Yes, it’s hardly Crysis, but that’s not the point. What it is, is a way for people who’ve been defeated by the most persistent, unrelenting nemesis in the D&D Monster Manual to start playing again. Amidst a lot of people missing the point, Baylor over at the Gleemax forums has a critical hit: “I think the real target of this are people who can’t play D&D anymore. Like myself. I have two kids and I don’t have time to get together with friends anymore. I only have a few hours after they go to bed. I will finally be able to shelve MMOs and play the game I love again.” What defeats most heroes, simply, is time and its little henchman lack-of-access. If I were to get on the GM hat again, the most likely group of people I’d like to do it for are Jim (Upstairs), Hobbes (5 minutes walk away), my brother (London) and Kid-with-Knife (Vancouver). Pushing D&D in this way is both an admission of the problems of modern (adult) living while using modernity to circumvent it.

This looks cool enough that I might... actually play AD&D a few hours a week with it, something I haven't done since... highschool?

Rock, Paper, Shotgun » Blog Archive » Dungeons & Dragons Offline Online

This site uses census data to report on demographics of zipcodes.

ZIPskinny - Get the Skinny on that ZIP

Third Party Applications on the iPhone

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch. [Oct 17, 2007]

Apple - Hot News - Developer Kits for iPhone

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The Simpsons episode
"Simpson Tide"
Episode no. 197
Prod. code 3G04
Orig. airdate March 29, 1998
Show runner(s) Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Written by Joshua Sternin
Jeffrey Ventimilia
Directed by Milton Gray
Chalkboard "My butt does not deserve a website"
Couch gag A parody of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Guest star(s) Rod Steiger
Bob Denver
DVD
commentary Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Season 9
September 21, 1997 – May 17, 1998

1. The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson
2. The Principal and the Pauper
3. Lisa's Sax
4. Treehouse of Horror VIII
5. The Cartridge Family
6. Bart Star
7. The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons
8. Lisa the Skeptic
9. Realty Bites
10. Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
11. All Singing, All Dancing
12. Bart Carny
13. The Joy of Sect
14. Das Bus
15. The Last Temptation of Krust
16. Dumbbell Indemnity
17. Lisa the Simpson
18. This Little Wiggy
19. Simpson Tide
20. The Trouble with Trillions
21. Girly Edition
22. Trash of the Titans
23. King of the Hill
24. Lost Our Lisa
25. Natural Born Kissers

List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Simpson Tide" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. The episode first aired on March 29, 1998. The episode title puns on the film Crimson Tide. Guest starring Rod Steiger as Captain Tenille, Bob Denver as himself and Michael Carrington as the Drill Sargeant. This was the last episode Al Jean and Mike Reiss show-ran together, although both would return in season 13 with Jean as show runner and Reiss as producer.

Best episode ever.

Simpson Tide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amplifying your laptop Wi-Fi

I have always been frustrated with the performance of my laptop Wi-Fi. I tried many solutions to improve the signal from far away routers, but few of these worked. I'll cover a solution that I came up with that finally did yield some results for me.

Most laptops nowadays have a mini PCI Wi-Fi card hooked to an antenna which is located inside a screen plastic cover on the laptop. I was browsing eBay recently and noticed that there were some Wi-Fi amplifiers available that promoted themselves as improving the reception of the signal. Sadly most of those amplifiers are designed to be hooked to a PCMCIA type card or a router! None of them seemed to be specifically made for a mini PCI card.

I decided to buy a Wi-Fi amplifier and hook it to my laptop. I have an ASUS A2H laptop with a Dell 1470 a/b/g Wi-Fi mini PCI card inside, I bought the card for $20 off of eBay. I bought the amplifier for $118, it is a 500 mw bi-directional amplifier called "turbo tenna", the amplifier was shipped from Hong Kong and I received it shortly after ordering on eBay.

Fun.

Homemade Laptop Wi-Fi Amplifier Review

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) positioned itself as a buyer in the U.S. airline industry on Tuesday as its new chief executive said the carrier wanted to take a leading role when the industry consolidates.

"We fully expect that this evolution toward a more consolidated industry will continue," said Richard Anderson, who took over as Delta CEO in September.

"Ultimately, it's our goal to be the undisputed leader in the airline industry. To achieve that goal, we must be on the leading edge of change to keep pace in this dynamic business environment," Anderson, the former CEO of Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said on a conference call.

"There are obvious benefits that could accrue from consolidation for our shareholders and employees," said Anderson. "We are evaluating the best path forward for Delta."

From Keep Delta My Delta to...

Make NorthWest My Delta?

Delta Air CEO opens door to consolidation | News | Mergers/Acquisitions | Reuters

So in the tradition of past Freakonomics Quorums on the music industry, street charity, and climate change, we asked a few industry insiders — Clifford Winston, Richard Branson, Gary Topping, Patrick Smith and Josh Marks — to address the following question:

The U.S. airline market is a mess right now, with unhappiness increasing among customers, employees, and executives. While certain companies have become profitable again, the future looks murky. What will the U.S. airline industry look like in 10 years in terms of prices? Customer service? Safety? Technology? The economics of the business itself?

I just want my flight on one of them 787s.

What Will U.S. Air Travel Look Like in Ten Years? A Freakonomics Quorum - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Tasered and shot with a beanbag gun for videotaping warrantless police search

Tasered and shot with a beanbag gun for videotaping warrantless police search - Boing Boing

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Our Corporate and Securities practice works with private equity funds and handles mergers and acquisitions. We are fast becoming a leader in Atlanta's emerging growth venture capital sector, providing life cycle representation and advising at every stage of business life, from forming a corporation through venture capital financings, acquisitions, and public offerings.

DLA Piper | Offices | Atlanta

The Joke:

In Soviet Russia, government controls the commerce.

The explanation::

Well, it is an interesting use of the joke. First, Yakov Smirnoff's version of the joke was usually to have the reverse of America, but have the American version make sense, but the Russian version paint a bad picture of Russia. The GGP post reverses this, having the Russian thing make sense and the American be corrupt. Since the joke is about reversal in the first place, reversing the reversal is in itself a bit funny.

Also, the jokes were originally meant to be a bit dark and ironic, and then used as a Slashdot cliche they were usually ironically ironic, resulting in a sort of nonsensical whimsey. Now, another layer of irony is added, almost returning the joke to its original sense, but I would say not quite to its original sense. So much irony has basically made it a non-joke, and simply a piercing critique of current US policy. It's pointing out that as ridiculously backwards as Soviet Russia was, it still may have been less backwards than we are now.

Now, did I really have to explain myself like that?

The 700MHz Question