11 Sep

Happy 7 years of this blogging

General Entertainment, Internet, News by Nick

Readers, I’ve been blogging in earnest for seven years, as of today. Strange, I know, that it happens to fall on September 11th. So what was I up to seven years ago? Reading through the dead posts on my “nickblog” account on Blogger, it seems that I was:

excited about Dusty integrating a blog for me into the now defunct AResultofBoredom.org
about to be ripped off for 850 college-student dollars for a never-delivered Sony VAIO
questioning one of many truly stupid decisions perpetuated by my high school/college girlfriend
preparing to embark on a job interview at the Moxie cafe in West Halls

I can actually remembering hammering out that first post on Blogger, if you can believe it. Just me and the 2400c/180 in my first dorm room. I had been writing for an indeterminate amount of time using Blogger and HTML-based web pages. (Probably back to at least 2000.) But I can’t find any of these materials, so we are going to have to call 9/11/02 the beginning.

So, happy blog-day to me. Thanks for reading.

18 Aug

I hope this is a new feature

Art, Cars, Internet, Want by Nick

Jalopnik is a perennial favorite car blog read every day for me. I was delighted to see that they had a piece by Peter Orosz (of Hyperleggera fame) today under the heading of “Design Deconstructed.” The first case study was the 2010 Acura ZDX (a schizophrenic car if I’ve ever seen one.) I enjoyed reading what was essentially the same sort of autistic deconstruction of a motoring form that I myself often force upon the unlucky (Kate.) What most people see as nothing more than an appliance can send me through hundreds of words of compare and contrast. It was truly wonderful to read some else’s similar exploration – especially since I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen the same comparison cars. I’d love to see more Design Deconstructed breakdowns of today’s vehicles.

Here’s hoping it’s a recurring feature, Jalopnik!

12 Aug

A lament for OiNK

Internet, Music, Technology by Nick

Do you remember OiNK? I do, because it was the best damned music downloading service (that I’m sure we would never have used, legal beagles we all are, yeah?) It was an absolute dream to use, had everything one could ever want and, of course, was free. Gizmodo posted a great summary of a podcast by Greg Kot on the failings of the music industry – specifically, how these missteps produced piracy. I was both surprised and delighted to see author Dan Nosowitz openly proclaim his love for OiNK. In so doing he rightly pointed out that there has still not been a true competitor for this BitTorrent tracker, not even Apple’s iTunes. The story is worth a read, and the podcast is probably worth a listen (I haven’t had time yet, myself, but Greg was highly entertaining when he was at the Lit House this past Spring.)

22 Jun

I was so excited for a moment

Cars, Internet, Unexplained by Nick

I received a delightful email a moment ago from Twitter, alerting me to something amazingly unexpected:

Bigfoot on Twitter

Naturally, my cryptid-minded self thought “Oh, sweet! Bigfoot researchers!” But, I soon realized that this particular team happens to race in the name of ‘squatches. Still, my disappointment was palpable.

In any case, hello to my new LeMons followers! Glad to make your Twitter-acquaintance.

27 May

Chestertown has found the internet

Internet by Nick

It seemed inconceivable to me when I arrived here that Chestertown, by and large, wasn’t online. Sure, some restaurants had web pages. Sometimes you could find the dry cleaner’s phone number online. Occasionally the movie times at the glamorous Chester 5 were even correct when you found them. However, there was not really any sort of push for the community to use the web’s resources to make life easier for residents.

Well, with the advent of The Chestertown Spy it seems that the offline-only predilection of the Eastern Shore might finally be giving way, just in time for the second decade of the 21st century. Congratulations, Chestertown. May you even develop comprehensive online classifieds or a Craigslist next!

12 Apr

Weird.

General Entertainment, Internet, News by Nick

A woman’s third arm has been confirmed as actually existing – in her brain. Following a stroke, a woman in Switzerland can see, feel and use an extra arm that she describes as translucent and pale white. Doctors have scanned her brain and report activity that corresponds to an additional limb on the right side of her body. Very strange. If reality is only a consensus on what fits into a box, perhaps this is something that is outside the collective box but well within her private collection of real experiences?

11 Apr

Never order from ProFlowers.com

Internet by Nick

In July, I thought I’d be nice and order Kate some flowers from ProFlowers.com, as she’d ordered things for her mom there and they had nice products and a good selection. And then I didn’t really order anything else flower-wise again. However, this morning I discovered that the Visa card I stopped using a month or so ago was carrying a charge from “Easy Saver” for $14.95. I thought that I had perhaps seen these charges before, but always thought it was a gas station or maybe my EZPass charging me and never thought much of it. A closer look showed these charges showing up at a rate of one per month since August 2008 – totaling $135.

A stop on Google later revealed that Easy Saver has been scamming lots of ProFlowers.com customers the same way – and that ProFlowers.com knows about it but still maintains a partnership with this “discount and rewards program.”

I have to say, any company that charges you for something or enrolls you in a service because you had no opportunity to say “no” is completely fraudulent in my book. And any company that knowingly turns over their customer’s credit card information to a company that will only use it to rip off innocent people is even worse.

Never buy from ProFlowers.com. If you have, check your credit card statements for charges from Easy Saver. If you’ve been charged call 1-800-453-2894 and ask that an NTR form be filled out and that your money be refunded. Complain to the BBB about ProFlowers.com and spread the word. This is the worst kind of anti-consumer bullshit and it’s got to stop.

P.S. After I got off the phone with ProFlowers.com, Kate discovered that she, too had been charged since she last ordered flowers for her mom in August.

1 Apr

Links and articles

General Entertainment, Internet, Music, News, Technology by Nick

Sometimes I have a day where I’m given more to read and look at by friends online than I can actually process. Sometimes I’m busy enough during a given day where even two items are too many to handle. Yesterday was one of these days. So, I present you with the COPIOUS amounts of materials now:

First, from Kim back in good old State College comes Mia Kim, aka Sukey Rose. Sukey Rose is just an indie girl looking to make her first album. But, in this cruel, financial catastrophe we find ourselves in, who’s got the money for dreams? Thus, Mia Kim is turning her first album into a project in which you can make yourself a stakeholder. And, from the sounds of her sounds, I think she’s going to go far.
And, from the more serious side of things comes a really great article provided to me by Tara on the science of systems collapses. Basically, the researcher being chronicled, Buzz Holling, has found a way to distill all complex systems down into a simple concept. Birth, growth, specialization and collapse/rebirth. It’s fascinating to read this metaphor of a forest ecosystem and then apply it to the auto industry, the banking industry and society as a whole. A light read, considering its implications, too. Reminded me muchly of Stephen Wolfram’s 2002 book, A New Kind of Science.

22 Mar

Divine language dictionary

Internet, Movies by Nick

Another Sunday evening and The Fifth Element is on TBS again. I’d have never guessed, back in 1998 while watching this on HBO (since no one would take me to see it in the theatre) that this movie would become such a mainstay on the TV films circuit.

I’m not complaining of course. This is always a treat to see. Milla Jovovich, Jean-Paul Gaultier, the future – what’s not to love?

I realized that Luc Besson and Milla Jovovich had developed a “Divine Language” for Leelo to speak in the film but I just learned tonight that there’s been an effort to expand and write down this fictitious language. Behold:

The Divine Language (on Blogger)

They are even working on other translations for the dictionary based on languages other than English. It’s like frakkin’ Tolkein shit up in here. Some people are so very motivated by the weirdest things.

I’m glad that they are.

31 Aug

Finger on the pulse of a nation

ARoB, Cars, Internet by Nick

Jalopnik has created a helpful guide to the douch-iest drivers in America…and what they are driving. The United States of Automotive Douchebaggery! Now, before you travel, you can check to see what cars you should look out for in any given area. And here’s a helpful hint you can take to the bank: all of the drivers in Maryland are likely to be terrible, regardless of what they are pushing!