i play the fucking hammer

I don't play the horn or the clarinet...

this is so trippy

i can stare at this all day.

[unknown source]

when the internet dictates art

Artist, Ben Redford asked the internet for suggestions to create a new artwork, stipulating that he's only draw what people told him to. This is the result:

Zoomed in 400%

For more, go to [Internetopia]

The day the internet died... [Heartbleed]

Ok, so maybe that's a bit dramatic. 

The internet is still there. The thing is, you really just shouldn't log in.

A vulnerability has been discovered on Monday, April 7th 2014 in OpenSSL that makes a secure login and your information saved on those severs visible to nefarious crackers. 

It came with an implementation made to OpenSSL two years ago, called Heartbeat, which is a sort of pinging between you and the SSL server to keep your connection alive. This implementation can be exploited and the cracker can then read 64k of the server data at a time, including the SSL Certificate of the website. This vulnerability is called Heartbleed, from the 64k private data that can be bled from the Heartbeat implementation.

Now before you freak out, this doesn't affect the entire internet (or two thirds, as has been widely misreported). It only affects servers running OpenSSL, which excludes 1/3 of the internet already (eg. Microsoft, along with many other websites use Microsoft-IIS/8.0, instead of OpenSSL). This is where mainstream media stopped reading. What they fail to mention, is that this Heartbeat "feature" has to be enabled on the specific implementation of OpenSSL as well. So the good news is that it works out that only about 17% of the internet is vulnerable.

This is where the good news ends though, because, of those 17% compromised sites included are:

Amazon, Imgur.org, Archive.org, OkCupid, Lastpass, Tumblr, Flickr, (actually the entire Yahoo suite, including Yahoo Sports & Finance), 500px, etc.. 

A list has been posted on GitHub (which was also vulnerable, but has since been fixed)

https://github.com/musalbas/heartbleed-masstest/blob/master/top1000.txt

It is recommended that all servers running OpenSSL either upgrade to TLS 1.1 (TLS 1.0.2b and prior implementations of OpenSSL are vulnerable) or recompile OpenSSL with the heartbeat feature disabled.

For users, you should wait till the websites did this, before you log in, to prevent third parties from seeing your info as you log in to a site that is clearly no longer secure. 

So like I said at the start of this. You really shouldn't be on the internet now, at least until all this is fixed.

The great people at LastPass has a little online checker: www.lastpass.com/Heartbleed to check if a website is safe to log into. I recommend you try it before logging into your social media & banking sites, especially is you are one of those people who use one password across many sites. (Don't do it, just use a free password manager like KeePass or LastPass instead.)

That's all from me for now. Keep safe.

Bad Ideas = Better Ideas

Suggest a Bad Idea to Prompt Better Ideas from Others

Half of the problem with collective indecisiveness is blank slate syndrome. Blogger Jon Bell recommends providing a poor suggestion to a group in order to get better ideas from everyone involved.

Coming up with an idea out of the ether is difficult. Whether it's deciding where to eat, or picking a group activity, conjuring up something everyone will enjoy is a daunting task. If your group is stuck in a rut, try offering an option that nearly everyone will dislike and they may be more inclined to come up with something better. For Jon Bell and his group, recommending McDonald's seems to get the brain juices flowing:

An interesting thing happens. Everyone unanimously agrees that we can’t possibly go to McDonald’s, and better lunch suggestions emerge. Magic!

It’s as if we’ve broken the ice with the worst possible idea, and now that the discussion has started, people suddenly get very creative. I call it the McDonald’s Theory: people are inspired to come up with good ideas to ward off bad ones.

The concept works on more than just meal locations. Creativity is born out of brain movement, not stagnation. If you find yourself struggling to come up with a good idea, start with a bad one and try to build on it.

McDonald's Theory | Jon Bell

Photo by Juhan Sonin.
a repost from LifeHacker.com, go to their website, they're awesome!

CISPA is not dead

What is wrong with #Facebook #Twitter #GooglePlus sharing, and howIFTTT can help.

It's taken me almost a week to try and figure out how to share across multiple platforms and stay connected with all my various communities, and I have come to the conclusion that there is no elegant solution.

The problem lies in that all the social platforms are not becoming more open, but, in fact, they are more closed than ever.

You can share from Facebook to Twitter fairly seamlessly, by using going to your Twitter settings and linking it to Facebook, and vice versa, but this leaves Google+ out in the cold.

You can use a service like gplus.to to RSS your Google+ feed, and have that then post to Twitter/Facebook/etc. via ifttt.com, but you lose all rich data, like links and images, to be replaced by bit.ly links.

Twitter doesn't auto expand links from bit.ly, nor does Facebook or App.net, which is strange, cause if you post a link natively on those platforms, if will expand, give the webpage title and even an image of the site.

That is how they hook you in and force you to post from their site.

So, the elegant solution with inline images and web-previews are out, but what if you don't have time to check and update all your social networks?

In comes IFTTT.COM

IFTTT.COM (if this then that) is actually a great service, that can do a plethora of things based on rules (they call it recipes) that you set, which, when the rule is met, an action is taken. These actions can vary from mailing you whenever the weather changes at set times of the day, to reposting tagged images on Facebook to Instagram, and there are thousands of pre-made recipes online at their site.

I have recipes that save Instagram photo's Flickr, report on changing weather, post Google+ to Facebook and mirrors my App.net to Twitter. Plus, there are various community builds that use hardware sensors to do all kinds of home automation & social integration (take for example the Belkin WeMo switch).

So, for the time being, or until Google releases the long awaited wrtite API (for more info check here), you are kinda stuck using various hacks, all the while, competing services are becoming more closed and stripping functionality and access from their API's (I am looking at you, Twitter) to force you to use their site.


For more on this, Frederic Lardinois wrote a great article over at TechCrunch.
It's called "Will Google+ Ever Get A Full Read/Write API?"

Interior Design predictions 2013

Steve Cordony, interior design editor, Belle magazine, and stylist: “This coming year I think we will see lots of natural materials such as marble, timber, brass, copper and cut glass which evoke a sense of calm and grounding. Using different shades and tones of trending colours such as blue, green and orange will inject warmth into our spaces. Quirky pieces (think spiky sculptures and animal shaped ceramics) and one-off finds will add a sense of interest and adventure into our interiors.”

Stylist and author Megan Morton: “People are now understanding the value and inherent beauty of interiors that are created with hand and heart. This explains the rise and rise of the craft and handmade movement. I predict we will see an even richer combination of made and bought, providing even more delicious spaces.”

Interior designer Greg Natale: “I see Memphis Milano becoming an influence on design again. Memphis was a design movement and furniture company started by Ettore Sottsass in the 80s. It was a reaction against Modernism and I think personally, they were trying to create warm interiors again by injecting humour and colour. What I like about Memphis is the asymmetrical shapes, black and white stripes, strong colour and wit.”

Stylist Jason Grant: “I like to encourage people to find their own style, to buy what they love and not to to be a slave to trends.”

Interior designer David Hicks: “2013 will see individual style flourish as we continue to head in a non-conformist way. Regency, bold patterns and extravagant designs may give way to the liveability of more subtle, tactile designs with pops of pattern and colour.”

Interior designer Aaron Wong: “”I feel that interior design is taking a bigger interest in not just what fills out the room but how the walls and ceilings are treated. I think there will be more interesting finishes for walls and ceilings that go beyond your standard paint and wallpaper. Oh, and brass!”

Stylist Jane Frosh: “‘Gold, peach and dusty emerald confetti bomb explosion. Boom! (How much fun would that be?) Rockstar glam slammed back to earth with natural linens and textiles.”

For more, head to:
http://theinteriorsaddict.com/top-interiors-predictions-for-2013

Animal Chair Collection

 

Artist, sculptor and photographer, Maximo Riera most recent project, The Animal Chair Collection. 

The series of biologically accurate animals covers mammals, reptiles and insects. The dynamic, sculptural furniture is daring with strong baroque stylings. The intricate detailing and commitment to anatomical design are commendable.

For more on The Animal Chair Collection visit Maximo Riera online.

Cat Scratch DJ Deck Toy

Don’t be surprised when you set up Suck UK’s Cat DJ Scratching Deck and find out that Kitty’s scratching is far better than yours. This deck comes flat-packed and folds together with a poseable tone arm and a top that spins as your cat paws at it.
[http://coolhunting.com/]

Coding while we sleep

It's midnight and I really want to be coding. I'm half way or so through adding a git-annex-shell to git-annex, which will enable some nice features with ssh access. I've done the research, and written the documentation, laid all the necessary refactoring groundwork, and written much of the code and just have to connect it all up and test it.

This is a dangerous point to be at, because I have it all in my head, but I'm tired. If I start coding now, I could make a stupid mistake and find myself stuck in a blind alley at 5 am. I've been there before. Even if I avoid hard stuff, I'd surely look up and an hour or more would have gone by, it'd be past 1 am -- and I know that once I stop coding it can take me hours to spin my thoughts back down to the point where I can go to sleep.

Also, I can feel the back of my mind still working on something. Some bits feel like they might not quite mesh up right in my mental model. I don't consciously know what the problem is. I need to sleep on it; it will probably be clearer later. Like yesterday when I lifted a bag of groceries into the car and paused, realizing code I'd written two months ago had a major bug, one I'd never seen, in an edge case that had never came up, but was surely there.

I always assumed that when programmers got older and stopped coding late it was because they couldn't take the strain. Nah. We're just coding even as we sleep. :)

~Joey

I am Dad

Art Lebedev Svintus Power Strip

Svintus power strip really pigged up and technically is a strip no more, but rather a multi-snout cutie that you will not want to hide behind a couch. It’s pink, yet a fully functional device with seventeen snout-plugs.

For more: http://www.artlebedev.com

Decim8

Justin Bieber

Looking at "Try Me" I am unsure where to touch him...

The marketing team failed on this one.. or exceeded their expectations, depending on how you look at it.

Nietzsche

My feline soulmate.

World of Warcraft - REDUX

WoW Timeline: (+3years)

YEAR 7 (2012)

Future timeline (+1000 years)

Cut Paladin (- prepare to cut others)

Add Horde/Alliance Races

Horde: Dragon, Naga, other?
Alliance: Furbolg, Satyr, other?

YEAR 8 (2013)

Merge remaining classes
- simplify

Dranei+Warrior = New Plate Blademaster
Druid+Rogue = New Leather Ninja
Mage+Priest+Lock = New Cloth Archmage
Hunter+Shaman = New Mail Farseer

YEAR 9 (2014)

-Merge Horde+Alliane

Grief

Grief.

Grief is like the ocean.

It's deep and dark and bigger than all of us.

Grief.

Grief is cruel.

Grief doesn't stab-stab-stab to kill you.

Grief lurks up on you; 

Like the golden dusk in winter

it takes the light away, with each passing minute,

it cools the very air you breathe.

Grief makes you struggle as you try shiver off the chill.

When your muscles burn and ache and clench.

Grief carries on.

Stronger.

Harder.

Unrelenting.

When you grow tired and numb grief finds that last synapse of feeling...

that one neuron of sensation,

and coddles it back relief... sweet sweet relief...

before crushing it under the weight of a thousand memories.

When you beg for mercy it mocks you.

When you scream in pain... it screams in ecstasy.

When all is done and you gasp your last breath,

it lifts the dark hand to slowly cover your mouth

to slowly cover your nose.

Like a coarse old blanket it wraps around you.

Tighter and tighter.

Scratching and squeezing.

Tighter and tighter.

Twisting and crushing...

“I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. There is no end.

There will never be an end.

Hope is lost.”

You break..

You die

a little.

You where connected.

When they die, the part of them in you die too.

But if you can stay the night.

If you can brave your the death.

If you can die... just a little...

The dawn will break and the sun will rise.

You cannot fight grief.

But... you can survive it.

Grief.

It's like the ocean.

It's deep and dark and bigger than all of us.

It's cruel and unrelenting.

Grief will end you.

...if you let it.

stadsmuziek

on show at 'this way', design academy eindhoven's exhibition at milan design week 2011 is akko goldenbeld's musical device 'stadsmuziek'. a scale model of the city of eindhoven is transformed into the role of the recorder as each building, unique in size, shape and proximity to others, creates the musical score. placed on a revolving wooden cylinder, the buildings set little hammers in motion that play the keys of the piano by turning and turning, the city makes its voice heard - from loud to soft, long to short, high-pitched to low - translating the three-dimensional reality of the city into an aural experience.

daniel arsham / snarkitecture: dig

daniel arsham / snarkitecture: dig
storefront for art and architecture, new york
on now - april 22, 2011

"Arsham is creating and inhabiting the space that he forms for the duration of the month-long installation while the facade of the storefront will serve as a human ant farm for passersby. it is an experiment of opposites between the precision of an architectural plan and the looseness of the unknown / primitive and contemporary architecture / the complexity of its digital origins and the simplicity of its hand made nature."

For more [click here]