I watch a lot of YouTube videos (and far too many at work) so I’ve seen a lot of cool stuff on the internet.  It’s rare to see something this cool (The 1K Project II) ever, especially for free.

And I haven’t heard that song in a long time.  Probably since I last watched Gone In Sixty Seconds, which is not nearly as entertaining as this vid.

Thanks, Ran.

The War as We Saw It

Read that; it’s an op-ed piece from soldiers who are (going to be?) returning home from Iraq.  They think we need out of that country not because we are going to lose, but because we can’t win.  And as reported Talking Points Memo, no one in the mainstream media is commenting on it.  It strikes me as decidedly worth commenting on, thus this post.  Gives you an idea what’s going through the minds of troops, which is nice.  I wasn’t really sure what troops were capable of thinking about this over there, given the information provided to them directly and indirectly, but these fellows seem to have a grasp on US media coverage as well as the front-line perspective.  It’s interesting that guys on the ground are seeing the big picture and that to them it’s common sense (supplying all sides with guns != victorious strategy).  That’s news worthy.  It’d be nice if CNN or MSNBC noticed…

I hate all current phones. I need a new phone of my own. Please help me! Here are the bare minimum requirements for the phone that I need (which does not, AFAIK, yet exist):

• smartphone (web browsing, emailing, mapping, etc. are supported – no music purchases or games required)
• camera (2MP or greater) that does not suck entirely
• Micro or Mini SD card support (can use adapters to SD and use on Wii, cameras, etc.)
• legitimate MIDP/Java support for Google Maps and Gmail mobile app and Opera Mini
• flip form factor
• Bluetooth w/ A2DP & AVRCP profiles
• GPS (can be skipped as long as compact, quality BT based GPS addon is available)
• QWERTY keyboard && physical numeric keypad (I want both, and I want to feel individual buttons)

I don’t give a damn about the OS – as long as it works well (this means no Palm OS). This is the absolute main requirement: this phone should not drive me into a frenzied rage every time I use it. Is there a name for this feature? Is “not sucking” part of anyone’s business plan anymore?

Also, fuck the price. If you find me a phone that does what I want and doesn’t drive me batshit insane every time I want to write a text message or receive a call then I’ll buy us both one, even if it’s iPhone-ish in cost.

Update: I went with the T-Mobile Wing (unlocked, should work w/ AT&T) and a separate GPS unit.  I also splurged on the memory card and Bluetooth headset.  I blame this spending spree on Snowcrash.

Estonian attacks were a cyber riot, not warfare

Estonia appears, from this article at least, to be the most internet based country I’ve heard of. Voting, all purchases, etc. were disrupted by a disorganized digital assault. It sounds like the wilderness frontier aspect of the internet that I find so romantic is thriving in certain corners.

Real anarchy exists on the internet, despite the best efforts of every government, advisory body or individual user who hopes otherwise. Botnets are the most interesting IT development since the internet itself was established and the concept of wielding them like mundane weapons is exciting, if not frightening.

In the Wild West everyone was strapped and, as now, laws were far easier to make than to enforce. The most dangerous folks were nigh unstoppable except by large numbers. In this cyber-frontier-land the elite criminals are still the most dangerous, but they’ve also got the numbers. In the future maybe everyone will have their own personal botnet, but in the present we’re already seeing posses formed to track down and massacre government infrastructures.

Exciting, if not frightening.