brainwagon

Today’s moment of introspection came this morning. After some time spent updating my twitter feeds and answering emails, followed by my regular commute (where I forgot to pick up my prescriptions, doh!), I realized something: I don’t think I am a hacker. I used to think that I was. Back in the early 1980s, I […]

My iPad blinked a CNN headline this weekend that Wikileaks had published a vast number of previously secret reports on the ongoing war in Afghanistan. While the furor over this doesn’t seem to have reached the level of, say, Lindsay Lohan in prison might, it does nevertheless seem to have generated some significant chatter in […]

Honestly folks, I don’t get it. A lot of people think that a recall of iPhones will be inevitable now, because (to their way of thinking) Apple shipped a phone with a known defect. I’m wondering what phones they’ve been buying up until now: these defect-free phones from those manufacturers who are so careful that […]

It’s good to see that 16 year old Abby Sunderland has been rescued by a French fishing vessel. She was attempting to set a world record by sailing around the world solo. A lot of people have been commenting about how reckless, negligent, etc.. her parents were for letting someone so young attempt such a […]

it seems like the last month has been rife with stories of corporations doing things that annoy and irritate their customers. Facebook privacy concerns. Google sniffing Wi-Fi. Apple rejecting apps for inscrutable reasons. Heck, BP not checking their blow-out preventer. Each of these have caused me a bit of annoyance: some perhaps more than they […]

I try to surf a lot of different ham radio blogs, mostly for inspiration about projects. My own life has been a bit hectic lately, and isn’t really likely to calm down until summer is well underway, but I am still reading. Today’s posting was inspired by a posting over on G4ILO’s blog: G4ILO’s Blog: […]

I sent a copy of this as a letter to Joel Johnson @ Gizmodo. I have no pre-existing relationship with Joel, but was dismayed by their treatment of the next-generation iPhone release, and thought to express some of the reasons behind my general displeasure. Hey Joel… I thought I might drop you this little missive […]

From a spam email that snuck pass my filter today (name was changed to prevent giving spammers free advertising) Thanks for your interest in Mubbley Corp. To summarize, our solution allows you to: Fully automate infrastructure delivery and dramatically reduce administrative workloads. Leverage an industry-unique reservation model to manage current and future resources. Easily scale […]

Cory Doctorow has a long write up on how he doesn’t like the iPad and why he thinks that you shouldn’t either. Since this is pretty much release day for the iPad, I thought I’d use it as a stepping stone to rant and rave a bit. If we turn back our clock a few […]

I’ve got opening night tickets for the Athletics/Mariners opener next Monday, and once again, baseball is beginning to creep into my brain. I’m an XM radio subscriber largely because they broadcast pretty much every MLB game, and I enjoy listening to the play by play while driving around. Last year I also had a lot […]

I interrupt your normally scheduled ham radio and computer checkers postings to frankly just rant about something: I was listening to XM Radio’s old time radio channel, and there was an entirely forgettable Sherlock Holmes story. I’ve previously mentioned that much of the Sherlock Holmes fiction not done by Conan Doyle is crap, but I […]

I normally read the blog of W9OY for its ham radio content, but this morning he waxed poetical on the impending cessation of human space flights here in the United States. His vantage point in sight of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Cape make it especially poignant for him. Software Defined Ham Radio: End […]

Phillip Torrone pointed out a dreadful article on CNN.com today: Digital piracy hits the e-book industry – CNN.com A few things that I’d like to directly comment on: “With the open-source culture on the Internet, the idea of ownership — of artistic ownership — goes away,” Alexie added. “It terrifies me.” This is dreadfully annoying, […]

It’s been quite some time since I had a decent rant on this blog, and I didn’t sleep well last night, and I am feeling a tiny bit grumpy, so pretty much anything will set me off on a rant. I figure I may as well get it off my chest now, then I can […]

The federal government is currently considering the possibility of legislation banning the use of cell phones and texting. I’m mostly okay with that, because, quite frankly, it’s obvious that people aren’t very good at operating a cell phone or texting while driving, a fact which has been reinforced by study after study. But while many […]