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November 28, 2005

Why doesn't Microsoft license the Xbox hardware to all comers?

In the course of a longer post, Scott Stevenson highlights the incongruity between the received business wisdom that Apple's refusal to license the Mac was a fateful error, and Microsoft's inability to license the hardware design of the Xbox, at least without compromising software compatibility and increasing game developers' costs. The comparison is hardly less apt for the fact that Xbox hardware, unlike Mac hardware, is sold at a loss. http://theocacao.com/document.page/192

Posted by irons at 12:08 PM

November 27, 2005

Jon Carroll turns on the phrase "everything happens for a reason" and stabs it in the neck

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/15/DDG11DCBGK1.DTL

Posted by irons at 09:49 AM

November 24, 2005

Bastards canceled Alias

Lisa de Moraes: "The mice at Disney-owned ABC waited until 5 o'clock on the day before a national holiday to announce that 'Alias' is kaput." At least it'll live out the year. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112302415_pf.html

Posted by irons at 05:16 PM

"Create Disk Image From Files" Automator action

10.4's stock Automator action for disk image creation requires predetermination of the image's size, which precludes scripting Disk Utility's handy option to create an image to the dimensions of a folder (or better yet, to compress that folder). I was all set to create a custom action to take care of this, but Armin Briegel beat me to it. Good on ye, Armin. CC-licensed. http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/creatediskimagefromfiles.html

Posted by irons at 12:10 PM

November 20, 2005

According to the OED, "nucular" is a word

It's an obsolete botanalogical term. The deformed version of "nuclear" is a separate entry, for which the fourth of four citations is a jag from a 2003 usenet posting, reproduced here in its entirety, emphasis in original: "OT: Nucular! in rec.crafts.textiles.needlework (Usenet newsgroup) 11 July, It's not just George Bush--some very knowledgeable American professor/Scientist on TV just now, talking about the cold war, just spoke about the 'Nucular threat!'" I don't know if it's more discombobulating for the OED to be giving "nucular" an entry, or for it to be quoting avowedly off-topic usenet blurbs. nucular

Posted by irons at 07:36 PM

November 18, 2005

A funny picture of Ichiro surrounded by dozens of grinning Japanese schoolgirls

Scroll down and to the right. http://marinerds.com/ichiro/Page5.JPG

Posted by irons at 02:46 PM

November 14, 2005

Henry Rollins and Captain Maybelline

Deeply delightful NYT Magazine story by Susan Dominus, about "inveterate Bush-basher" Henry Rollins' support for USO, during a war he thinks was dishonest and illegal. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/movies/13uso.html?ei=5090&en=439d087108a47f35&ex=1289538000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Posted by irons at 09:32 AM

November 11, 2005

Arrested Development's season order cut from 22 episodes to 13

Proposed minimum qualifications for television executives -- if you can't figure out how to make money with a show this funny, find alternate employment. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/10/AR2005111001927.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Posted by irons at 02:19 PM

November 08, 2005

Kaine/Kilgore election results

My favorite race tonight. http://www.wavy.com/Global/link.asp?L=66767

Posted by irons at 05:03 PM

November 07, 2005

Harbinger

St. Paul's mayoral election is hinging on the Democratic incumbent's endorsement of Bush last year. Bring on 2006. [Update: the incumbent got 31% of the vote, in a two-man race.] http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1107/p02s01-uspo.html

Posted by irons at 09:03 AM

November 05, 2005

Substitutional decorum

From the AP story on Ron Guidry's appointment as Yankee pitching coach:

[Guidry] said the best pitching coach he worked under was Art Fowler, Billy Martin's buddy.

''He kept saying, `If you can't throw the ball over the plate, Ron, you can't pitch here in the big leagues,' '' Guidry recalled, remembering Fowler's mound visits vividly.

''Every time he'd come out there, I'd say, `Art what am I doing wrong?' and he'd always tell me, `I don't know, Ron, but you're (getting) Billy (angry).'

Posted by irons at 11:27 AM

November 04, 2005

Wall o' Boobs

Ananova reports that Dutch designer Wendy Rameckers built a wall of silicone breasts, to help addled gentlemen purchasing undergarments for their lady friends grope their way to the correct size. I just want to know who thinks to publish a story like this without pictures. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1596810.html

Posted by irons at 04:56 PM

November 01, 2005

teevee.org: Special Prosecutor Indicts Scooter

"The indictment of the 43-year-old muppet — long the right-hand man to Muppet Show host Kermit T. Frog — sent shockwaves through both Washington and the Muppet Theater, as the investigation moved closer to implicating other muppets, including Dr. Teeth, Sam the Eagle, and George W. Bush." http://www.teevee.org/archive/weblog/2005/10/31/195200.html

Posted by irons at 10:12 AM