Hamster Stuck in a Video Game
Amazing!!!!
Watch more Gaming Videos
Pikes Peak
I admit I have known the Pikes Peak only because of Gran Turismo (the amazing videogame for Playstation) and I didnt know they run there even with motorbikes.
Amazing: 20km, asphalt + sand, more than 150 turns and the track is climbing over 1500m. There is no fences, guard rails, whatsoever... just rocks, trees and the sky who could welcome you if you do wrong some turn. :)
In this aspect is similar with the Tourist Trophy: if you do something wrong, you die.
[ CC licensed picture from Flyover Country ]
If you're interested in how could it be to running there, take a look at these three videos from an onboard camera on a motorbike. And here an high quality video of a Peugeout Rally car attacking the Pikes Peak.
Wikipedia vs Britannica: who wins?
I don't what's your opinion about the question, but are you sure the Britannica can bring us something like that?
List of problems solved by MacGyver
:)
Diet Coke and Mentos... In Zero Gravity
You don't need I tell you what is the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, right?
But watch out what money (and talent) can bring... Diet Coke and Mentos... in Zero Gravity!
Banksy performance in New Orleans
Via Boingboing I found three picture sets with Banksy performances in New Orleans (here, here and here).
Here you can find a special from TIME.
Lisbon!
I forgot to tell you I'm in Lisbon.
Monday and Tuesday I'm going to attend a training here (the topic is "Anti Fraud Audit") and, since flight and hotel are already paid by my company, why I shouldn't take a couple of days off? I arrived yesterday. :)
I've a very short guide of the city and I'm following some of the advices Alberto gave me (via blog and email...thank you!)
Enjoy the pictures I'm taking and in the meantime take a look at these two pictures: a classical view of Lisbon and a narrow street that could be really found in Naples (dad with little son on a scooter and guy playing football :)
London by night... from above!
You gotta see this... great photo collection provided by the bigpicture.com
London from above, at night (19 pictures)
Are you kind? do you open your wireless network?
I have the same opinion as Bruce Schneier: I keep my wireless network open to let others passersby connect to the internet. I'm aware of the risks but I don't give so much weight to those. Actually, I'm just looking for a good solution to keep the network open AND limit the bandwidth used by others: I do want others connect to the internet for some email checking but I do not like people whose steal bandwidth for p2p. I think of that as being nice and kind: if you see I invite you for lunch, you shouldn't order T-Bone and expensive red wine unless I want that, right?
Any way, Bruce is now telling that there is more reason not to follow this advice: some terrorists in India used someone else's wireless network (which was open). News apart, I suggest you to take a look of Bruce's post and the links contained there. He links also the old post where he explained why you should open your wireless network and in the comments I found some interesting point of views.
a smart way to deal with pirates
Via ArsTechnica I found this interesting story about videogames developer and entrapreneur Chris Harris (from Positech Games).
Through his blog he asked the pirates to tell him why they pirate games. They answered and Chris found out the main reasons are:
- The information wants to/free anarchists think copyright shouldn't exist.
- Games are too expensive.
- The quality of gaming is too uneven.
- DRM is hurting the legitimate customers.
- Going to the shops is annoying.
- Because piracy is easy to do with low risk for getting caught.
Want to know which moves took Chris after the survey? He completely dumped DRM from his games and he'll cut down the prices too.
I'm really curious to read some future results of his moves but I think he dealt with piracy in the best way he could: thinking of pirates as competitors and find some really smart business solutions.
If you're interested on this topic, take a look also at the book "The Pirate's Dilemma".
San Fermo... il protettore di tutti i motociclisti! :)
San Fermo... il protettore di tutti i motociclisti! :)
Originally uploaded by orangeek
San Fermo... il protettore di tutti i motociclisti! :)
Link collection of Summer 2008
Some links I collected during this 56k 2008 Summer.
After the jump, so move your ass away from google reader and read those bullet points below. :)
"La solitudine dei numeri primi" by Paolo Giordano
I don't know if this book ("La solitudine dei numeri primi", "The loneliness of prime numbers") by Paolo Giordano is going to be translated in english, but if you read italian I think you should buy it.Anyway, after the jump a quotation from the book I finished to read yesterday.
600mb sta minchia
600mb sta minchia
Originally uploaded by orangeek
Here highlighted the bandwidth usage after a 2 hour usage of ONLY gmail and google reader: 32mb downloaded and 6,5mb in upload.
I was using a 56kbps connection, so I avoided to load heavy feeds like gizmodo or bigpicture, due the usage of pictures in the posts.
Just to answer to the dumb-asses at vodafone italy whose some weeks ago explained us that an insane expansive data plan [1] for the new iphone 3G, providing 600mb per month, is more than appropriate. [2]
[1] http://www.orangeek.org/archive/2008/07/02/Italian_providers_and_iPhone_3
[2] http://lab.vodafone.it/blog/lab/entry/600mb
Repubblica's XL sucks
Listen and repeat:
I'll not buy XL anymore.
I'll not buy XL anymore.
I'll not buy XL anymore.
In summer, when I'm not home and I'm not traveling (like this year), I read a lot. Really. Just take a look somewhere on the right column of the blog and you'll find my readings in these days. I'm addicted: I go in a bookshop and I begin turning my head around, looking for something that could be interesting, and I finish buying 5/6 books at once. Last month, preparing for the huge spare time I'd have in August, I bought a lot of books but it turned out they are too few. I'm running out of books. :)
Btw, since I don't want to read books all day long, I buy also newspapers and magazines; yesterday I was in a shop and saw two different issues of XL; while thinking "yeah, it's a long time I don't read that magazine, let me take a look", I picked one copy (the one with some comic on the cover) and came back home.
God, it really sucks. A lot of garbage, adv and... horrible comics. The damn magazine is full of non-sense, poor-designed (most of them) comics.
How can you even sell that shit??
I'll not buy XL anymore.
I'll not buy XL anymore.
I'll not buy XL anymore.
ite tutti a stroncarverlo nder culo
Even if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere (Sicily, actually), I do know that our italian government made a deal with the local ISPs to block the domain of The Pirate Bay.
Even if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, please, government, go fuck yourself.
Or better:
ite tutti a stroncarvelo nder culo.
in the meantime, please take a look here.
Nowhere
Just for the record: I'm in the middle of nowhere, having few opportunities to blog.
I already know you'll not give a fuck to that. :)
You belong to us: Our data (and gadgets) at risk
Finally we get an official position.
We already heard that DHS (US Department of Homeland Security) was seizing laptops and phones of US passengers. Now the DHS published the procedure (warning: PDF link), that permits them
to take your laptop (or any other "digital or analogic" device, capable to save data), make a copy of "all your data", keep them for "a reasonable amount of time", "share them with other agencies, subjects or party" in order to obtain assistance for "language translation, decryption or any other reasons".
[ "life and the pursuit of happiness", CC picture by shoothead ]
Some comments: Bruce Schneier, Slashdot, Washington Post.
How to deal with the laptop seizures: Lifehacker's, Electronic Frontier Foundation's and Bruce Schneier tips.
Be advised: you can even encrypt your data but the DHS-ignorant-cowboys-guys could ask you for password to decrypt them. According to EFF (see link above)
If you don't want to comply, CBP cannot force you to decrypt your data or give over your password. Only a judge can force you to answer questions, and then only if the Fifth Amendment does not apply. While no Fifth Amendment right protects the data on your laptop or phone, one federal court has held that even a judge cannot force you to divulge your password when the act of revealing the password shows that you are the person with access to or control over potentially incriminating files.
Did you see any analogies with Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" fiction book? Well, they are.
Now it's our turn
"They'll take Manhattan, in Cash" :this is the title of the New York Times.
"They" are the Europeans, who are taking over New York thanks to high value of Euro Currency against US Dollars. NYTimes writes
Their party is raging just as the hangover has started to set in for Americans. Frictions do arise — especially in a summer of looming recession, where many locals do not feel rich enough or secure enough to travel abroad themselves. (And let’s not even get into their weeks of summer vacation).
Yes, we may raid your stores - thinking at those as "our personal Candyland", dressed "in sneakers and bike shorts" but do not blame us: you, americans, in the ol' days, have been way worse.
[ "Smokin' shot", CC picture by dariuzka ]
At least we have style. :)
Mmmh, by the way: I'm planning to visit New York in the next October. Not sure yet, but likely.
[ via Consumerist ]
TP holder (italian way: ashtray included)
I just wonder if it's common to have an ashtray on top of the TP holder....
picture taken in my office in Florence, Italy
The Mojave Experiment
The Mojave Experiment,Microsoft attempt to convince us we hate Vista just for prejudice and mind-tricks, is pretty lousy. and useless. and bad. and has ugly side-effects.
[ via dotcoma ]
Cory Doctorow's talks @ Google
In the last post I wrote about "Little Brother", Cory Doctorow's last book.
I also suggest to watch on youtube the speech he gave for "Authors @ Google" (subscribe to the RSS feed to stay updated !)
Cory Doctorow at "Authors @ Google": 1 & 2. Enjoy.
Cory Doctorow's Little Brother
Yesterday I finished the awesome book "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow (the book is available as PDF download too).
After the jump some thoughts on the book and some citations (warning: long text to read!)
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