Archived News for December 2005
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robbie
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Stuff
Today I managed to buy no less than five IBM Model M keyboards for five dollars from Trade Me. This is a damn good price considering they're one of the best keyboards ever made:This keyboard is widely praised as being exceedingly well-built, and indeed one of the longest lived computer components ever made. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that keyboard design has changed little in the past twenty years, while the designs of everything from PCs to monitors to mice have changed dramatically. The sturdy design (including heavy steel backplates and a high-quality, strong plastic frame) of the keyboard allows even the most abused to survive these years with ease.
I'd also like to point you to this Public Address blog. Jolisa is my mother's cousin (I think) which would make her my second cousin - which would make the Fab Four of the story my second cousin once removed (again, I think).
Most fans of the Model M especially prize its feel and sound. Unlike the common (but cheaper) dome switch design in use today, the Model M's buckling spring design gives users obvious tactile (a distinctive resistance as the keys are depressed) and aural (a characteristic, loud "click-clack"ing) feedback while typing, in ways similar to that of the keyboards of the long-running IBM Selectric typewriter line. In addition, the Model M keyboard is less susceptible to dirt and wear and tear; while dirt will interfere with proper operation of a dome switch keyboard, the design of a buckling spring keyboard is such that any dirt that falls between the cracks usually fails to make it into the spring mechanism. Failure of the mechanism to operate properly would require a large amount of accumulation, which is unlikely to occur.Dominic
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Wow. A pun.
I had trouble finding a suitable title for this comic - anything remotely related to what the comic contains would have given it away. I think that's a sign you're not looking at the most robust or subtle humour. But hey - it's a comic. If you've got any better ideas, tell us.
The comic prior to this one was in August. Ouch.Dominic
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.geek
I can't believe I missed this: New Zealand has a second level domain for 'geek'. And there's all sorts of fantastic addresses still out there, like:
rock.geek.nz,
iam.geek.nz (geek is an adjective!) or even,
1337.geek.nz (come to think of it, even 1337.co.nz is free)
I think it's pretty funny that geeks in NZ have their own SLD.New Zealand is a country striving to become one of the technological elite. It does, however, suffer from a problem which sees some of it's brightest people leaving its shores. Geeks do not feel that they are taken seriously in New Zealand, allowances should be made to accommodate them.
Heh.
It can be guaranteed that there will always be a demand for the <.geek.nz> domain name, as long as there is an Internet with a Domain Name System, there will be Geeks to support it. To question the continued existence of a Geek population in New Zealand is to question the future existence of the New Zealand Internet as a whole. Geeks are an integral part of the New Zealand Internet Geeks are involved in every level of the Internet in New Zealand.Dominic
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News
I haven't posted in a while - so I'm going to tell you whats going on. I passed all of my papers at uni. I am hating every second of it. I had decided that if I failed any papers, I wouldn't be going back next year. I don't think I could live through it again. But that doesn't matter, because I passed, so I guess I'm going back. At the moment, I'm working at Glidepath - and loving the money.I'm still pouring money into recording gear. I did some recording for Tom a while ago, which turned out really good - I'll link you as soon as I as Tom about it. If anyone else wants to do some recording, get in touch. My vast array of personal electronics makes me the envy of engineers everywhere.
I'm also at the moment working on a better design for my guitar effects controller. I'm hoping I can add enough useful features to make people want to buy it. If you're interested in custom guitar electronics, again, get in touch.
Justin
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Papa
I'm quite a fan of those Customer Service Cards that they have at Foodtown - the ones with people offering to babysit and all that. I have a picture on my old phone of one that read "For Sale: One set of encyclopedias. No longer needed as wife knows everything", and the other day I saw this:
Dominic
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250,000 superballs
You might have seen the new Sony Bravia ad on television - it's the one with the superballs bouncing down a street in San Francisco. A lot of the shots looked really amazing, but some of them looked like they might have been CGI. I had the music (which turns out to be Heartbeats by José González) stuck in my head and went searching for info on the ad. Turns out there was no CGI involved at all:In an age when CGI is commonplace, this makes the commercial all the more extraordinary. Every single frame was shot over two days - with the main sequence involving a 23-man camera crew and only one chance to get it right.
The advertisment has its own website (I think that's great), and high-res pictures, suitable for desktop backgrounds.
An entire block was closed off and special compressed-air cannons shot the balls into the air, while earth moving equipment poured thousands down the street. Not that you'd know it from the finished product, but these balls can do some damage, so all the cars were props and crew members went so far as to having protective shields and crash helmets.Dominic
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WoW Levelling Stats
This graph is damn scary: it takes, on average, 504 hours to reach Level 60 with a single character on a non-PvP World of Warcraft server. Thirty thousand minutes!Dominic
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Christmas
Well, once again Christmas is in the air. The streets are lined with fairy lights, and all things red-white-and-green invade our community. We all look forward to see the faces of those we have chosen to give presents too, and wait in anticipation for the ones we are about to receive. What is it at this time of year that makes us drill into each other to have a merry Christmas?
I find it difficult to wish others a Merry Christmas. Why? I'm not sure. If someone were to wish me a merry Christmas, all I can muster is a strained 'you too'. I feel as if Christmas has drained from me. I could pass on the gifts, food, and the niceties of gathering with the family, and still be content. At the point of writing this, the only thing I am looking forward to is having a day off work. It is the same manner as I look towards the Saturday of every week. Why isn't Christmas the climax of the year, as it has been in much my previous life?
For me, Christmas has lost everything that I once looked forward to. No longer do I look forward to toys and sweets, nor ornamental gifts that people have chosen for me. I am truly grateful that they would spend time and money on something for me, but surely they find shopping for me as much of a chore as I do for them. I wouldn't want people to buy knick-knacks for me just because the new-age nature of Christmas instructs them to. And it is so difficult to find things that people would like to have. I find myself settling for any junk that only slightly hints at having use for the giftee. Is it worth it? Why isn’t ‘I couldn’t find anything that I thought would suit you’ a relevant reason for not giving? Why are we forced to buy crap for each other one day every year?
All I want for Christmas? With 100% honesty: a new pencil case and my own something emporium avatar.
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I'm a little slow
I only realised today that the crazy guy behind Google Watch, Daniel Brandt, is the same guy who's behind Wikipedia Watch. Freaky.
Speaking of freaky, here's Ted Strauss.Dominic
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Blogic
The company I work for, ITmaniacs, have gotten (perfective acquisition, not present possession) themselves a blog. The idea of a blog came up a few months ago - kinda on the same themes as some other recruitment blogs and other awesome blogs about people's jobs.Dominic
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Call to Arms
Jonny Doom and the Forcefields need you. They need you to go and vote for an image to be displayed on Last.fm.
funkymunky
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Yeah
I'm off to Uretiti tomorrow. I'll be back on the 2nd, when I might post again. Then it's off to the South Island. Enjoy the rest of 2005, and keep the news (and comics?) ticking over while I'm gone.Dominic
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Dr Sam
Just found out I got into Dent. Oh right. Mates rates for all!
