photo 11 May So this is how the new iPhone will handle 3G: a manual on-off switch. Seamless automation would be nice, but at least the choice here is given. 3G chipsets are notorious for being battery-draining monsters, and Steve Jobs has cited that as one of the reasons 3G wasn’t included in the first iteration of the iPhone. I’d like to see just how fast 3G networks are—it can’t really be worth a 50%+ decrease in battery life, can it? Via AppleInsider. 

So this is how the new iPhone will handle 3G: a manual on-off switch. Seamless automation would be nice, but at least the choice here is given. 3G chipsets are notorious for being battery-draining monsters, and Steve Jobs has cited that as one of the reasons 3G wasn’t included in the first iteration of the iPhone. I’d like to see just how fast 3G networks are—it can’t really be worth a 50%+ decrease in battery life, can it?

Via AppleInsider. 

video 11 May

“If Nintendo Made Halo 3.”

Nintendo franchises are so easy to poke fun at. If this was a real game, I might buy it just for the bountiful supply of giggles. 

link Stephen Hawking and the African Einsteins 11 May

Stephen Hawking, along with a group of eminent entrepeneurs and scientists, is setting off on a hunt for Africa’s intellectual talent:

“The world of science needs Africa’s brilliant talents and I look forward to meeting prospective young Einsteins from Africa,” said Hawking.

It’s awesome that he’s doing this. The reasoning here is that all humans are equally capable of intellectual pursuit, just that some have environments that lend themselves better to doing so than others. Africa is a region that especially needs this kind of intellectual reinvigoration because it’s these kinds of things, not just the same political mess endlessly rehashed, that can bring tangible change.

The stories of moneyless but bright children being offered opportunities by Hawking’s programs are touching—even more so when they juxtapose them with James Watson’s views on African intelligence. We need more of this kind of news nowadays.

photo 11 May “300 Jackson,” from a Flickr photograph set consisting of more hilarious money-altering antics.

“300 Jackson,” from a Flickr photograph set consisting of more hilarious money-altering antics.

photo 10 May This is Nate the Neoconservative in “Give Me An Inch, I’ll Take Your Yard.” See also: when Nate comes home for dinner. Hilariously spot on in terms of ridiculous neo-conservative policy, this. Maybe it’s the outspoken political commentary, or maybe it just reminds me of that annoying kid in 4th grade, but I very much enjoy this cartoon.

This is Nate the Neoconservative in “Give Me An Inch, I’ll Take Your Yard.” See also: when Nate comes home for dinner.

Hilariously spot on in terms of ridiculous neo-conservative policy, this. Maybe it’s the outspoken political commentary, or maybe it just reminds me of that annoying kid in 4th grade, but I very much enjoy this cartoon.

video 9 May

BBtv has an interview with John Gaeta, the award-winning visual effects supervisor who handled the Matrix trilogy and more recently, “hyperrealistic” Speed Racer. I haven’t seen it, but word on the street is that it’s actually an abysmal film, as I expected. 

At least the visual direction’s cool. It’s intriguing, but a real departure from the original show. The original Speed Racer TV show was awesome but admittedly mundane in terms of art dynamacity. I can’t say I’m a fan of the Wachowski Brothers.

video 9 May

nickdouglas:

Look guys, with all of Montana this methed out, I think we gotta take their delegates away. (via konrad)

This is some scary stuff. Meth (really, every hard drug) is pretty freaky, and this Montana ad campaign is downright depressing. I don’t understand the allure of meth—it’s a toxic mix of chemicals made in a lab by redneck junkies. Really, would you trust that in your bloodstream?

One thing I didn’t understand: why do all the meth users in these ads have poo on their faces? Montana, where are you hiding this endless supply of face-dung?

photo 8 May Oh god, I feel like such a little nooblet laughing at this. I remember when I was first introduced to the concept in middle school. Jokes aplenty. Expand.

Oh god, I feel like such a little nooblet laughing at this. I remember when I was first introduced to the concept in middle school. Jokes aplenty. Expand.

photo 8 May After 9,000 years of silence, Chile’s Chaitén volcano (pictured on May 3) is erupting with lava, ash—and lightning… Since the volcano awoke on May 2, it has continued erupting intermittently, blanketing the area in ash and forcing more than 4,000 people to flee. Okay, this looks like something I’d find in Mordor. The lightning is caused by the particulate matter floating around, colliding, and producing static charges, resulting in what are called “dirty thunderstorms.” National Geographic has more photographs.

After 9,000 years of silence, Chile’s Chaitén volcano (pictured on May 3) is erupting with lava, ash—and lightning… Since the volcano awoke on May 2, it has continued erupting intermittently, blanketing the area in ash and forcing more than 4,000 people to flee.

Okay, this looks like something I’d find in Mordor. The lightning is caused by the particulate matter floating around, colliding, and producing static charges, resulting in what are called “dirty thunderstorms.”

National Geographic has more photographs.

chat I just realized how much I use backspace 8 May
  • Me:i apologize for any typos, my BACKSPACE KEY POPPED OUT
  • Me:i put it back it but i have to smack that to get it to work
  • Clay:reminds me of me and my hos
  • Clay:*my hos and I
quote 7 May
If you are asking what license this software is released under, you are asking the wrong question.

— The Mu License, which is above in its entirety, is utterly ridiculous. So zen, in fact, that I might have to start using it myself. Thanks, Daily Meh.

text Team Hillary 6 May

I’m in North Carolina. I saw a couple of people walking around with “Team Hillary” shirts today (subtitle: “everyone has a part”), and it was annoying. A couple of my acquaintances on Facebook uploaded albums of them attending Clinton rallies in neighboring cities. I wouldn’t care, but I feel like I have a duty to inform.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the Clinton supporters I know aren’t that intelligent. I talked to one of these aforementioned individuals today, and we had a nice chat, something along the lines of:

Me: (seeing a “Team Hillary” shirt) Hey, so you’re a Hillary supporter?
Him: Yeah, yeah. You?
Me: Well, no. I disagree with a lot of her policies, and she’s had a pretty disgusting campaign.
Him: (talks for 30 seconds culminating in:) Experience, man.
Me: Experience? You mean, like NAFTA? Like authorizing the Iraq War?
Him: What’s NAFTA?
Me: (explanation of NAFTA and its effect on corn, poverty, illegal immigration, and domestic processed food)
Him: People’s positions change, man; you should know that. She’s got the chops. Obama’s not up to scratch. Anyway, I should go.

That exchange left me frustrated. I’d really rather her not win this state.

link 10 insults you should know 5 May

I’m not one to take to word lists such as these—I prefer Wordie for uselessly enlarging my vocabulary—but after learning of this word, how could one not share it?

BESCUMBER (v): To spray with poo.

Excellent; this list is just what I need to befuddle those self-righteous Youtube commenters.

audio 5 May [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Fake Bonanza” by Mos Def.

I just downloaded his True Magic album, and I had no idea what I was missing. I can’t stop relistening to the album over and over again. If retro hip-hop isn’t your thing, you probably won’t appreciate this, but man. Mos Def has an effortless flow when he recites his stories of ghetto life and political frustration. “Fake Bonanza” is just another example of cutting lyricism that’s hard to find in rap nowadays:

Hip hop, modern times, flossy and raw so self-absorbed, immature—
I can’t remember being this bored
Fake bonanza, become real wars
Bullets burn through the candy on the driver side door
Long investigations and no firm leads, billion dollar flow
And black life is still cheap
Where they rent skyrockets and job prospects plummet
Ten murders, ten days, this summer
Talk about today’s mathematics, a eighth, an O, a key
And the caliber on your ratchet
The inmate number, a centerfold’s measurements
As close as a cold cell comes to some tenderness…

If this music isn’t your cup of tea, at least appreciate the fact that he has an excellent command of the English language, unlike the vast majority of mainstream rap artists these days.

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Meta:Prashanth Kamalakanthan designed and wrote this stuff, as late as 2008.