Spooky Action at a Distance

Spooky Action at a Distance

Apparently the clueless folks that own the encryption scheme for high definition DVD's posted the hexidecimal encryption key while attempting to sue people for publishing the encryption key.

Anyhow, my feeling is that this is like Pandora's Box. Once it's out there on the Internet, there is no stuffing the genie back in the bottle.

So I figured why not do my part?

Here Dougs Drinking Visions Determine Perceptions Key: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

PC INSPECTOR smart recovery

PC INSPECTOR smart recovery

PC Inspector Smart Recovery is a great, free program for data recovery of image files from flash media. I used it when my middle daughter deleted all the photos accidentally from my camera. The look on her face was disturbing, but luckily Smart Recovery was able to recover all the photos.

I have also used it when I had data corruption problems with a flaky SD card.

Recovery is a bit slow, but highly automated, and with a very high success rate.

AACS licensor complains of posted key -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

AACS licensor complains of posted key -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

I found it interesting that they posted the DRM key in the (public) complaint itself. It is below highlighted in red. If they are shortsighted enough to reference it in a complaint, then why not re-publish it here for reference?

Re: Illegal Offering of Processing Key to Circumvent AACS Copyright Protection http://uscpwned.blogspot.com/2007/02/holy-grail-located-hd-dvd-and-blu-ray.html
[http://linuxnotes.blogspot.com/2007/02/09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63.html
http://simonsta.blogspot.com/2007/02/lost-meets-aacs.html
http://cronicasredux.blogspot.com/2007/02/crypto.html]

Unstoppable - New York Times

Unstoppable - New York Times

Net article in the Sunday NYT on fixed gear bicycles. The multimedia link is a good audio/visual interviews with a fixed gear bike shop owner, some racers, and bicycle messengers in NYC.

I recently converted an old Bianchi frame to a single speed. It's not a true fixed gear because I have a freewheel with a single, 16 tooth gear in the rear. A true fixed gear would not freewheel - you have to pedal while the rear wheel turns. Purists brake by pedaling backwards. I have a front brake.

There is an odd pleasure about riding a single speed bike. The simplicity of the bike is very appealing. I don't even have tape on the handlebars. Next week I will tape the handlebars and put a rack on the back so I can run errands to the store more easily.

I still ride with a heart rate monitor because I'm trying to lose weight and I want to moderate my exercise, but I don't plan on installing a computer or any other accessories on the Bianchi.

Server relocation last night

The server I host on was moved to another rack early this morning. It could not have been smoother. The hardware is the same, but it's on a faster network and the IP address changed.

As a side note, I use GoDaddy as my registrar and it was very easy to update the IP address for my sites. I have 21 domains and it took me less than 15 minutes from scratch. Mail delivery re-started within 15 minutes.

I will run some tests to see what the bandwidth change made, but I am more concerned about stability than speed for my hosting.

A Gonzales resignation is not enough | Salon.com

A Gonzales resignation is not enough | Salon.com

I don't understand how the Bush Administration is not held accountable for the actions of it's Attorney General. I am further aggravated that President Bush's statement that he was pleased with Gonzales' presentation to Congress. If someone that worked for me did the same, I would fire them on the spot.

For God's sake, he can't remember what the hell he did a few months ago. Is he too good to take notes, or at least have someone on staff take meeting notes? I can tell you what I did five years ago if you give me the date or even the month. It's called a notebook. They are $1 a piece at Staples.

Rove's deletion of e-mail's and possible circumvention of government archive requirements by using public or RNC e-mail servers is also unacceptable. He had training, documentation, and memos detailing e-mail policies which he chose to ignore. Why is he still in the Bush Administration?

JRC313.com: Cloth Simulation

JRC313.com: Cloth Simulation

Physics is cool. This is a wire frame simulation of how cloth reacts to external forces. Very slick.

Google Operating System: Hide Spam Counter In Gmail

Google Operating System: Hide Spam Counter In Gmail

I got tired of seeing the unread mail counter in my GMail SPAM folder, so I applied a filter that pushes SPAM directly to the Trash where I can check once a week.

Create a new filter with the following configuration:

Has the words: is:spam
Check Delete it.
Check Also apply filter to * conversations below.

When you return to your Inbox, your SPAM folder will be empty!

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84 - New York Times

Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors. I was one of the 'students of the 70's' who was profoundly influenced by his books as well as his interviews. Last year, while speaking at Ohio State, he referred to George Bush as "...the syphilis president.". He tells it like it is.

NJ Division of Elections

NJ Division of Elections

Register and Vote. This is the site for the Absentee Ballot Application. The biggest problem I have is that the turn around is NOT very good and since I am out of town next week (April 17th school board and budget vote), so I will have to go in person to vote.

Our oldest daughter is in college in Atlanta (Georgia Tech). She mailed the Application the first week in March, it was mailed back April 5th, she received it April 10th, and she needs to return it tomorrow to have her vote count.

How many people are able to plan that far ahead, particularly for local elections?

PdaNet -- Use your Treo smartphone as a Wireless Modem for your PC

PdaNet -- Use your smartphone as a Wireless Modem for your PC

This is an awesome $34 utility that turns you SmartPhone into an ISDN Internet link.

I use a Motorola Q running Windows Mobile 5 software and using the Verizon wireless network, I got 255Kbps down, 31.9Kbps uplink speeds. I need to test again with a stronger signal and no other software running, but response on GMail and POP/SMTP connections with Outlook were pretty decent.

The Oil Drum: New York City | The Case for Physically Separated Bike Lanes

The Oil Drum: New York City | The Case for Physically Separated Bike Lanes

This is a brilliant article and video. They have examples of the current bike lanes (basically cars use it for loading/unloading/parking) and other cities in the US and abroad which use physically separated bike lanes.

Most of the examples are from NYC, but the issues they address apply to all major cities in the US.