Author Archives: brad

This is possibly the most awesome news story I’ve read this year: Stallman Attacked by Ninjas. Yes, folks, Richard M. Stallman, known to several as the founder and leader of the Free Software Movement, was attacked by ninjas while taking the stage to give a speech at Yale.

Now, for the bad news: they weren’t real ninjas, and they weren’t trying to hurt him. Turns out, it was just some pranksters acting out one of my favorite web comics.

From the Yale Daily News: Before the debate began, four student pranksters dressed in ninja garb jumped in front of Stallman as he prepared to take the stage. After posing for pictures with him, they ran out of the room amid audience laughter. The prank was inspired by an XKCD.com comic depicting a failed assassination attempt on Stallman by four masked men from Microsoft.

Find out here.

Post your score in the comments. I scored a 27, recipe and quite frankly, I find that horrifying.

Plus meme is a stupid word.

According to the LA Times, the wheels are turning on the forthcoming live action Star Wars series: “[Producer Rick] McCallum is interviewing writers for the [Star Wars] live-action series.”

Here’s a tip for you, Rick: Stop the interviews. Hire Timothy Zahn as the head writer. Then hire any combination of Michael Stackpole, A.C. Crispin, Kevin Anderson, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch as his staff. There. Done. Let Lucas cast the vision, but leave the rest up to Zahn and his team.

And for the director, get Joss Whedon. Seriously. I can’t stress this enough. He would do it exactly right.

You all know that I’m big Star Wars nerd, but you have to admit, this is pretty funny.

Via Daring Fireball (who got it via John Welch).

Okay, since September 12, I have found four freaking slugs in my office/laundry room. I don’t know how they’re getting in or what they want from me, but I’m starting to get seriously freaked out.

That is all.

Despite delays, false starts, and rumors to the contrary, it appears as though NBC is indeed prepping its adaptation of the British sitcom The IT Crowd for a midseason replacement. Looks like it will even feature Richard Ayoade, reprising his role as Moss. Good thing, that, because I can’t imagine who could do it any better.

NBC has a long and storied history of adapting British sitcoms for American audiences, The Office, of course, being the most famous, most successful, and generally accepted best adaptation. But before we get too excited, remember that this is the same network who gave us the American version of Men Behaving Badly, also known as Justine Bateman’s triumphant return to television. Oh, sorry, you had forgotten about her, hadn’t you?

Anyway, here’s hoping.

So it’s official: Leopard will ship on October 26. Great quote from Steve Jobs: “And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version…” Compare and contrast.

Apple has a nice, long, comprehensive list of new features here. Looks like a nice upgrade. Maybe not as revolutionary as Jaguar or Panther were, but still solid.

This one’s for Tom.

Via Think Christian:

At Christianity Today, Roger Freet finds challenging spiritual insights in the music of Tool, a prog-rock band not known for their positive attitude toward Christianity. The Tool lyrics Freet’s chosen to highlight in the article are direct, brutal, and demand answers. Perhaps it’s a shame that I’m not accustomed to music, Christian or otherwise, that talks so earnestly about spiritual matters. Speaking of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics, Freet concludes:

The Holy Spirit is the giver of all gifts. If someone elects to use those gifts in the service of God, good. But those gifts are not rendered dormant or defunct by virtue of our intent. An artist who explicitly rejects God, as many have done, nevertheless remains a “sub-creator,” as Tolkien said, a creator in the Creator’s image. We should be suspicious of our tendency to insist that God only shows up in the right places. Sometimes, pagan sources can most accurately reflect back to Christians the power and lasting impact of genuine witness. You never know when and where God might reveal himself.

Reference

Via Coding Horror:
I was struck, discount the other day, decease by how much I had to think when attempting to heat up my sandwich in the microwave. There are so many controls: a clock, a set of food-specific buttons, defrost and timer controls, and of course a full numeric keypad. Quick! What do you press?

Reference

The Onion: The D chord, famed for its part in innumerable classic rock songs, including “Back in Black,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Don’t Be Cruel,” was retired Tuesday during a ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.