Costume Update: Gambit is go

I am going to the NYC Halloween Parade as X-Men's Gambit this year.  While my costume has involved nearly no sewing it has still been a lot of work.  Why?  Well, the crowning glory and keystone of this ensemble is a special glove.  Because what does Gambit do?  He charges cards to make them red and pretty (and full of 'splodey).  So I needed to be able to do that to cards.  Here is what happened with that aspect of the costume.  And my father helped (a lot) with every step, so thanks to him.

Gambit Version 1 - Take clear playing cards and set up an LED array behind them with a switch.  It should look like it's glowing.  Except clear cards are too clear and covering the back with parchment paper makes the LED array fall off the non-stick surface.  When we switched to regular cards there is no where in front to hide the LEDs.  Except my palm...

Gambit Version 2 - Make a small array of LEDs across the palm of the Gambit glove, powered with a few coin cell batteries.  The problem is how to connect the batteries.  You see, when we tried to solder them into the circuit one exploded in my face.  It would have been great for the costume except it didn't glow red.  And it shot chemicals into my face.

Gambit Version 3 - Purchased battery holders for the coin cells, along with more flexible wire and switches with solder tabs to hold the insanity at bay.  Result?

Not only can I make anything in my hands glow but the gloves contain no MSG (says the news paper).  The shots are low quality because it was not great lighting and the picture is essentially of the light from an LED set but you get the idea.  Also, the batteries you can see wired to my wrist clip into the glove's band using the soldered connections as hooks.    The switch is located on the inside of the middle finger so all I have to do is squeeze the cards and they light.

So not only is the Gambit costume complete and I've successfully managed to make one awesome accessory but... for the first time in 3 months I have my DSLR in working conditions with both lenses.  So I'll be taking that to NYC with me.  Expect some great shots.

Attention library patrons...

Attention library patrons... by bulletproofheeb

I can fix the debates

So I don't know how many of you have noticed but this year the live debates aren't working. The first debate was OK but the second one was a crap-fest of astronomical proportions. The VP debate doesn't count since it only had 1.5 candidates present. But the debates are broken this year.

 

Why? Well, the campaign climate is awful. Hillary and the Republicans have taken a gloves off mudslinging stance from the get go and that doesn't really lend itself to civil debate. To make things worse the moderators can't keep the candidates on point for questions. That means we end up with McCain spreading his lies about Obama and then Obama needs to break format to respond. The only way the live debate format will work this year is if they give the moderators the ability to turn off a candidate's microphone and ask them to get back on topic. They aren't allowed to do that.

 

What I propose is a huge overhaul. First off, there's no reason for the debates to be 100% live. It's not realistic. What we are saying is “Sure, in real life you'll have a half hour minimum to respond to any question ever, plus you'll have a full cabinet of advisors to tell you things, but when we judge you we want off the cuff perfection. NOW!” That doesn't make sense to me. Not only that but since it's all spur of the moment (I know there's preparation but still) that means they can go back and renege on anything. So I've come up with a new, better and more appropriate debate format.

 

• Phase One

  • When each candidate arrives for the debate are are to be sequestered separate from each other. Each candidate may take 1 advisor along with them.

  • They will be given a list of all debate questions.

  • They will be given a generous 20 minutes per question to come up with written responses.

  • They are required to answer all questions and to write answers that will not exceed 4 minutes in length when read aloud.

• Phase Two

  • The candidates will be brought together in the studio for the live portion of the debate. Their advisors will be brought back stage.

  • For each question each candidate will read their written responses with no change.

  • Once both candidates have read their answers the moderator will either let them discuss the differences in their plans or ask a related follow up question.

• Phase Three

  • This will be the standard audience/moderator question with a response from each of the candidates.

  • However, the moderator is allowed to interrupt and ask them to please return to the topic if they stray.

  • If they are asked twice to stay on topic and veer off again they are penalized 30 seconds of speaking time for the next question.

  • When presenting past stances and actions in the government in regards to their opponent they are required to cite a primary source. The logic behind this is if it's true enough to accuse the other candidate of and incorporate into your campaign then you should have gotten it from a reliable primary source to begin with.

    • Candidates will be allowed to have these citations handed to them as needed by their chosen advisor from phase one. All citations must be prepared ahead of time, brought to the debate and copies given to the moderator before phase two.

 

That is my proposal. The first phase makes the positions stated more stable and trustworthy than anything they might just happen to say. For instance, at the VP debate Biden, who isn't for same sex marriage but is for same sex couple rights, used the term “marriage” while defending what he thinks all Americans are entitled to. Writing their position down will cut down on incorrect wording.

 

There is also enough time in there for candidates to respond to each other, but since it comes after the prepared portion these responses can't constitute the majority of each persons' speeches.

 

Another important addition this would bring is the need for citations. An example of this is how McCain claims that Obama is for teaching sex education to kindergärtners. What the legislation Obama supported really said was that he was for teach age appropriate sex education in public schools (read the full bill here and read a summary of the issue over at Newsweek). So in kindergarten that mean being taught it's not OK to be touched by adults. That brings up the question:

“Why doesn't McCain want little children to know they shouldn't be touched by adults?”

Stephen Colbert claims Obama would be sworn in on a gay baby rather than a bible. I claim that McCain would request to touch a slightly older child than a baby as he's sworn into office.

 

Also important is that by having time to think and to have an advisor present for the first portion it is much closer to how a president would react on the job. The audience would be able to judge them in a situation much closer to how they'd perform later.

 

The fact that we can't trust either of the two presidential candidates to actually respond to topics when asked, or to remain civil when left in a room together, doesn't bode well for either of them. It reeks of immaturity, fear mongering and a general lack of decorum and self control that we should require in a president. But since this is what we've got this election we should at least get them to tell us their positions rather than ranting about how they perceive the other guy's platform.

LolHeroes - Season 3, episodes 1 and 2

They're back.  I'm a little behind but should catch up by next week.  I've got to say that I'm not very impressed with the season so far.  There are a lot of continuity errors, changes in world structure and poor story telling.  Here's hoping for improvement.

And now, on with the show!

See you soon for episodes 3 and 4.

 

Netflix makes some changes and I'm just waiting for the world to notice

So an interesting development has happened with Netflix. Yes, they released their API which is awesome and means software developers out there will now be rolling out custom Netflix programs across all platforms, but that's not the big news that broke. The other thing Netflix announced is that they have made a deal with Starz Play. And this is where it gets really interesting.

Starz Play is a streaming/download service from the Starz cable channel. It isn't a Netflix competitor but rather a Starz station alternative. They have a much smaller selection of movies availible, about 1,000. What Starz will do is roll their selection by keeping the most recent movies up and knocking off the back end. When a new movie is made available to Starz they'll knock off movie 1,000, push everything down and make the new release movie number 1. For $7.99 you can get a Starz Play subscription through Netflix, or get all of Netflix (watch now and disc service) for $8.99 so I'm not sure of the logic in that. What this means for regular Netflix subscribers is that you now have 783 new streaming titles available as of this morning and another 1,500 titles scheduled from Starz by the end of the year. Many of these are new releases like Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Spiderman 3 and Superbad.

So far this has just sounded like a Netflix press release so let me tell you what the game changing factor is here. People with Netflix, for all practical purposes, now have access to a premium cable station regardless of their cable subscription. If you have basic cable from any provider but also a Netflix subscription then you have a cable station. Even if you don't have cable at all you still have a cable station. That, along with the Netflix deals with ABC, NBC and the Disney Channel, mean that your cable subscription is fast becoming obsolete. Sure, you could always use bittorrent on sites like EZTV.it and avoid cable all together but this is the first move, from a unambiguously 100% unambiguously legal perspective, to have cable content without cable. Between Hulu, Netflix streams and Comcast's Fancast you can watch most network TV shows the day after they air, in HD, on demand. Without any sort of TV service.

The fact that this is rushing in on the heels of Comcast instilling a 260 gig/month bandwidth limit is both exciting and problematic. The reason is that the trade off between this increase TV over the internet is that it takes a lot of data transfer. Speed is no longer the issue, with most people now running residential cable connections instead of dial-up. The issue is managing all of that data traffic. Comcast's response is to cap connections to avoid the tubes being tied. Other providers offer tiered service by having the customer pay by usage. Still, this is great for consumers. Instead of a “get what you pay for” service people are now offered a “pay for what you take” service. Only pay for the bandwidth you use and only pay per channel that you want. It's the equivalent of not paying for food by what you take home, but rather paying for what you use. That extra half gallon of milk that you poured out and never drank? On the house. But you wanted more steak this week? Pay for that instead. Only want 3 movies from Starz instead of the whole channel this month? Then you just pay the bandwidth for those movie and not for the cable service. Just want to catch up on Best Week Ever and Heroes? Then cut off your cable subscription and catch those on the net, paying only for those.

While this is all great, it's a new market structure that neither the cable providers nor the stations have yet grasped. If I had to guess, I'd say the stations will catch on right before the cable providers but I have no idea when. What you're seeing right now is a couple of policies mixing and neither group noticing.

On one hand you have TV stations clawing for more audience numbers with online services. I only watch Simpsons on Hulu.com during my lunch break but since Fox wants those numbers they've legitimized internet TV in exchange for being able to count viewers. Instead of just counting watchers for a show the night it airs many places are counting that plus online and Tivo views within 3 days. This will eventually move to 2 exasperate but equally important markets: pure time-shifting online watchers (raises hand) and regular TV audiences.

The other policy is that of the internet providers fighting to control their bandwidth usage and attempt to curb P2P. Comcast previously had an unspeakable, invisible cap for their “unlimited” internet plan. After being charged by the FCC they changed it to a public 260 gig/month. This usage limit is what is mixing with the internet viewer scramble and where it mixes is where this new market will be won and lost.

In essence you now have content providers and service providers become consumers. A TV station (Fox, NBC, HBO) can now choose how they want their content spread; internet, cable, torrent, iTunes. At the same time you have service providers with a new choice about what to provide. If any cable provider wanted, they could drop all TV signal and focus on the internet. While that sounds like they'd be limiting their market they could easily throw in a Netflix subscription and a Netflix set-top box (the API is public now, remember?) as part of their service the way Comcast currently provides MacCaffey antivirus subscriptions to their subscribers. This would let them focus their money and resources in one specific direction while still offering what people want. And for anyone who is complaining about watching all this on their computer instead of their nice TV, since Netflix has a public API anyone can make a set-top box to play SD and HD streams on their TV from Netflix, Hulu and other sites. That's what we do at my place.

Ok, that was a lot to take in. What does it all mean? Well, for now it means that all you TV watchers have lots of options and to the few of you tech-savvy viewers you have little or no need to ever look at a TV schedule again. For you less savvy folks it means that in the future (not too far off) you wont need to look at a schedule. You just need to wait until the TV stations and the cable providers realize this. Because technology isn't as good as the cutting edge of technology; it's only as good as the cutting edge of usable technology.

Call for help: RE Ubuntu and Linux

Recently I've been working on a bunch of tech projects.  I have a Media Center PC at 98% completion and 14 inch, wifi enabled digital picture frame assembled and just waiting for an actual frame.  I also picked up a discarded laptop and put Linux Ubuntu on to mess around with.  I figured a new OS would be fun to learn and being a techy guy it wouldn't be much trouble.

 

Well, 3 days with this thing and it's driving me nuts.  The install was a pain, but that's because the laptop's optical drive is a bit... touch.  I ended up rolling a distro onto a USB key and telling the BIOS to ask where to boot from with every start up.  That worked and now it boots great.  But Ubuntu isn't playing nice with me.

 

I figure the best way to start learning is to jump right in and what better way to learn basic system settings than by customizing the interface.  I figured changing the screensaver, wallpaper, icons, etc would be a great way to learn the menus and see what sort of look Ubuntu can give me.  Well, it's been 3 days and I have yet to figure out how to install a simple screensaver.  Maybe I haven't found the right forum sites but no set of instructions has worked so far.  I'm not a Microsoft whore but in windows you either ran an install file or dropped the .scr file into  your windows directory.  Easy.  No so with this.  One screensaver has a filetype that doesn't launch any sort of installer or manager and the other I downloaded is a compressed archive with many many subfolders.  Extracting those to my system didn't do anything at all.

 

Then there's the desktop manager.  There's a program called Compiz.  It lets you customize your desktop with great visual effects.  You can make windows jiggle, you can customize the layout of multiple desktops and you can filter colours.  Supposedly.  I have seen many many many references to this really neat looking cube display for managing multiple desktops.  You hit a key and a 3D cube appears with a different desktop on each side.  Just rotate it and the one you want spins over and pops up.  Doesn't work.  All it lets me do is flip between 2, making the rest of my desktops (I use a total of 4) completely inaccessible.  Then there's the colour filtering.  You set the order of the filters, the hot key to activate/deactivate the filter and another hot key to cycle through them.  I've always wanted to make a steampunk set up with either a black and white or sepia screen.  This will be great!  Except that it never activates at all, let alone lets me cycle through.

 

The real kicker is that to get the few features that seem to work up and running I need to launch the program, Compiz, and then have it reload my window manager with ever log on.  Supposedly I've successfully made it run on startup except that it doesn't.  In Windows I would just make a shortcut to it in the startup folder or, if the programmer was smart, check a single box in the actual program to get it to run.  Well, I followed the instructions for a command line solution and a startup entry solution.  Neither does a single bit of good.

 

So, maybe some of you people out there can help me, or forward this on to a tech-savvy friend: How the hell does one do anything in Linux?  How is it that in one night I can rollout XP on an old laptop, customize it with software to make it an RSS fed picture frame, disassemble the whole of the hardware and put it back together to look like nothing but a screen.  I can do all that but in the course of 3 days I can't get a single feature that's supposedly the easy, welcoming staples of the of the Ubuntu system to run on a laptop with better specs?  I've been bookmarking sites and preparing for a Linux changeover for a couple of weeks but none of those sources have working instructions.  I mean, I know they must be working for most people because these are big web sites with satisfied comments.  But right after an out of the box install you would think that copying and pasting command line code would work.  I mean, there's no room for error there.  Any yet I get nothing.

 

So please, drop some advice or ask your friends to if they know about Linux, because I'm so close to just reformatting and putting windows back on.  At least that OS let me do things other than surf the internet.  Right now my cell phone has more user friendly appeal than my laptop.

In celebration of 9-11

We all know that 9-11 is not really "Patriot Day".  It's "Call Everyone A Terrorist Day".  And indeed, there are many people who should be called terrorists out and about this year.  Let's take a look at the past day or so and see what pops up:

Are Fire Hydrants in Your Neighborhood Turned On?

If so, you might be helping terrorists.  In this Texas district the council was smart enough to turn off all fire hydrants since 9-11!

"These hydrants need to be cut off in a way to prevent vandalism or any kind of terrorist activity, including something in the water lines," Hodges said.

Sure, it cost one local man his home in a fire, but you know what?  At least the terrorists didn't get his stuff.

Lose your house, lose your vote

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

Sure, it stops fakers from voting from foreclosed addresses.  But what about people who still live there?  What about people who don't have a new address?  What about people fighting and contesting the foreclosure?  Don't worry, this would stop them from voting too.  Remember, when poor people vote rich people suffer.

 

Senate Committee Expands Justice Department Copyright Enforcement Powers

Sweeping legislation granting the U.S. Justice Department the ability to prosecute civil cases of copyright infringement sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee 14-4 on Thursday, and is expected to hit the Senate floor for a vote soon.
[...]
The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act, (.pdf) as we reported Tuesday, also creates a Cabinet-level copyright-patent czar charged with creating a worldwide plan to combat piracy. The czar would "report directly to the president and Congress regarding domestic and international intellectual property enforcement programs."

Finally, people are stepping up to change unreasonable search and seizure, along with due process, into the new standard.  I'm sick of all these "rights" and whatnot.  It takes to long to get people prosecuted!

Quebec man changes name to dodge relentless airport screening

While he loses patriot points for both complaining about security and for being Canadian he does get ingenuity points.  He got around the terrorist watch list by changing his name from Mario Labbé to François Mario Labbé.  Really.  It's not like a terrorist would ever think of chaning their name.  The system is safe for another day.

Cops Need Warrant for Cellphone Location Data, Judge Rules
And this man is a terrorist.  He pushed until a judge ruled that the police do indeed need a warrant to tap your cell phone and track your movement.  But don't worry.  The ruling only applies to Pennsylvania so the rest of the country is still fare game.  Freedom is knowing that people with guns always know where you are.  Always.