2002-09-20»
Pollack!»Neal Pollack proves the self-parodying can still be parodied.
September 2002 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30<<Aug Oct>>
Currently:
Identified Flying Object»
Doc has the info on my close encounter - it was a Minuteman III missile launch from Vandenberg airbase. The bowl-shaped scattering patterns came from the first and second stage separations, I suppose. Greetings from the heart of the military-industrial-entertainment complex!
2002-09-19»
Cheapo mods»
Want to brighten up your dull grey box? PC
fans with colour LEDs, fifteen bucks.
Up in the San Jose sky»
We just saw the weirdest thing in the dusk sky above San Jose. Initially, it looked like a very brightly lit jet, with a thick vapour trail behind it. It seemed pretty high, but was far brighter than it should be that altitude. I thought perhaps the setting sun was catching a plane-wing at an angle. Then as we watched, a bowl-shaped vapour plume formed around the dot and behind it (a bit like the vapour blanket you can see forming around the plane halfway down this page, but I guess larger given the apparent distance). The dot carried on for a bit longer, then formed another bowl-shaped cloud. That bowl then appeared to contract in on itself, there was what looked like a scattering of debris from the dot, and the dot disappeared. The whole thing was over in less than a minute.
It was a pretty big deal - the vapour trailed crossed a sixth of the sky or more, about 40° from the western horizon. I'm sure we weren't the only people to see it. I always wonder where to look for discussions of these geographically constrained phenomena online. Guess I'll keep an eye on the local papers for a while.
2002-09-18»
Koyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanisqatsi »Alright, now I've got my tickets, I feel safer telling you this: Philip Glass and the Glass Ensemble are performing a live accompaniment to a showing of Koyaanisqatsi in San Francisco next month. I'm a bit too excited.
Those who now hate me will be relieved to know that the DVD of the film is already out.
2002-09-15»
Junk WiFi»Woah. WiFi hotspots have been rolled out in Japan by ... McDonald's and Denny's? According to Trends In Japan, they are:
Wireless LANs Appearing in Schools and Homes
When wireless LANs first made their appearance, they could be found only in a few hotels or coffee shops, but this year many businesses have been installing wireless LANs for the convenience of their customers. One after another, such chains as McDonald's, MOS Burger, Mister Donut, Starbucks Coffee, and Denny's have been creating hot spots in certain model outlets. In addition, rail companies like the East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) have been creating hot spots inside of stations, and some districts and cities are now working to make their entire area a hot spot.