Tomorrow I go on fall break to Portland this weekend so, the updates will be postponed until I get back. The hope is to capture every waking moment on film to post next week, against every wish of Katie, so we’ll see how it goes.

I sent an email to all people with access to posting, so check your mail.

Not only have I conquered sleep deprivation this week, but I also rocked the classroom today. We were studying “The Duchess of Malfi” and the class was getting boring, so I decided to liven things up. There are so many sexual allusions, it is hard to not see them, so I engaged in an obnoxious discourse with myself and the rest of the class about sexual imagery. My favorite quote of the day was, “Oh! Oh! Incest! Incest!” If you know anything about me, you will be able to hear my loud voice filling the room and my hands flying up and down in my best imitation of a lame albatross. The other seniors in the class all laughed with me and the sophmores all looked uncomfortable, which is the way I like it.

I had a four hour conversation last night with Katie. She is currently in Santa Barbara, listening to Jaques Derrida. Many things were said, but this is the golden nugget that I mined. She was unhappy that the conference was more networking and bullshit than honest discourse and she tried to qualify what is essentially her antisocial tendencies:

“It’s not social anxiety, I just don’t want to be there.”

A rather entertaining comments discussion has been waging and I wanted to bring it to the forefront in the shameless attempt to pretend that more people than just Kris, Nina, and I read this site. I commented yesterday: “I think Nina’s nickname should be The Interrogator, or T.I. for short. After all, she’s constantly fulfilling that role in our lives and if she had her way, that would be her choice of occupations in the army, I’ll bet.” I was consciously unaware that her actual occupation was just that! She responded today with: “Fine. I’ll accept it. Ben, did you forget that that IS my occupation? http://goarmy.com/jobs/mos/mos97E.htm.” I find this extremely entertaining and urge everyone who reads this to address Nina from now on as The Interrogator, and please include the capital letters in your speech, it does make a difference. Thank you.

-Ben

Today is an update to a rant near and dear to my heart. Cell phones on airplanes are an annoyance that will not go away ever. The inclusion of instant communication is swiftly converging on every device known to man, including the human ear. I actually broke the FCC regulation on my last flight into Spokane and called my girl as we were enroute to the gate. My flight was delayed from Seattle and I called to vow to her that I would be on the ground in Spokane before midnight. To my great delight, we landed 9 minutes to midnight and I called to collect. Speaking of my girl, you can see her on the homepage. She is in the pic of the day, which from left to right, is Brad, Jeremy, Emily and Katie. I’m dating Katie, if it helps. So check out the updated rant and go Cougs!

-Ben

Can’t wait to come and bring a little EU flavor to the Twilight Zone. Until then, I’m back to the Sturm unt Drang of daily life. Yippee!

km

I HAVE BLOGGING ACCESS!

Ok. Here’s my issue. An article from the NY Times (reg. required) highlighting the new decision of the MPAA to not allow DVD screeners to be sent to members. The argument is that movies are pirated and shared on the net while still in the theatre. This is probably the most telling point in the argument about sharing digital content. In the article, Jack Valenti admits to have given screeners to his children and friends to borrow. This practice is widespread, I’m sure. I happen to know other members who do it and no copying has taken place. While copying a DVD isn’t that difficult, the average user is ignorant of the process and more importantly doesn’t have the time to research it. The real problem isn’t the end user, it is the source of the movies. The MPAA should be cracking down on studio projectionists and others involved in the presentation. I happen to have seen an illegal copy of the new Kevin Costner film, “Open Range” that was bought off the street. It had a photocopied cover and a DVD plastic cover. No one could have mistaken it for the actual DVD on the outside. Having watched the final film in the theatre, I watched the first ten or so minutes and was shocked to see different scenes and some scenes edited out. This was obviously an internal screening that was taped illegally. Now, obviously, this could not have been the work of those dastardly end users, but an “inside” job. What is the difference between Jack Valenti and the projectionist besides an overblown salary? Nothing.

Beware, buyer! A new article on Yahoo states that there is new confusion about USB 2.0. The USB Implementers Forum, Inc. has taken it upon themselves to rename the old USB 1.1 to Full Speed USB and the newer 2.0 to High Speed USB. This change happened in December, 2003. Their FAQ about the speed of USB is clever, as it doesn’tmix the old jargon with the new. A deeper investigation has revealed an interesting PowerPoint presentation by Brad Hosler, USB Engineering Manager for Intel on October 10, 2000. Brad’s presentation uses “Full Speed” and “High Speed” throughout, begging the question, why use USB 2.0 in the first place? Obviously, 2.0 is bigger and better from a consumer standpoint, so why change the naming scheme now? It seems fairly obvious that the 2.0 standard is in demand, yet more expensive to manufacture since 2.0 must encompass the 1.0 and 1.1 hardware technology rather than the 1.1 alone. But consumers would probably choose a USB 2.0 mouse over 1.1, right? 2.0 travels at 480 Mb/s (megabits per second), therefore, overkill for a peripheral that only requires the 1.1 standard of 12 Mb/s. So, USB is a victim of its own success, it seems. I am not the only one to have my suspicions about this naming scheme and its origins. /., /., The Guardian. As well, there is a developer document that states a confusion among the people who make the technology as well. Obviously, if the inventors can’t keep it straight, why should we?

Just saw a great film yesterday entitled, “Nowhere in Africa.” It’s a German Film (read subtitles), but I guarantee that within the first 5 minutes of the film you’ll forget that you’re hearing German and reading subtitles as you’ll be absorbed in the film’s unfolding drama. It’s out on DVD now, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama and storyline more than special effects and gratuitous SEX (though there is of course a fair share of sex in the film).

I also saw Solaris, and quite frankly, I would have rather been back in my room studying sale-leaseback accounting. My time would have been better spent by cutting my toe-nails and trimming my nose hair.

km

I have been remiss in not taking advantage of this new fad of posting every thought that crosses my fevered brain. Therefore, I am giving my few readers fair warning. Contact me if you are interested in the ability to post here as well.