Guns, Cars, and Tech

Author: wizardpc

  • Expert Predictions

    I walk the dog for about twenty minutes every day. I also run about three miles 3 days a week. I like to listen to podcasts in the car, but when I’m walking or running I usually listen to audiobooks.

    I get about 4 hours a week of this, and I typically listen to business development kind of things. Five years from now, you will be exactly the same person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet. I don’t know who said that first, but I hear it a lot.

    I was listening to Seth Godin’s Purple Cow last week, which is a marketing book about innovation. The basic premise is that things that were once remarkable become unremarkable over time, so you need to come up with things that are a little strange in order to get noticed.

    The book was published in 2004, likely written in 2003, and contains a lot of references to 2002 and earlier.

    So it was kind of funny and a good time-capsule-like experience when he started talking about cell phones. In 2004, I was the only person I knew with what we call a smartphone today. The iPhone didn’t come out until 2007.

    Godin made the argument that there was no more room for innovation in the cell phone market because Motorola and Nokia had made phones so small and thin that going smaller would produce phones that were unusable. He talked a little bit about disposable cell phones and then made a statement along the lines of whoever came up with the cheapest disposable phone would win.

    It’s funny how one little marketing event can change an industry.

  • Shorter iPhone 5 Announcement

    “Look at all this cool stuff we can finally do! We’re only two years behind all other cellphone manufacturers now!”

    A slightly longer version of last year’s announcement.

  • I don’t have to remember

    Because I can’t forget.

    CNN, however, would love for you to forget. Kudos to the for referring to the Family Research Council shooter as a terrorist. Negative kudos for trying to use today to paint anyone to the right of Lenin as a possible terrorist in waiting.

  • QotD: It didn’t occur to me, either, edition

    Kevin at Lowering The Bar, commenting on the USAir Bomb Hoax:

    Note that no one involved seems to have taken the position that, hey, nothing to worry about, because even if this is true he’ll never get past the TSA with liquid explosives; that’s a crack team on which we can safely rely. No one was detained by that thought for even a moment.

    Ain’t that the truth.

  • Found in my kitchen

    ONLYONETHINGTASTESLIKEBACONANDTHATSBACON!

    BACON SALT!

    I truly have a great wife.

  • Review: Firearms Guide 3rd Edition DVD

    The guys from Impressum Media reached out to me a while back and asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing their latest product, Firearms Guide with Schematics: 3rd Edition. Being a sucker for 1)guns, 2)pictures of guns, and 3)computer geekery, I naturally said yes.

    A few days later, I got my review copy in the mail:

    Screenshot- and video-heavy post below:
    (more…)

  • Horrific triple homicide near where I grew up

    Horrific is really the only way to describe it. I literally came to tears trying to relay the story to my wife.

    Here is the article in The Tennessean that is the most thorough. Be warned that the article is tough to get through. (EDIT: That article has been cut down to a stub as of 9/4/2012 1132am.)

    A 14 year old Boy Scout, his 48 year old mother, and his 71 year old grandmother were stabbed to death by a neighbor at around 2:30 in the morning. A 9 year old girl escaped to her neighbors house, screaming “he’s kiling her” over and over again. That neighbor grabbed a gun and ran to the house, but couldn’t get in.

    The suspect knew the victims well. Early indications are that he was a 9/11 paramedic who was suffering from PTSD and may have been suicidal the day this happened. He apparently tried to stab himself after the murders, and met police at the door saying “Please kill me.” He’s in ICU at Vanderbilt Hospital.

    The scene is so gruesome that responding officers are in counseling.

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go hug my son.

  • Go update Java. Now. Seriously.

    I know most of my readers probably don’t follow this kind of stuff, but basically earlier this week a pair of serious java exploits were released and then very quickly incorporated into some very easy-to-use and widely known hacker tools.

    The flaws affect Windows, Linux, and MacOS. None are safe.

    Via Krebs, Oracle has released a patch:

    Windows users can grab the update by visiting the Windows Control Panel and clicking the Java icon (or searching for “Java”). From there, select the Update tab and the Update Now button. Note that the updater may auto-select a toolbar like the “Ask Toolbar;” if you don’t want that as well, de-select it before proceeding. Mac and Linux users can get Java 7 Update 7 from this link.

    Krebs actually recommends you completely disable java since it’s full of holes, but like me many of you probably have to have it running because of web applications you use in your day jobs.

  • Embody loses again

    Leonard Embody has lost yet another appeal regarding his detainment in a Nashville park. As it turns out, if you intentionally act suspicious in order to get the police called on you, you don’t get to complain that the police are called.

    There was a new tidbit I hadn’t heard before:

    A good part of the detention, moreover, came at the beck and call of Embody, who asked to speak to the police supervisor, even after being told it would delay his release.

    They held him for two and a half hours. I’ve personally heard him complain that two and a half hours is an excessive amount of time if all they need to do is check to make sure the pistol is a pistol. I agree.

    He neglected to mention that he intentionally prolonged the stop.

    Stay classy, Leonard.

    You can read the opinion here.

    For his troubles, Embody has done something rare: He has taken a position on the Second and Fourth Amendment that unites the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Second Amendment Foundation. Both organizations think that the park ranger permissibly disarmed and detained Leonard Embody that day, notwithstanding his rights to possess the gun. So do we.

  • Free App of the Day: Army Survival Guide

    Today’s free Amazon app is Army Survival Guide. Just letting you know.

    I’m not sure of the utility of a survival manual that requires an internet connection (Amazon Apps require authentication to Amazon when you start the app) and battery power, but hey it’s free and it might come in handy.

    I also have the dead tree edition which is probably more useful.