General

I really wish I’d found this CLI for the Linksys WAP11 a few days ago; I could have skipped digging out cables for my Windows box. Alas alack. Still, worth flagging for later experimentation, especially since it allows one to up the base station’s power output. For the curious, I’m using the WAP11 and the Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge to bridge between my apartment and my brother’s place. I could have used two WAP11s, or I suppose two WET11s, but either of those approaches wouldn’t have gotten me a wireless network — just a bridge. As is I can use my iBook while sitting on my front steps.

A little while ago, I kvetched about the algorithms that produce Google News. I feel somewhat vindicated, since I don’t think this image really reflects the top Sci/Tech news of September 30th, 2002.

The new Google News service kind of bugs me. The FAQ says this: The headlines on the Google News homepage are selected entirely by a computer algorithm, based on many factors including how often and on what sites a story appears elsewhere on the web. This is very much in the tradition of Google’s web search, which relies heavily on the collective judgment of web publishers to determine which sites offer the most valuable and relevant information. Google News relies in a similar fashion on the editorial judgment of online news organizations to determine which stories are most deserving of inclusion and prominence on the Google News page. ...

On October 11, 2002 (original), the following movies that I want to see will open: Below, a submarine haunted house flick directed by David Twohy ( Pitch Black) and written by Darren Aronofsky. The Grey Zone, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino. Knockaround Guys, a much-neglected gangster flick with Vin Disel, Seth Green, Dennis Hopper, and John Malkovich; the writer/directors also wrote Rounders. Punch-Drunk Love, the new Paul Thomas Anderson ( Boogie Nights, Magnolia) movie that happens to star, um, Adam Sandler. ...

The new Two Towers trailer (original) is now available in Quicktime. (Link obtained from Ain’t It Cool News.) Enjoy.

The 2002 MacArthur Fellows were announced today.

Matthew White’s done some really excellent research on death tolls in the 20th century. It’s very grim; it’s also a good reminder of atrocities we might otherwise forget. The rest of his Atlas of the 20th Century is also pretty interesting.

Kevin Kelly (one of the guys behind Long Bets) wrote a really good book, entitled Out of Control, and made it available online. I bumped into it via a link to Chapter 2: Hive Mind. Super cool stuff. The rest of his site (original) looks interesting too.

Guilty pleasure: Billy Joel. I suspect this New York Times article is morosely grim even if you’re not a big fan, though. Or maybe it’s just pathetic. The man is certainly whining — but if he was more credible, wouldn’t there be something worthy about a guy who weighs the value of love so high against the rewards of fame? Instead, it’s just the Piano Man, and he’s hard to respect.

The Dialect Survey (original) is about three hundred questions, so don’t start unless you have time, but it’s cool if you do. Perhaps more cool are the maps plotting the results in little color coded dots across the country, confirming that we New Englanders are the only people who say rotary (original).