thepetecom.blogspot.com: November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Wandering Around Hollywood

Here I am on the corner of Hollywood and Highland. After finishing the
novel last night (exactly a day early!) I just haven't felt like being
at home in front of the keyboard. Go fig.
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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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Thursday, November 29, 2007

ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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OLPC XO Laptop 1st Day Donor Badge!

Yep, if you're like me and ordered yourself and a 3rd World kid an XO
laptop on November 12, 2007, it's now possible to obnoxiously brag
about it to everyone who visits your blog!! That's right!

Read more about it here:

http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/g1g1/olpc_first_day_donor.html

Also, you can put yourself on a Frapper map, too!

http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/g1g1/olpc_community_map.html

Not sure what the point is to either of these, aside from giving us
FDDs a new way to be elitist. Still, I'll do both because it
advertises the cause of putting computers in front of 3rd World kids.
It's not like I put a "Mad on a Mac" badge on every web page I create.
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ThePete.Cam

Yep, for anyone following along, I wrote over 6000 words in the last 4.5 hours. NICE. I think I can only write like this in the middle of the night. But yeah, I've blown past the 50k minimum for NaNoWriMo, now I just need to finish the damn story. I had some stupid idea I could do it last night, but I don't know what I was thinking. It'll definitely be tonight, though. I've only got one chapter left in the story and probably about four or five scenes in it. Can't wait to get to it. The thing is, I'm so fired up on caffeine, I bet I could keep going. But I need a break.

...THUD!
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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Welcome to OLPC Email!!

Hey, check it out! It's a screencap of the email I just got from OLPC
regarding my day-one purchase of an XO laptop! SWEET! They're saying
my donated laptop is already on the way to a kid in a 3rd World
country! Awesome. Seriously, that just feels cool to have paid for
one of these for some kid someplace. I just wish we could be in touch
with the kid to help him/her out and encourage them to learn and to
help out when we can.

And the email does one worse--it gives me a window of when to expect
my XO to be delivered. It's a TEN DAY WINDOW! I'm going to be
driving my wife crazy between the 13th and the 24th as I bounce off
the walls waiting for my XO to show up. Anyway, that's the update for
now!

OH wait--Laptopmag.org did do a comparison between the XO and the
eee--which to me is way too much like comparing Windows machines to
Macs. Ultimately, it's up to user preference. They both have
strengths and weaknesses depending on what you're looking for in a
low-power-consuming, portable PCish device. Feel free to have a read
if it'll help you decide which you'd rather buy
(http://laptopmag.com/Features/OLPC-XO-vs-Asus-Eee-PC-701.htm?page=0)
though for $400 you might as well go with the XO so a 3rd World kid
can get one, too.
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BIGGEST BANK IN USA BAILED OUT BY MIDDLE EASTERN INVESTMENT

Wow, just when I didn't think things could get overtly worse, Citibank, the largest bank in the US, gets an investment from some folks in Dubai to the tune of 7.5 billion USD. At least, that's what a November 27, 2007 article from AP.org available at MyWay.com reported. What I don't get here is why no one in the press is really freaking out because of this. Sure, the article's main point is that Citibank rebounded on Wall Street, so, everything's cool, right?

Wrong.

If the biggest bank in the US can falter once, it can falter again and who knows if it can do worse than falter? Our economy is tanking, even more so now thanks to the failing mortgage market. This is actually what brought on Citibank's troubles. However, before the AP reported about the Dubai investment, they reported that a "New Wave of Mortgage Failures Could Create a Nightmare Economic Scenario." Check out this cutting from a November 24, 2007 article from AP.org available at Biz.Yahoo.com:

Soaring mortgage default rates this year already have shaken major financial institutions and the fallout from more of them, some experts say, could spread from those already battered banks into the general economy.

The worst-case scenario is anyone's guess, but some believe it could become very bad.

"We haven't faced a downturn like this since the Depression," said Bill Gross, chief investment officer of PIMCO, the world's biggest bond fund. He's not suggesting anything like those terrible times -- but, as an expert on the global credit crisis, he speaks with authority.

"Its effect on consumption, its effect on future lending attitudes, could bring us close to the zero line in terms of economic growth," he said. "It does keep me up at night."

What's scary is that we already have data to confirm one bad thing that guy predicted. He said this sort of economic crisis could have a bad "effect on consumption." Now, I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure that means "buying stuff." Turns out Black Friday sales are actually higher than expected, that according to a November 28, 2007 article at PublicBroadcasting.net. What does that mean? It means, on the surface, that people aren't letting this economic-downturn-stuff get to them and they're spending anyway.

It also means that people aren't preparing for the future. Sure, a record number of mortgages are defaulting, but does that mean you should stop racking up debt?

Uh, actually, YES.

It means you should stop spending and start planning for the long term. But no one wants to face reality these days. They just want to cling to their Xboxes and their false illusions about their SUVs and excessive lifestyles. After all, we're using up 140% of the Earth's resources just for food. But hey, that's not important. Hillary insulting Obama is way more exciting!

Or are you following Paris Hilton's exploits?

Either way we need to get greener fast.

The Environment™, it's that thing you're living in--and we can't save it if our economy is a mess.

Orignal From: BIGGEST BANK IN USA BAILED OUT BY MIDDLE EASTERN INVESTMENT

ThePete.Cam

Needless to say, my hand wound isn't giving me too much trouble ^_^

For this, I am very thankful!

Oh and the tiny writing to the left on the slate says "4208 wds tonite!" I think I actually spent a little too much time writing tonight. It'll be hard to curtail it back tomorrow night. Ah well. Hey, anybody out there know any publishers? ^_^
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ThePete.Cam

Needless to say, my hand wound isn't giving me too much trouble ^_^

For this, I am very thankful!

Oh and the tiny writing to the left on the slate says "4208 wds tonite!" I think I actually spent a little too much time writing tonight. It'll be hard to curtail it back tomorrow night. Ah well. Hey, any Uttererz out there know any publishers? ^_^
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CNN: FCC board rejects expanded cable oversight; ThePete: Of Course They Do

This is another great example of the coming feudal planet where corporations rule with governments just pretending to be in charge. The FCC, which is stacked with Republicans ruled against enlarging government regulation over cable companies. Yeah, big surprise, big government ruling in favor of big business. What's worse is that they're masquerading the move as being for our own good. Check out this cutting from a CNN.com article that reports on the FCC being butt-buddies with big business (I'm paraphrasing, of course):

A recent FCC report promoted by Kevin Martin, the agency's chairman, found that cable TV reaches a wide enough U.S. audience to trigger a rule within a 1984 law that would give the government significant new powers to ensure program diversity.

But a majority of the agency's five-member commission said the report endorsed flawed data and should have used other sources. Some said they weren't even aware of the agency's own numbers until Monday night.

"Our job of ascertaining the facts is made more difficult because the draft cherry picked the only data that justified the outcome apparently desired while suppressing other data," Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said.

Right, right--so FCC dudes that are of the same ilk as the Bushites who suppressed data on Global Warming are now claiming that pro-big-business data is being suppressed? Likely story.

The math is simple here, folks. Power corrupts. Regulation curtails power. And since I have exactly two real choices for my TV service provider (one cable company and one mini-dish company serve my area) I'd say more regulation is required. I have no choices within the services, too. For Time-Warner Cable, I can either pay too much for too little, way too much for more, but still not enough decent programming, or--well, that's where I stopped paying attention.

Ah well...

Orignal From: CNN: FCC board rejects expanded cable oversight; ThePete: Of Course They Do

ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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http://ThePete.Com: CNN: FCC ...

http://ThePete.Com: CNN: FCC board rejects expanded cable oversight; ThePete: Of Course They Do http://tinyurl.com/23qw5y

Orignal From: http://ThePete.Com: CNN: FCC ...

CNN: FCC board rejects expanded cable oversight; ThePete: Of Course They Do

A recent FCC report promoted by Kevin Martin, the agency's chairman, found that cable TV reaches a wide enough U.S. audience to trigger a rule within a 1984 law that would give the government significant new powers to ensure program diversity.

But a majority of the agency's five-member commission said the report endorsed flawed data and should have used other sources. Some said they weren't even aware of the agency's own numbers until Monday night.

"Our job of ascertaining the facts is made more difficult because the draft cherry picked the only data that justified the outcome apparently desired while suppressing other data," Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said.

Orignal From: CNN: FCC board rejects expanded cable oversight; ThePete: Of Course They Do

ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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Project365 20071127 My Hand Wound -kinda graphic

Yep, this is what's making the last few days of National Novel Writing
Month more of a challenge. Just as I caught up an empty PoweBook box
falls on my hand, corner-first. Weee!!
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterz.

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HANDWOUND... arg... this'll ma...

HANDWOUND... arg... this'll make the last four days of NaNo a lot of fun. A bloody circle of flesh right where I put pressure when I write.

Orignal From: HANDWOUND... arg... this'll ma...

ThePete.Cam

Just what I needed with 8,000 words and four days left on National Novel Writing Month--a gash in my hand. Well, gash isn't entirely accurate--it's maybe the diameter of a pencil and not super deep--but it's write where I rest my hand as I type. And I just had to try and catch that empty laptop box after it fell from the highest perch in the apartment. :\
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Monday, November 26, 2007

IRON MAN-STYLE ROBOT EXO-SUIT AVAILABLE NOW

Wow, this is pretty damn trippy:

Found this military exo-suit video at Engadget which led me to a post on the same robotic exo-suit video at Wired.

Funny how when the Japanese designed an exo-suit back in 2005, it was designed to help people who needed medical attention. An American company does it and it's all about the ~~killing~~ military applications. Let's hear it for innovation!

Orignal From: IRON MAN-STYLE ROBOT EXO-SUIT AVAILABLE NOW

ThePete.Cam

That's really a smile there--I guess I'm just so tired.
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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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Sunday, November 25, 2007

ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
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Saturday, November 24, 2007

ThePete.Cam

Using my Nintendo DS to memorize katakana (Japanese writing). Thank you DS Homebrew Community!! You guys rock!
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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterz.

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ThePete.Cam

Here is the latest image snapped from ThePete's MacBook's iSight.
Isn't it neat how he's always doing something interesting? ^_^
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterz.