange mechanized structures and seeing that archipelago as hydrology first, geography later.
So go check it out – and make 2009 the year of networks, grids, and infrastructures.

Linux Weekly News: Debian votes to move forward with Lenny release

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:06:43 +0000

The results of the Lenny general resolution vote for Debian are in. The project has chosen to "Assume blobs comply with GPL unless proven otherwise" which will allow the Lenny (5.0) release to proceed. The basic problem is one that recurs each time a release is imminent in that kernel firmware does not meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines. We looked at this contentious vote a few weeks back; since that time project secretary Manoj Srivastava has resigned and Bdale Garbee has stepped in as acting secretary. It would appear that the outcome was decided shortly after the vote ended on December 27, but we somehow missed the announcement until now.

[ Update: The announcement email is now available: "Since the election concluded, several developers have asked for some statement from the DPL and/or Secretary as to what this result really means. Steve and I have discussed it, and we think it's pretty clear. This result means that the Debian Lenny release can proceed as the release team has intended, with the kernel packages currently in the archive." ]

Ars Technica: Israel/Hamas battle goes Web 2.0

nate@arstechnica.com (Nate Anderson) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:53:28 +0000

Forget the Iraqi Information Minister; governments are now turning to Twitter, YouTube, and blogs to shape public opinion about war, and the Israel/Gaza conflict looks to be one of the most wired yet.

The Daily WTF: CodeSOD: Enterprise Level Access

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Some time ago Martin F. was sent in by his IT consulting company to help fix some problems with the HR Database at a major European banking / insurance firm. He admits that the WTF worthy warning signs were there at the onset (among them being that he was the 4th in a series of consultants assigned to this project), but being relatively naive to such things, he accepted the position and spent a year shaking his head in bewilderment and, at the same time, his fists at Rob. He was an HR 'specialist' and a true IT genius who had a self-proclaimed hobby of programming in Visual Basic and was, of course, long gone from the corporation.

The HR Access-pool

The problem database held monthly snapshots of information about all the (over 50,000) employees of the bank, such as their names, DOBs, home address, function, fixed and variable salaries going back about 4 years. Over that period of time, it had expanded to an impressive 2 Million records in size which is not unheard of in any large corporation, but your typical "Select and Group By" query on 200 people took about eight minutes. However, as Martin came to discover, this was mostly due to the fact the corporate HR database was in reality an Access database sitting on some network fileshare.

Feeding-wise: every month, some 100 local providers from daughter companies would fill-in an Excel-based tool (created by the infamous Rob) that exported CSVs and send them by e-mail to the manager of the application. He would, in turn...

1. Process every file through a series of checks implemented in Ms Access. That would export new "Verified CSVs"
2. Consolidate all the verified files into another Access database
3. Find and remove people who appeared twice and do the necessary corrections (to avoid them being counted as multiple FTEs). Overwrite the "verified CSVs" with the result
4. Import the CSV's into temporary tables of the master database
5. Perform some more checks and corrections
6. Consolidate the temporary data into the master tables
7. Export all the valuable statistics to Excel files for those who needed them (mainly the financial reporting).

This song and dance took 2 people a week to accomplish. After that was done: leave 3 days for feedback and corrections from the providers, then go to step 1 and repeat the process for the "final" version.

Ol' Teller

One of Martin's first tasks was to correct some flaws in the Excel-based input tool (which every provider had a different version of since problems were dealt by e-mail on a case-to-case basis). Under the spreadsheet's ordinary looking thin veneer was a writhing dung heap of undocumented VBA code and WTFs galore that could possibly stand on its own as a separate CodeSOD submission, but for Martin, one procedure stood out as being truly a case of doing something completely wrong.

Private Function Row_Is_Empty(iRowNr As Long, lLastCol, sh As Worksheet) As Boolean   

   Dim j As Integer 

   Dim is_empty As Boolean 

   Dim teller As Integer 

   teller = 0 

   Dim curr_cell As String 

   For j = 1 To lLastCol 

         curr_cell = Trim(Replace(sh.Cells(iRowNr, j).value, Chr(10), "")) 

      If curr_cell <> vbNullString Then 

        teller = teller + 1 

      Else 

        teller = teller 

      End If 

   Next j 

   If teller = 0 Then 

   is_empty = True 

   Else 

   is_empty = False 

   End If 

   teller = 0 

   If is_empty = true Then   

   Row_Is_Empty = is_empty 

   Else 

   Row_Is_Empty = false 

   End If 

   is_empty = False 

   teller = 0 

End Function

Brought to you by the Non-WTF Job Board:

Bruce Schneier: Trends in Counterfeit Currency

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:34:15 +0000

It's getting worse:

More counterfeiters are using today's ink-jet printers, computers and copiers to make money that's just good enough to pass, he said, even though their product is awful.
In the past, he said, the best American counterfeiters were skilled printers who used heavy offset presses to turn out decent 20s, 50s and 100s. Now that kind of work is rare and almost all comes from abroad.

[...]

Green pointed to a picture hanging in his downtown conference room. It's a photo from a 1980s Lenexa case that involved heavy printing presses and about 2 million fake dollars.

"That's what we used to see," he boomed. "That's the kind of case we used to make."

Agents discovered then that someone had purchased such equipment and a special kind of paper and it all went to the Lenexa shop. Then the agents secretly went in there with a court order and planted a tiny video camera on a Playboy calendar.

They streamed video 24/7 for days, stormed in with guns drawn and sent bad guys to federal prison.

Green's voice sank as he described today's sad-sack counterfeiters.

These people call up pictures of bills on their computers, buy paper at an office supply store and print out a few bills. They cut the bills apart, go into a store or bar and pass one or two.

Many offenders are involved with drugs, he said, often methamphetamine. If they get caught, so little money is involved that federal prosecutors won't take the case.

It's interesting. Counterfeits are becoming easier to detect while people are becoming less skilled in detecting it:

Part of the problem, Green said, is that the government has changed the money so much to foil counterfeiting. With all the new bills out there, citizens and even many police officers don't know what they're supposed to look like.
Moreover, many people see paper money less because they use credit or debit cards.

The result: Ink-jet counterfeiting accounted for 60 percent of $103 million in fake money removed from circulation from October 2007 to August 2008, the Secret Service reports. In 1995, the figure was less than 1 percent.

Another article on the topic.

Ars Technica: Ars at Macworld '09: Rumor roundup and live keynote plans

jacqui@arstechnica.com (Jacqui Cheng) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Ars plans to cover this year's Macworld Expo keynote live on the front page this Tuesday, and we'll do it better than ever before. Even without Steve Jobs, the Philnote is sure to bring some surprises. Read on to see what has been rumored thus far.

Idiot Toys: PROMOTIONAL CHRISTMAS: Another mature lady making very little effort

noreply@blogger.com (Cmdr_Zorg) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Blogger broke over Christmas, so we weren't able to fully unload our PROMOTIONAL CHRISTMAS work. Here's the last one - it really is the MD of the company in a Santa hat and her red suit jacket. Hopefully companies will feel able to hire models again in time for Christmas 2009, otherwise it's going to be a long, miserable year with nothing to look forward to. THE HARD SELL: "Thanks to the

Idiot Toys: WENGE FLASH: Wenge spotted in ASDA

noreply@blogger.com (Cmdr_Zorg) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:21:00 +0000

The National Wenge Association has been working hard! Wenge has gone mainstream, and is now a STAR COLOUR of the latest ASDA furniture range. 2009 - the year of Wenge. Let's paint the town Wenge. "I was in my local ASDA (yes, I know) today when I noticed this - Wenge on sale!" "Apparently they have a whole Wenge finish range. Of crap furniture in smashed up boxes." "If ASDA is selling