TEN JACK TEN

Foil car stereo thieves by making them think you’re already a victim:

Using an assembly of loose wires and broken plastic, Instructables discovered that a car stereo with a removable faceplate can be made to look as if it has already been ripped out of the dashboard when, in fact, it’s perfectly intact. Mount your “stolen stereo” faceplate before you exit the vehicle. Upon returning, simply remove the “stolen stereo” faceplate (pictured), snap on the real one, and you’re ready to go.

I’ve had one ripped out of my car and it made me paranoid until we got our own parking garage downtown. 

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A service that lets you avoid talking to someone and go straight to voice mail:

Dialing (267)SLY-DIAL followed by a person’s number will take you straight to his voice mail — none of that phone ringing nonsense. And then you can lay it on him: “This isn’t working out,” or, “I’m sorry I abandoned you when you were so young.” 

There’s one catch for being a coward, though: You have to listen to a short advertisement before Slydial will connect you to the voicemail — unless you pay 15 cents to skip it.

More personal than a text message, less confrontational than a conversation . . .

Presenting the statistical analysis of red-shirted crewman demises on Star Trek:

We can reliably improve the survivability of the red-shirted crewmen by only exploring peaceful, female-only planets (android and alien females included).

Apparently there’s a correlation between Kirk getting friendly with the local chicks and a guy in red taking a phaser bolt.

My early candidate for headline of the year:

Drag Queen Robs Burger King 

Links below gleefully swiped from Bill Harris’ Dubious Quality Blog. 

I knew it!  From a New Yorker article that tells you more than you probably ever wanted to know about elevators, intertwined with the story of a guy who got stuck in one for 41 hours:

In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power.

I’d long suspected this, and had joked that the button was just there to give you something to do while the doors closed on their own schedule.  “Nice” isn’t the right word for it, but it’s a relief to see some confirmation that elevator companies have made fools of all of us who pressed that button.

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Business Week discusses a case where the RIAA demanded thousands of dollars from a single mom based on file-sharing, yet never had any proof:

The court ordered Andersen to hand over the computer, and the RIAA took it to an expert so it could be searched for signs of music piracy. But then the industry’s lawyers refused to release the expert’s report. Ultimately, Donald C. Ashmanskas, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing the case in Portland, ordered the RIAA to turn over the information, which it did in January, 2007. The result? No evidence of piracy.

…

Lybeck figures that with all the potential errors in IP addresses collected by MediaSentry, the RIAA has gone after thousands of innocent people. He thinks the addresses could be erroneous as often as 20% of the time, which would mean 8,000 people wrongly accused. He believes that many innocent people have been coerced into paying because they can’t afford to fight the RIAA in court.

It’s going to take a huge and embarassing judgment to get the RIAA to back down from its policy of suing individuals.  Here’s hoping this is the one.

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Internet coolness for the sports nut — an automated game-monitoring site that will let you know if there’s a good game going on. 

Meet RUWTbot, our game-watching robot that searches for games going into overtime, ranked teams getting upset, no-hitters through 7, or anything else you need to get your butt on the couch for.

Sure, you could catch the SportsCenter recap, but wouldn’t it be better to get an email or text message from RUWTbot about a 2 point game with 30 seconds left on the clock that you can watch right now?

I’m really posting to remind myself to sign up for this.

The Star Wars credits done in the style of Saul Bass.

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Via Wired, why free is the future of business (at least on the net).

Via Forbes, the new wave of free-to-play games:

Soon after launching its casual multiplayer game “Puzzle Pirates,” James calculated the cost of adding additional players to the game was negligible. In 2005, James broke down the toll booth [by making access free rather than by subscription]–instead, players could use real cash to buy virtual doubloons–which, in turn, they could use to bedeck their pirates in loot or purchase other status symbols. Over a year, “Puzzle Pirates” went from collecting $50,000 a month in subscriptions to raking in twice that by selling virtual doubloons.

Only 15% to 20% of “Puzzle Pirates” players ever buy doubloons–but those who do buy a lot. Virtual currency purchases accounted for roughly 75% of Puzzle Pirates $4 million revenue in 2007. It’s a lot like letting crowds into a movie theater for free, then collecting serious coinage from those who crave popcorn and Jolly Ranchers.

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For Acclaim, the free-to-play business model has already exceeded Howard Marks’ expectations. He had hoped for 2 million registered users by the end of 2007, and instead, has 5 million. He also had expected his 500,000 dedicated users to spend $25 apiece on item sales; they’ve been buying more. Since Acclaim launched “2Moons” last August, dedicated players have spent an average of $57 on virtual items.

I don’t think that free online multiplayer games will ever replace the well-crafted single player game, but this may be the trend of the future for the PC, which is losing more revenue every year due to rampant piracy and consumer alienation due to anti-piracy measures that ruin the customer’s experience.

Via NPR, “The Donger And Me.”

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Via FilmStew, Gene Wilder explains the naming of Young Frankenstein’s “Frau Blücher.”

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Alex Cox’s never-produced script for a Repo Man sequel will be turned into a graphic novel. 

Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday picks up the story of Otto (now called “Waldo”) as he returns from space, finds the world has moved on, and settles into a series of increasingly pointless jobs manned by the mysterious Duke Mantee. Luckily, he stumbles onto a pair of tickets for a Hawaiian getaway, but finds that leaving LA … isn’t as easy as it used to be.  

Also, the Onion’s AV club interviews Cox.

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Via 1UP, the Legion of Suck, i.e., the worst superhero games.

This game is based on the postcartoon Aquaman in which they tried for a gritty and regal undersea badass with a beard and a grappling hook for a hand. To most people raised on the Super Friends, this felt like casting Rob Schneider as Rambo.

From the Washington Post, the blog Stuff White People Like hits it big:

Jan. 18 Christian Lander, pasty Canadian copywriter living in Los Angeles, creates Stuffwhitepeoplelike.com on a lark, after an instant-message conversation with a friend that went something like this:

Isn’t it weird how many white people like “The Wire”?

Yeah. What else do white people like?

* * *

Feb. 15-28 The blog careens from 200 hits a day to 1 millio — no, 2 millio — no, more than 4 million hits total.

* * *

March 20 Random House officially announces the summer release of “Stuff White People Like — THE BOOK!” Lander’s “detailed, cleverly illustrated expose of modern white culture will include an extensive chronicle of what white people like,” the news release reads. “Two-thirds new material!”

Isn’t it funny how new media always seems to fall back on old media when it comes to making a buck.

The most sarcastic blog I’ve seen maybe ever: Stuff White People Like

From the Dallas Morning News, the story of CompUSA’s failure:

. . . as stores are liquidating and the company is shutting down – most employees’ last day is Friday – several analysts, longtime shoppers and one of the company’s founders all say Dallas-based CompUSA could have done a lot better over the years.

A series of mistakes killed the company, they said. CompUSA once ruled the emerging niche of computing but couldn’t keep up in a changing world wrought by its own products.

In a recent eulogy, Credit Suisse analysts boiled it down to three issues:

•CompUSA needed more stores with higher volumes. But it couldn’t grow because Best Buy and others were adding brands and expanding their categories, reducing customers’ reasons to visit CompUSA.

•Acquisitions diverted attention.

•Money-saving cuts were the last straw.

What the article didn’t mention was that CompUSA never really committed to any one business and ended up doing everything halfway.  They sold hardware, but they really wanted to push software training.  The hardware they sold was easily available online for less from companies like Newegg.  (It was at CompUSA I saw the $100 HDMI cable).  They sold DVDs, but the selection wasn’t very deep and never discounted. 

They sold games, but they didn’t keep the inventory well maintained and were slow to discount.  They would consistently find themselves with a bunch of outdated games that had dropped to lower prices in other stores, but were held out as “closeout” bargains at a higher price point. 

They ended up being the “emergency store” I’d go to when I couldn’t find a copy of Pokemon at Target or Best Buy around Chiristmas, because I knew nobody shopped there.

Now I’m hearing that the Plano store will reopen under the management of the same folks who run Tiger Direct.  This will be interesting, this is a store that’s less than 2 miles from a Fry’s and a Best Buy, and about 5 miles from the only Micro Center in the Metroplex.

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Courtesy of SFGate.com, how the 2008 tax rebates are going to be paid.

Under HR5140, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, most working people will get $600 if they are single or $1,200 if they file a joint return, assuming they paid at least that much in federal income tax in 2007.

To help people who earn little or nothing - and might be more likely to spend their rebates - Congress said that anyone who had at least $3,000 in income from a job, self-employment, Social Security and/or certain veterans benefits would get a flat rebate of $300 if single or $600 if married filing jointly, even if they don’t owe income tax.

If your 2007 federal tax liability is between $300 and $600 (single) or $600 and $1,200 (married), your rebate will be equal to whatever you paid in tax.

Anyone who gets a rebate of any size will get an additional $300 for each child eligible for the child tax credit in 2008. To qualify, the child must be younger than 17 on Dec. 31, 2008. 

The rebates - including the $300 rebate for kids - start to shrink when your adjusted gross income hits $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (married). Adjusted gross income includes income from all sources, but before most deductions and exemptions have been subtracted.

The rebate is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 you earn above the income limit. It disappears at some point which varies depending on your family size.

Singles with more than $87,000 in gross income and couples with more than $174,000 get no rebate if they have no children.

Looks like a good motivation to get those 2007 taxes filed instead of taking an extension to file until August.

The London Times has a fascinating “where are they now” article on some of the supporting cast from the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, which hit the fan ten years ago this month.

I look at the woman who calls herself Karen and she looks back, her mouth twitching. She bears an uncanny resemblance to the pictures I have seen of Tripp, postplastic surgery. Could this be Linda’s sister? But her sister isn’t called Karen.

I explain who I am and that I had heard Linda owns the shop. “She does actually – with her husband,” says the woman who calls herself Karen. That must have been the husband I had glimpsed going into the back of the store earlier wearing lederhosen, just as he is pictured in the leaflet advertising the store.

But no, it cannot be him because, as Karen tells me when I ask if I can speak to them: “They are not here right now. They won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Via UnitedHollywood, cute internet animals go on strike to support the Writers’ Guild strike. Follow the link because I can’t figure out how to embed a YouTube video.

Be sure to watch all the way through to the scab animals.

A two-part interview with Futurama co-creator David X. Cohen on the recent direct-to-DVD movie release and the future of the series.

Part One

NRAMA: Now here’s a question I’ve been juggling in my head to just phrase right. What do you attribute more than anything for the return of Futurama?

DXC: As I’ve said many times, and I’ll stay consistent, it isn’t a hard question to answer. It’s entirely due to the fans who supported the show throughout our three year hiatus.

We were dead and they literally were putting the nails on our coffin. Then Fox noticed the ratings were not really declining on Cartoon Network year after year. Also, demographically, they were getting the right kind of numbers, basically the young male adults. In fact, they were tremendous and exceeding everyone’s expectations. Simultaneously, the DVDs really started selling and steadily sold for years.

Ultimately, Fox said they didn’t realize we there was going to be this level of support for the show. Would we please come back and make some more? We owe the fans for this kind of diligence.

Part Two

NRAMA: Now Comedy Central is soon going to be airing Futurama instead of Cartoon Network. Was this strictly business?

DXC: We writers, animators and such are not involved in those decisions. So we found out with a phone call. However, I do think it’s very good for the show. It’s a sign of how great we are that when the rights expired, other networks were now interested in airing us and there was a fight for us.

I’m not sure if I’m patient enough to wait for Netflix to get over the “very long wait” for this. They might get $20 out of me yet.

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A three-part article on race, intelligence, and whether it’s improper to even try to correlate the two from John Derbyshire on NRO:

Part One

There are different races, accounted for — pretty obviously — by having their deep ancestry in different parts of the world. Different races seem to have different patterns of capabilities. What’s it all about? Here are some accredited researchers, applying the tools of scientific inquiry — measurement, classification, comparison — to try to find the underlying facts. What’s not to be interested in?

What’s that you say? It’s wrong to be interested in these things? I’m supposed to pretend not to notice those things I’m noticing? Those aren’t scientists: they are bad people with dark motives only pretending to do objective research? That’s what you’re saying? Okay, let me put this as politely as it deserves to be put: Bite me, pal.

Part Two

. . . nobody ever knows where scientific research will lead. If you fear that knowledge unearthed by science might be used for malign purposes, your only logical course of action is to shut down absolutely all research in every field. I am sure there are people who want to do that. I am not one of them.

Isaac Asimov posed the following thought experiment. Imagine it’s the year 1890. You canvass the world’s best specialists in orthopaedic medicine, asking them all the question: Which current field of research, in which of the sciences, will lead to the greatest advances in orthopaedic medicine during the coming decades? Never mind regular-Joe citizens: you’re asking the specialists.

Asimov said, I think correctly, that none of them would have given the right answer. The right answer would have been: Research by physicists into the transmission of electric current through rarified gases. (Which led to the discovery of X-rays.)

Part Three

Like every other feature of human nature, the groupish emotions are unevenly distributed. Some individuals are richly endowed with them. They are plunged into despair when their baseball team loses; they bristle to hear their religion criticized; they are furious at insults to their nation; if of eccentric sexual preference, they may swear brotherhood with those similarly disposed; and yes, they are mad as hell to hear their race described as failed, even though they understand at some level that it’s an abstract statistical description that does not reflect on them personally, any more than their baseball team’s losing the World Series does.

Your antisocial loner isn’t like that. He probably has no strong opinion about the relative merits of Yankees and Mets. If he goes to church, it’s for personal and metaphysical reasons, not social ones. He’s a poor employee and a feeble team-sports participant. He may like his country, and be willing to fight for it, but exuberant expressions of patriotism embarrass him. He’s more likely than the average to marry someone of a different race. (Am I describing anyone in particular here? No! Absolutely not!) Tell him he belongs to a failed race and he’ll probably say: “Yes, I guess so. It’s sad. But hey, I’m doing okay…”

I may be an antisocial loner, but at least I’m not a poor employee. Right? Anyone?

Musician Jill Sobule on the demise of the traditional recording industry and the uncertainty of digital distribution:

None of my musician friends are mourning the demise of the record industry. Most of us got crummy deals anyway and never saw a penny of royalties. My nephews expect really expensive birthday gifts from me, as they think that I must be rolling in dough, having been on MTV a few times. I always acquiesce, not wanting to tell them the truth.

For us, in this YouTube, long-tail, Kara-and-Walt world, it’s an exciting time. But it’s also confusing. How do I release my next recordings? Do I still put out a CD in the traditional way, or just go digital? Do I send demos one last time to the remaining majors or go indie (this time with a company that lasts longer than a year) and get a, say, 50/50 deal? Do I just finance the whole thing myself–musicians, studio, marketing, publicist, radio, promo, video, etc.? And where do I get the money?

Just another reminder that the RIAA members are all about selling us new versions of what they’ve already sold as opposed to developing new artists and music.

Mark Evanier on the history of Writer’s Guild strikes:

. . . the WGA’s history is largely a series of strikes or threatened strikes, each of which resulted in the establishment of some new right or principle. They won the right to residuals when TV shows were rerun; they won the right to screen credits, setting up a system of rules and arbitrations that stopped the guy who ran the studio from slapping his nephew’s name on your script. The strike of 1960–which lasted 151 days, making it the longest strike in Hollywood until the Writers Guild later bettered its own record–was the one that secured a pension plan as well as residual payments when a movie was run on television.

For a long time, TV residuals were capped after a certain number of runs. It wasn’t until a threatened strike in ‘77 that we began receiving them in perpetuity. That year, we didn’t have to walk–but we would have, and the other side knew it. Some would suggest the studio heads since then haven’t been quite as wise.

In 1981, there was a three-month WGA strike to establish compensation in the then-new markets of “pay TV” and home video. We wound up with a deal so good that the ‘85 contract negotiation was all about the Producers wanting to take it back. They had a better sense by then of the cash to be made in those areas and didn’t like how much of it we got.