Category Archives: Bizzare

The odd and strange

Second Life: Dr. Phil?

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Oh noooo… everyone is writing about Dr. Phil doing a show on computer gaming. The show aired on CBS this Tuesday (7/14 – 3PM PT – I was working). For Second Life residents the big deal was to be some coverage of Second Life and an interview with Ebbe Altberg, the Linden Lab CEO.

Hurry and see the video. I’m not sure whether CBS will allow it to remain. 1/5/2016: Some have been removed others have remained. This one replaces the one I originally used.

Drax is said to have helped setup the in-world parts.

Dr. Phil visits Second Life and 1920s Berlin

Dr. Phil Features Second Life in Show on Game Addiction

I Met Dr. Phil in Second Life! – If you only have time for one, read Strawberry’s. She has a play-by-play of the show on Plurk.

Computer Safety: Malware @ c|NET

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I used to consider c/NET a safe site for downloading software. There are lots of great free programs that do handy things. The authors are legitimate, well meaning, real people. But, more and more often their software is wrapped in an installer from some download site. That wrapper often contains Adware or Malware.

Say Something. Something Like You Love Me.

Say Something. Something Like You Love Me. by [ HarlowHeslop.com ], on Flickr

Authors of free programs are donating their labor to you. Lots of  downloads of a popular program/app can drive up bandwidth costs. Authors of popular programs can soon find they are paying real money out of their pocket so you can have free stuff. Isn’t it enough they donated their time?

The alternative is to use a mirror, a web site that will allow you to store your files for others to download. Some have developed mirror sites into businesses. Some learned it is more profitable to add to the advertising revenue by putting ads and adware in an install or download program that wraps the file you want.

Now cyberwarzone is reporting that blackhats are getting their malware into c/NET, a major download site. See: Top 10 downloaded software on CNET contains malware. Skipping the bad English, that the top 10 downloads all have malware is frustrating and I hope c/NET finds it embarrassing.

SpaceX Unveiling Dragon Mark II

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The US government under the direction of Pres. Obama gave up developing spaceships. This is an endeavor that has been pursued by private free market enterprise. Thanks to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin suggesting the US use trampolines to get to the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX is unveiling their new ship tonight (May 29) at 7 PM PDT.

This is a ship that can carry 7 astronauts or some mix of astronauts and cargo. Watch the announcement/unveiling here: Livestream.

For images of SpaceX’s current ships and rendering of planned future ships see: First look at Dragon V2: The first manned spaceship by SpaceX (Updating).

 

Climate Hockey-Stick Lawsuit

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On the subject of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) I follow the UN, several Pro-AGW sites, and a number of skeptic sites. I probably know more about the studies, claims, fake and real science, and political moves going on than most of the debate’s audience.

One of the main players in the debate is Michael Mann, the ‘scientist’ that came up with the tree-ring based chart showing the temperature jump commonly known as the Hockey-Stick. The UN and various government agencies have relied on the chart as evidence for making drastic policy decisions. Al Gore made it famous.

Skeptics have attacked the ‘Stick’ with a vengeance. For observers it has been an obtuse subject hidden in a blizzard of claims and counter claims too massive to dig through and verify or debunk. It is like an endless storm of chaos and conflicting statements, debunking and debunking the debunks ad infinitum. Too many people with various reputations have weighed in on the subject to allow the layperson to come to a reasoned conclusion of what is or is not true based on personalities. Continue reading →

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