October 29, 2012
Catastrophe
After some flickering, we have power back here, but in NYC, It's as bad as was feared.
As I type this power is out in Manhattan, the subways are flooding and the storm is not half over. AOL reports at least 13 people are dead.
This security cam pic is making the rounds, purporting to be of one of the Tunnels.
Robert Costa Tweets this pic of the Ground Zero construction site.
Via Hot Air, walls are being ripped off buildings..
As I type this power is out in Manhattan, the subways are flooding and the storm is not half over. AOL reports at least 13 people are dead.
This security cam pic is making the rounds, purporting to be of one of the Tunnels.
Via Hot Air, walls are being ripped off buildings..
No power and 3 feet of water in the streets...
Weather Nerd posted this pic of the situation in Brooklyn:
Weather Nerd posted this pic of the situation in Brooklyn:
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...and then it hit me.
So the other night I was looking at Vocaloid videos, many of which had several less well known members of the Vocaloid pantheon. In the process, I blundered into this one and was curious which particular Vocaloids these...
...Vocaloi..
...loi..
.....Oh no.
Oh dear God no...
The Touhou business going on in the background just makes it that much more surreal.
...Vocaloi..
...loi..
.....Oh no.
Oh dear God no...
The Touhou business going on in the background just makes it that much more surreal.
I wonder if this is societal reintegration therapy.
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October 28, 2012
Big Storm is Big (Updated)
We were already getting gale force winds and rain when it was down off Georgia. Hurricane force winds extend 110 miles from the center. Tropical storm force winds extend out nearly 500 miles.
UPDATE 14:50 Monday.
Raining cats and dogs outside wind is about 20 kts with gusts up to 50.
It started raining gently around noon....in the bathroom.
Turns out the turbine vent was not sealed properly when the house was re-roofed last month. We've also lost some shingles. Much scampering was done, on a roof in high winds. My 70 year old dad refused to stay off the roof. In any event thanks to a tarp, a trash bag and a hose clamp the precipitation in the bathroom has ceased.
Two feet of water standing in back yard, and our street is impassible to the west. It took me twice as long as usual to get to work this morning due to detours due to flooding and horizontal trees. Winds here are expected to pick up dramatically tonight and return to tropical storm force for 16-20 hours. We're in that odd position of having had the storm pass us ....yet its getting closer.
Keep in mind we here in Virginia have only been and only will be grazed by this storm, In comparison New Jersey, PA and NYC (and possibly the Appalachians) are going to get CLOBBERED tonight and tomorrow. I sincerely hope no one else is hurt...but I also hope James Woolcott gets very very wet.
We were already getting gale force winds and rain when it was down off Georgia. Hurricane force winds extend 110 miles from the center. Tropical storm force winds extend out nearly 500 miles.
UPDATE 14:50 Monday.
Raining cats and dogs outside wind is about 20 kts with gusts up to 50.
It started raining gently around noon....in the bathroom.
Turns out the turbine vent was not sealed properly when the house was re-roofed last month. We've also lost some shingles. Much scampering was done, on a roof in high winds. My 70 year old dad refused to stay off the roof. In any event thanks to a tarp, a trash bag and a hose clamp the precipitation in the bathroom has ceased.
Two feet of water standing in back yard, and our street is impassible to the west. It took me twice as long as usual to get to work this morning due to detours due to flooding and horizontal trees. Winds here are expected to pick up dramatically tonight and return to tropical storm force for 16-20 hours. We're in that odd position of having had the storm pass us ....yet its getting closer.
Keep in mind we here in Virginia have only been and only will be grazed by this storm, In comparison New Jersey, PA and NYC (and possibly the Appalachians) are going to get CLOBBERED tonight and tomorrow. I sincerely hope no one else is hurt...but I also hope James Woolcott gets very very wet.
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Sword Art Online Continues (eps 16 & 17)
"Hey. Are you a wildly unlikely coincidence? Guess what? I am too!"
After the low key but interesting episode that was 15 the show hits the ground running.
more...
"Hey. Are you a wildly unlikely coincidence? Guess what? I am too!"
After the low key but interesting episode that was 15 the show hits the ground running.
more...
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October 27, 2012
Recursions
I thought that the Gangnam meme was pretty played out, but via Ace comes this...which is truly a thing of beauty, (unless you are sufficiently deprived and pitiful as to be unaware of Jack Burton)
That's actually James Wong!
That's actually James Wong!
That video makes the whole silly thing worthwhile. That is why Psy was put on this earth...to inspire that. Now we can rest contentedly as the fad fades into oblivion, or rather...comes to its Downfall.
Good grief! It's Godwin Style!
Good grief! It's Godwin Style!
If that is not recursive enough for you, you're probably a hipster and I can't do anything for you....except link to this.
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This Could Be a Sticky Situation
This is a couple of weeks old but it's kind of odd. It seems that up in Canada millions of gallons of Maple syrup went missing some time ago. Now the police have seized 600 barrels from a store in New Brunswick which has been implicated in the heist.
But that's not the odd part...
Quebec has a global strategic reserve...of maple syrup?
But that's not the odd part...
The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers reported large quantities of syrup missing last month during a routine inventory, finding empty barrels at a site of the province's global strategic reserve ...
Quebec has a global strategic reserve...of maple syrup?
Yuko is OK with this.
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October 26, 2012
UNEXPECTEDLY....
....Oregon is in the crosshairs. It looks like Steven's smugness has jinxed Oregon and doomed us all.
In all seriousness, this really does have the potential to be a first class calamity.
This thing is a queer storm to begin with because it is so damned big, tropical storm force winds extend over 200 miles from its eyewall as I type this.
The big worry is up north. If, as expected, it turns into a hybrid nor'easter and then hits a cold front it will develop along very similar lines to the great 1888 blizzard. Its current track looks to bring utter disaster to central PA, but if it hits just south of New York it will push a maximum amount of surge into the Hudson.
Thus the nightmare 'hurricane hits NYC just right' scenario is still a possibility. The surge from this storm is likely to be much greater than a normal storm of its wind speed due to its great size and in any event these "Frankenstorms" are fiendishly difficult to predict (very few have happened).
Down here in Virginia, a 50 mile difference in the things track east tor west will make the difference between a rainy windy day and actual excitement.
For my part the generator is tested and I'll be getting additional water and petrol on the way home from school. While I don't expect a great deal of major damage around here except, perhaps, at the oceanfront, I do expect to loose power and web access, possibly for several days.
This thing is a queer storm to begin with because it is so damned big, tropical storm force winds extend over 200 miles from its eyewall as I type this.
The big worry is up north. If, as expected, it turns into a hybrid nor'easter and then hits a cold front it will develop along very similar lines to the great 1888 blizzard. Its current track looks to bring utter disaster to central PA, but if it hits just south of New York it will push a maximum amount of surge into the Hudson.
Thus the nightmare 'hurricane hits NYC just right' scenario is still a possibility. The surge from this storm is likely to be much greater than a normal storm of its wind speed due to its great size and in any event these "Frankenstorms" are fiendishly difficult to predict (very few have happened).
Down here in Virginia, a 50 mile difference in the things track east tor west will make the difference between a rainy windy day and actual excitement.
For my part the generator is tested and I'll be getting additional water and petrol on the way home from school. While I don't expect a great deal of major damage around here except, perhaps, at the oceanfront, I do expect to loose power and web access, possibly for several days.
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11:01 AM
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October 25, 2012
Well, THAT Narrows it Down
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October 24, 2012
There is no point in anime-blogging anymore...
... because with this screencap and caption, Sea Slugs has won.
Chizumatic has a roundup of reactions to Girls und Panzer and the consensus seems to be "WIN!"
I may have to check this silly show out (as soon as I'm no longer swamped).
Bridge Over The River Kawaii
Chizumatic has a roundup of reactions to Girls und Panzer and the consensus seems to be "WIN!"
I may have to check this silly show out (as soon as I'm no longer swamped).
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Hmmmm....
It's a bit early in the game to loose sleep over one of these fickle beasts, but Brendan Loy thinks this might well be a big thing. In any event it could be quite bad to be in NYC or New England next week.
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October 19, 2012
TANSTAFAAFL (Otaku edition)
A few weeks ago (on Drudge I think) there was a story about how Internet service providers were getting astoundingly efficient at tracking people who log into sketchy download sites like Mediafire and the sites that link to them heavily, but that they didn't seem to be doing anything about it and it was unclear what they were up to. I'll be damned if I can find it now, but I thought of it when I read this.
This is to be implemented over the "next couple of weeks" so those of you who are torrenting be aware that now might be a good time to go straight.
If you're reading this in Japan then there is a little extra incentive...
This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing.
Now, it is true that the Japanese AV media model is indeed made of fail and unsustainability. It is also true that these rather non-proportional penalties indicate a desperate attempt to keep that moribund business plan afloat. But something needs to be done, and especially given the sense of entitlement to free downloads expressed by many fans and the state of the US anime industry (which is due at least in part to piracy) my first instinct is to be OK with this despite the crazy penalties.
However, the lack of proportionality in the penalties would seem to indicate a very heavy handed approach, that might not recognize things like fair use or parody.... or image macros.
UPDATE: Japan has had US style fair use exceptions since 2008 so that final paragraph was inaccurate.
It should also be noted that the penalties for UP-loaders are rather more severe..
..so what I meant by " This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing." is those of you who depend upon Anime gods in Japan uploading shows to torrent may find the torrents slow to appear for download as said anime gods ability to do so may be somewhat inhibited in the near future.
Under the new copyright alert system, Internet service providers (ISPs) will send a series of alerts to subscribers whose accounts may have been used to illegally distribute music, movies or other entertainment content via file-sharing. If the subscriber does not respond to the first set of alerts, which will include educational material on protecting copyrights and the consequences of illegal file-sharing, the Internet service provider may temporarily slow down their Internet speeds, direct them to an online tutorial when they try to access popular websites or implement other penalties--called "mitigation measures."
This is to be implemented over the "next couple of weeks" so those of you who are torrenting be aware that now might be a good time to go straight.
If you're reading this in Japan then there is a little extra incentive...
Internet users in Japan who illegally download copyright content will face new penalties after a change to the law. They will now face up to two years in jail or up fines to two million yen (US$25,700).
This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing.
Now, it is true that the Japanese AV media model is indeed made of fail and unsustainability. It is also true that these rather non-proportional penalties indicate a desperate attempt to keep that moribund business plan afloat. But something needs to be done, and especially given the sense of entitlement to free downloads expressed by many fans and the state of the US anime industry (which is due at least in part to piracy) my first instinct is to be OK with this despite the crazy penalties.
However, the lack of proportionality in the penalties would seem to indicate a very heavy handed approach, that might not recognize things like fair use or parody.... or image macros.
UPDATE: Japan has had US style fair use exceptions since 2008 so that final paragraph was inaccurate.
It should also be noted that the penalties for UP-loaders are rather more severe..
...uploaders of copyright infringing music and videos face a maximum penalty of a 10-year prison sentence and a 10 million yen fine (US$128, 318 ), said BBC news.
..so what I meant by " This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing." is those of you who depend upon Anime gods in Japan uploading shows to torrent may find the torrents slow to appear for download as said anime gods ability to do so may be somewhat inhibited in the near future.
Haruhi's sense of entitlement takes a hit.
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Oh My! This is a Thing of Beauty!
The desmugification process will take years...So it's heartening to finally see someone take the first step.
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October 16, 2012
Debate 3
Romney did well again and I think he won it, though it was not the utter rout the first debate was. The President showed up this time...
...and seemed to have bribed the ref.
...and seemed to have bribed the ref.
"Yeah...ABOUT that moderator..."
more...
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Oh yeah...THAT.
I didn't discuss the last debate, in part because it was so utterly bizarre that I found myself at a loss for words.
However, I did find this bit of commentary which I thought was sound it its analysis.
more...
However, I did find this bit of commentary which I thought was sound it its analysis.
more...
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October 15, 2012
Fearless Felix Fell Faster Than Thought!
Derp.
Of course this is not the first time that self appointed gatekeepers of the truth have made this particular mistake...
Via...umm... I dunno, 4chan?...Mabye?
Via Instapundit
Derp.
Of course this is not the first time that self appointed gatekeepers of the truth have made this particular mistake...
Via...umm... I dunno, 4chan?...Mabye?
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09:06 PM
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Softbank Buys Sprint
This MEANS something.
I don't know what though.
It's possible, (but doubtful) that this will ultimately make wireless transitions between the two countries easier for Softbank customers. In any event it's a curious development.
I don't know what though.
It's possible, (but doubtful) that this will ultimately make wireless transitions between the two countries easier for Softbank customers. In any event it's a curious development.
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October 14, 2012
HE DID IT AGAIN!
While the world watched the first person to break the sound barrier without a vehicle, today also marks the 65th anniversary of the first time someone broke the sound barrier at all. Well, earlier today, that man, General Chuck Yeager commemorated the event by taking an F-15 through the sound barrier.. Yeager is 89 years old.
That is seriously cool.
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HE DID IT!
Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier after leaping from a balloon at an altitude of 24 miles. He achieved Mach 1.24!
Video of the press conference here.
Both images via Space.com.
Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier after leaping from a balloon at an altitude of 24 miles. He achieved Mach 1.24!
Video of the press conference here.
Interestingly, Joeseph Kittenger (now 84), the man who set the previous record in 1960 was heading up Baumgartner's ground team.
That's one giant leap. Period.
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Sword Art Online 15
Following on the footsteps of last episodes high stakes action and surprises, episode 15 provides a bit of a breather with a very touching, low key episode...
more...
"Sorry mam. We removed the koi. There were complaints."
...that is full of surprises.more...
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October 12, 2012
Test
The upgraded mee.nu seems to be compatible with Blackberries.
more...
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