BREAKING SURF
| Fake Friendsters Fight Exile |
| Geek Urban Legend: Windows Update on Linux |
| Microsoft Sociologists Investigates Usenet Users Habits |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Critical Music Bile |
| Lone Star Stars |
| Xouvert: Experimental Fork of XFree86 |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
| Credits |
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BREAKING SURF
Slammer Worm Hit Blackout Suspect's Nuke Plant Last Spring
FirstEnergy, an Ohio-based utility and one of the largest in the country, is the focus of investigations into the cause of last week's blackout. Some people have speculated that the MSBlast worm may have influenced the failure, because FirstEnergy has shown itself to be vulnerable to such worms in the past. Its Davis-Besse nuclear plant suffered a Slammer worm infection earlier this year. The worm hit the plant's internal network in the spring, disabling safety monitoring systems. There was no risk of actual danger as the plant was offline at the time and has analogue backup systems, but the event raises eyebrows nonetheless. Slammer snuck into the plant's business network through a contractor's T1 line that bypassed the corporate firewall. Some of the plant's sysadmins knew of this T1 and some did not. We hope that some heads rolled. A SecurityFocus article on the event also mentions that Slammer also affected the monitoring network of an unnamed electrical utility. Both incidents reflect the dangerous practice of power companies that link operations networks to business networks. A Washington Post article covers the investigation.SecurityFocus: http://securityfocus.com/news/6767
Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15940-2003Aug19.html
New Yorkers are amazing. While blanketed by the largest blackout in history, New York City (NYC) bloggers were busy snapping photos with their phones and cameras, waiting for the power to return. The Blackout and Gothamist blogs entertain with blackout photos and links and descriptions of how people behaved. The suspicion of a rise in the birthrate nine months hence makes an appearance, as do many wonderful photos of ordinary people directing traffic and sharing their laptops so that a bunch of people can watch a movie. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has posted nighttime satellite photos of the northeastern seaboard taken before and during the blackout. The spectacular difference is best viewed by opening the images side-by-side. Renesys also uses visual representation of the blackout. Renesys analyzes Internet connectivity, and since the Internet relies on electricity, the company has been able to build a Net-based animation of the blackout's propagation. Finally, the Blackout History Project is attempting to gather materials and memories from victims of the 1965 and 1977 NYC blackouts to create a collaborative history. It remains to be seen if the 2003 blackout will be added to the research program, but if the other sites are any indication, historians had better start burning DVDs now.
The Blackout: http://blackout.textamerica.com/
Gothamist: http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2003/08/15/the_new_york_city_blackout_edition.php
NOAA before: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/nightlights/blackout081403-20hrsbefore-text.jpg
NOAA after: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/nightlights/blackout081503-7hrsafter-text.jpg
Blackout History Project: http://blackout.gmu.edu/home.html
Renesys: http://www.renesys.com/news/index.html
MSBlast Consequences and a Do-Gooder Variety
As noted last issue, the W32/Blaster worm (a.k.a. MSBlast) is yet another reminder that computer security is an ongoing struggle that requires constant vigilance. In theory, such gate-keeping should be easier for businesses than for consumers, but this latest worm caught many companies and individuals unprepared despite the availability of a patch since July. CNET has a series of articles about the worm, how it works, and how to get rid of it. While the worm's only apparent purpose seems to be to launch attacks on Microsoft's main update site, some variants of the worm gum up some computers pretty badly. Microsoft sidestepped the potential problem by shutting down the Windowsupdate.com site the worm was programmed to attack and putting patches on a different site separate from the company's other servers. By Monday, it was clear that Microsoft had largely managed to dodge the bullet. Intriguingly, some anonymous coder has designed a variant of MSBlast to infect and patch Windows XP and 2000 computers. This white-hat worm automatically eliminates the security vulnerability that let it in then erases itself. Amusing and beneficial, perhaps, but still a nuisance.NSD 9.31: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v09/nsd.09.31.html#BS2
CNET: http://news.com.com/2009-1002_3-5063226.html
Variant: http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-5065117.html
While everyone was busy patching systems to take care of MSBlast vulnerabilities, a new version of an old virus snuck in under the radar. SoBig.F has spread so far and so fast that one e-mail filtering company claimed that one out of every 17 e-mail messages on Tuesday, Aug. 19 was generated by SoBig.F. That's a new record. You can recognize it by its subject headers: "Details"; "That movie"; "Wicked screensaver"; etc. SoBig.F is another worm that shouldn't be able to propagate except for people's reliance on Outlook and Outlook Express. Why is the information superhighway used by so many Ladas and Yugos? Since nobody has yet decided to put Netsurfer in charge of handing out licenses for Internet use, things like this keep happening. MOREnet has info on the worm and removal advice while CNET has a layman's approach to its effects.
MOREnet: http://www.more.net/security/advisories/2003/03081901.html
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-5066444.html
Privacy, Economics, and Price Discrimination on the Internet
Individual privacy is eroding at an ever-increasing rate. In the consumer arena, more companies know more about you than ever before. Technology is the tool that makes this possible, but why is anyone bothering to wield it? Economist Andrew Odlyzko argues that it's all about differential pricing. "The thesis of this paper is that what really motivates commercial organizations...is the growing incentive to price discriminate, coupled with the increased ability to price discriminate." In other words the more a company knows about consumers, the more effectively it can pitch different prices for the same product to different people, possibly at different times. Airlines do it, Amazon used to do it, and it's entirely possible that eventually everybody will do it. Why? Because it's more profitable than auctions or fixed pricing. Good paper.http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/privacy.economics.pdf
One biometric authentication method proposed for use in future US passports is the automated identification of your fingerprints. Unfortunately for that idea, faking fingerprints does not appear to be that difficult. A pair of German hackers with the endearing handles of Starbug and Lisa have discovered how. After lifting fingerprints with graphite powder and adhesive tape, they then scan them, sharpen the images with software, and with some simple chemistry transfer them to a thin, almost-invisible sheet of latex. Slip the latex on your fingertips and you can easily fool fingerprint scanners. This is an improvement on an older method of fingerprint fakery invented by Japanese crypto researcher Tsutomu Matsumoto, who did the same thing with gelatin. SecurityFocus has the details of Starbug and Lisa's latest technique, while Crypto-Gram explains Matsumoto's work.
SecurityFocus: http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6717
Crypto-Gram: http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0205.html#5
Diamonds Are a Geek's Best Friend
Not many people know this, but the summer of 2003 may be a landmark in gemology. This summer, mass-produced, gem-quality diamonds hit the market for the first time. The September edition of Wired covers the technology and trade of synthetic diamonds. The De Beers cartel has had a stranglehold on the diamond market for decades, as it controls the commodity, extends the mythology, and drives up the cost of ownership with market manipulation. New technology now has De Beers excreting hard stones, because the technology makes possible the mass production of flawless diamonds at far less cost than De Beers wants you to pay. Imagine getting a $15,000 diamond for $15. That's how good these new techniques are, and the story gets better for the geeks among us. While the technology may threaten De Beers, a source of flawless diamond crystals is just what the computer-processor designers have been waiting for. Impregnated with other elements, pure-carbon diamonds can carry a charge with a melting point far beyond current materials. As CPUs get faster, heat output increases. Chips made of diamond can handle heat that would turn silicon into putty. And ultimately, that's where the action is.http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html
The Rise and Fall of Trilobyte
The 7th Guest was one of the great computer games that rode the new wave of CD-ROM gaming to wild commercial success and instant fame. In "Haunted Glory", Gamespot provides an in-depth look at the folks behind it. In the early '90s, coder Graeme Devine and talented artist Rob Landeros formed Trilobyte to develop a computer game, The 7th Guest. It took the world by storm upon its release in 1993. The game featured a 22-room haunted mansion, tricky puzzles, and full-motion video. Trilobyte could afford to initially produce only 60,000 copies and these sold out instantly. The title just kept on selling, producing a torrent of cash, yet just six years later, the company was dead. This tale explains what happened during this slow descent into failure, which left a melancholy sense of what might have been. Devine and Landeros could never bring themselves to entrust the company to someone who could run it properly, and neither showed any business acumen of their own. Trilobyte gradually sank under the weight of too many ill-conceived projects, office politics, and undisciplined optimism. Gamespot's Geoff Keighley has done a grand job of telling the story at length and in depth.http://www.gamespot.com/features/btg-tri/index.html
Blowing Whistle on Security Hole Leads to Jail
Bret McDanel used to work for Tornado Development, which provided Web-based e-mail to its clients. He discovered a large security hole in its service and, possibly because he was not happy with the way the company was handling the issue, he quit. What he did next got him in trouble. About six months after he quit, using the pseudonym "Secret Squirrel", McDanel sent to 5,600 Tornado customers an e-mail that revealed the issue and pointed to his own Web site, which provided more details. Tornado scrambled to delete the e-mails and, according to this SecurityFocus story, attempted to conceal the problem. Eventually, Tornado did fix the hole, but not before it turned McDanel over to the police. He was convicted not for abuse of e-mail, use of the hole, or damages, but for the information he distributed, and has served his 16-month sentence. He is now appealing the conviction and gaining some support from those who see this as a free-speech case.http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/179
The Rise and Fall of an eBay Grifter
The number one complaint to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center involves fraudulent auction transactions, and although eBay contends that only a miniscule percentage of its auctions fall into this category, it's nevertheless a headache to a business whose assets depend on its good name. A serial huckster like Jay Nelson is bound to bruise that relationship of trust which is so essential to the auction house's image. Fast Company has an outstanding article that dives into Nelson's exploits, and the means used to bring him down. This is well researched and a fascinating read - both for its look into the mind of a sociopath and the investigative process. It's worth following the sidebar, as well.http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/73/kirsner.html
IRC Network for Credit-Card Thieves
For several years, the Honeynet Project has been monitoring credit-card thieves and how they use the Internet to trade card numbers. The criminals largely acted alone, but a few months ago, researchers discovered a thriving international network of thieves that provides online support to newcomers and supplies automated tools for identifying vulnerable merchant sites, verifying card numbers, and extracting related personal information. This network operates brazenly in the open - unencrypted messages from crooked employees and merchants offer to sell credit card numbers while some promote the practice of financial theft as an alternate lifestyle or culture. After collecting evidence for several months, the Honeynet researchers turned over their information to the FBI and released a four-page report on this community of frauds. Most of the sites the report identifies have since shut down, but the range of sophisticated methods available to white-collar crooks and the increasing ease of entry into that fraternity are dangerous omens for online commerce. Criminal activities of the kind identified here are a serious menace to individuals, financial institutions, and online merchants, and threaten the viability and profitability of all online financial transactions. The report can be read as a PDF, and SecurityFocus has some analysis of it.Honeynet Project: http://project.honeynet.org/papers/profiles/cc-fraud.pdf
SecurityFocus: http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6353
Companies Counter-Google Customers
Counter-Googling is a new trend, and you're about to be caught up in it. While the techno-savvy have long checked the backgrounds of businesses and people with whom they're considering establishing a relationship, the worm is turning. Businesses are starting to examine customers - an article at Trendwatching.com mentions that one hotel in LA checks you out before you ever check in. It may seem like an invasion of privacy, but the fact is that you've put the content out there for the marketers to sift through. And if the hotel folks determine that you're an early riser, they may locate you in an east-facing room.http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/2003/09/COUNTER-GOOGLING.html
Hidden Data Plagues PDF, Word Files
Do you think posting your Word documents or PDFs online is a good idea? As anyone who has looked at Word docs, for example, in a plain-vanilla word processor knows, Word - like many other programs - hides a fair amount of data within a file. You don't see the data while using Word, but it can be easily recovered by anyone who acquires a copy. Simon Byers, a researcher at AT&T, searched 100,000 Word documents found online. In many of the posted files, Byers found sensitive or confidential information. Tony Blair's Minister of Communications, Alistair Campbell, found out about this Word "feature" when the names of four staff members appeared in the hidden section of an important intelligence dossier posted on the Web. Supposedly, Word 2003 will allow users to strip out sensitive information, but until then you're on your own. As security expert Bruce Schneiner observed in New Scientist, the best solution may be to post only pure ASCII to the Web. Try TextPad in Windows or the superb Tex-Edit Plus on a Mac. You can also read Byers's report in - ha ha ha - PDF format.Byers: http://www.user-agent.org/word_docs.pdf
New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994057
TextPad: http://www.textpad.com/
Tex-Edit Plus: http://www.tex-edit.com/
New File-Sharing App Takes Refuge among Palestinians
Who'd have thought that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis would be good for business? A new peer-to-peer file-sharing service, Earth Station 5, is directly and openly confronting the RIAA and MPAA. The new service promises anonymity for users, but it also has another, more powerful protection - it claims that its physical location is the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The founders openly invite process-servers from copyright holders to visit them, if they dare. It remains unclear if the system does guarantee user anonymity, but it does hold some promise for the possibility of amazing television - imagine the RIAA trying to sue a bunch of file-sharing suicide bombers. CNET has more on this Windows-only app.Earth Station 5: http://www.earthstation5.com/
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5063402.html
Interview with Python Creator Guido van Rossum
Python is a popular scripting language, and its creator, Guido van Rossum, recently left the tight embrace of PythonLabs to move to a start-up. In this lengthy interview, he talks about the move and about various Pythonesque subjects. Van Rossum will still be involved with PythonLabs, albeit at a distance. He talks about why Python is less popular than Perl, Python advocacy, the relationship of Python and Mac OS, changes in the pattern of usage of the language, and other issues. Python fans will want to check this out.http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/python/2003/08/14/gvr_interview.html
ONLINE CULTURE
The fundamental premise behind the social networking of Friendster (see NSD 9.28) is that real people can connect with friends who are also real people. However, the Net has its own uses for connective technology and, naturally, real people started creating fake Friendster identities - not just fake human identities, but lovely conceptual pieces like Giant Squid (favorite movie: "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"), and War (profession: resolving disputes), among the inevitable Elvis and other celebrities living and dead. The folks at Friendster don't like this and are trying to banish false identities from the service. They don't seem to realize that most online social identities are fake anyway, so what's the big fuss over fiction?. Clearly that's what people want and, as articles in SF Weekly and Salon point out, they like playing around with social networking systems for humorous or cultural jamming purposes. So what to do? Some sort of self-moderating system for flagging fake identities would be more appropriate - and much more fun.NSD 9.28: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v09/nsd.09.28.html#BS8
SFWeekly: http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2003-08-13/feature.html/1/index.html
Salon: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/08/14/fakesters/index_np.html
Geek Urban Legend: Windows Update on Linux
As noted, the recent MSBlast worm targeted Microsoft's Windowsupdate.com site with a distributed denial-of-service attack. Microsoft foiled the worm with a technical fix, but also by redirecting actual Windows Update service requests to the windowsupdate.microsoft.com domain. Geeks who checked the operating system of the new domain via the popular Netcraft service saw the Microsoft IIS webserver running on - could it be? - Linux. Penguin fans enjoyed pointing and laughing, but alas it was just a misunderstanding. When you visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com, your browser's first stop is the Akamai caching service, which does indeed use Linux for its servers. Get beyond the cache and Microsoft's actual servers use Windows Server 2003. Netcraft explains it all.http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2003/08/17/wwwmicrosoftcom_runs_linux_up_to_a_point_.html
Microsoft Sociologists Investigates Usenet Users Habits
There really is an agent Smith keeping an eye on the Matrix, only he works for Microsoft. He's actually Marc Smith, a sociologist employed to analyze the behavior of posters on Usenet, a medium that Microsoft feels is an undervalued "knowledge management application". CNET interviewed Smith. He talks about Microsoft's interest in peer-supported knowledge management, something organic to the better Usenet newsgroups. Smith also talks about his work in analyzing Usenet (the core sociological data type is not the newsgroup but the thread) and throws out some numbers about Usenet users (130 million or so), posting frequency ("two-thirds of all threads in Usenet [in 2002] had a whopping two messages"). He touches on how he can predict the value of specific posts by looking at the history and behavior of posters, on how software can better help you wade through the thousands of posts, and on a number of other fascinating topics including, inevitably, privacy. It's a good interview, and we can only wish Microsoft would share some of that research with the Usenet community. And we sincerely apologize for the gratuitous Matrix reference.http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5065298.html
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Amazon Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools 
Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust 
Parasites Like Us 
You're Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery 
SURFING SITES
It's impolite to dwell on accents, and sometimes even to mention them, unless you study accent. George Mason University has a neat teaching and research tool for linguists, actors, and others with a need to know. Speech Accent Archive has over 260 English speech samples by native speakers of many languages, from Afrikaans and Agny to Wolof and Zulu. The files are arranged in a scrollable list, and are recordings of the same paragraph read by the subjects. It's a great example of interpretive diversity. The variations are fascinating. Some readers stumble on "spoons", for example, while others struggle with "slabs", "snake", or "scoop". Or all of these. English is tricky. You'll probably find yourself sympathizing with the anonymous readers, especially if you've studied a foreign language yourself. Some languages have more than one sample. Two Russian speakers are from Moscow, for example, and four others are from four other Russian cities. You'll need a QuickTime plug-in to listen.http://classweb.gmu.edu/accent/
Most Americans believe that their society has come a long way since the days of the enslavement of Africans and the extinction of natives, regardless of whether they agree with affirmative action or equal opportunity laws. They think that American society has indeed closed the racial gap, at least to some degree, but despite efforts in that direction, has the US really made progress toward providing equality for all? Explore the online companion to the documentary "Race - the Power of an Illusion", presented by California Newsreel. You'll discover an interactive look at race, society, science, and history. Navigate through the many quizzes and tests to discover how you perceive racial differences. The results will surprise and shock you. The site is a poignant look at a subject that most of us take for granted. Through exploring the history of racial definition and the current state of society's racial divisions, you'll discover that humanity is in and of itself the creator of its own illusions.
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
If you've ever had trouble expressing yourself, a browse through this site can show you how to make that jubilant smile or exasperated frown just right. Eric Conveys an Emotion is a quirky Web site that offers visitors a comical look at emotions. Guests submit emotions for the purveyor of this site - Eric, by name - to express in digital photographs uploaded to the gallery. Uploaded emotions range from everyday sentiments such as happiness, anger, and complacency to more obscure feelings such as "my foot is on fire" and "getting a paper cut on your tongue while licking an envelope". Although Eric calls his site "pointless", its popularity shows how a little creativity and cleverness can turn even the most inane of ideas into an Internet gem. As proof of its popularity, Eric Conveys an Emotion, online since the summer of 1998, boasts over 16,000 entries in its guestbook.
http://www.emotioneric.com/
Programmers definitely are a breed apart. So too are serial killers. This pleasant little game shows you, sequentially, ten male headshots. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to study the photos and determine if the person shown is the developer of a programming language or a notorious serial killer, Sounds simple, right? One hint, which is not given on the Web site: none of the depicted is both a noted coder and, at the same time, a serial killer. We're sure you think you know some people who could qualify on both scores, but none are shown herein.
http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/
If you've the time and inclination to learn a little about password hacking, this site affords you an opportunity to expand your knowledge of site security while playing a game. The Independent Starfleet Academy Training Center for Internet Security offers 16 pages to hack, in increasing difficulty. While many reach level one - it's easy - few crack level 16. Before we dropped in, only 1,671 valiant crackers had made it to the top. Think of it as Everest. Conquer it because it's there. If it's too tough for you, the exit link takes you to Disneyland.
http://scifi.pages.at/hackits/
The Hospital explores the paradoxical nature of an abandoned hospital. By digitally manipulating images of an abandoned hospital, the creators of this site attempt to illustrate the eerie discontinuity between the original purpose of the building and how it is today. Exploration of this interactive tour nurtures a sinister and dark atmosphere, interrupted by pockets of a soothing and calming spirit. Through the use of red and green washes, the rooms adopt a haunting appearance that is marred only by the rays of sunshine that stream into the building. In addition to the overall aura in each room, interactive tools and special guest appearances by figures such as Mr. Clean offer a satirical twist to the journey. During your tour, be sure to locate the camera icon hidden in most rooms. Clicking this will bring up the original photographs used to create the ghostly hospital that invites guests to "Stay Awhile, Stay Forever".
http://hospital.apoka.com/
In an era when you cannot turn on the TV, open the newspaper, or browse the Web without an overwhelming tsunami of celebrity fluff, it's good to have something like Fametracker's Fame Audit to provide an honest appraisal of celebrity worth. Each audit - there are currently some 120 - attempts to assess a celebrity's position in the celebrity firmament based on past and current work and the vagaries of the business. The audits are sometimes venomous, sometimes fawning, but always entertaining and well written - no surprise, as some of the writing team, who clearly know their stuff, are involved with Saturday Night magazine and Television Without Pity. It's hard to pick a favorite here, but the audits of Ben Affleck and J-Lo manage to combine some delightfully wicked mean-spiritedness with some spot-on analysis of the celebrity branding phenomenon.
http://www.fametracker.com/fame_audit/
We hope you haven't spent a lot of money to see any concerts by Paul McCartney, who was - according to this site's author - replaced by a lookalike in 1966. Boasting "undeniable forensic proof" to this effect, the graphics-intensive site winds through pages and pages of material to demonstrate that McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a double, likely chosen by the government. So who is this newer, false McCartney? Was the replacement a Scot named William Campbell, a Canadian policeman, or Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness fortune? All we know for sure is that one of the links describes a contrived "accident" following which men in black nabbed the plucky songster. And Ringo was the first to arrive at the site of the kidnapping. This is fascinating and freaky material - there's something to be said for the conviction and comprehensiveness of the deluded. Ever notice that conspiracy theories always feature people dressed in black or flying around in black helicopters? We wonder why.
http://uberkinder.5u.com/paul/
Our fascination with things retro is a complex phenomenon. It's not without its element of cooler-than-thou mockery and arch, ironic sneering, but it's hard to suppress these baser impulses when faced with an A-Team action figure or a set of Bo Derek trading cards. RetroCrush creator Robert Berry knows better. He's a man with an evidently encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture's recent past, and he is obviously aware that many of us observe the kitsch of yesteryear with an affectionate sense of nostalgia. The site is a miscellany of treats, from weird ads from the past ("More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette!") to interviews with icons such as Ron Jeremy and Village People cowboy Randy Jones. The ever-popular Babes gallery here is also something different from what you normally see on the Web - not an ounce of silicon in sight, just tasteful photographs of beauties like Raquel Welch, Betty Page, and the bewitching Elizabeth Montgomery. Well, except for Vampirella....
http://www.retrocrush.com/
The heyday of what this site calls good girl art in the late '40s and early '50s followed the pin-up tradition of World War II, when photographs of Betty Grable or Rita Hayworth would keep servicemen company. Pictures of leggy babes with prominent bustlines adorned the covers of SF and adventure comics, romance books, and pulp novels - necklines were low but the artwork was often correspondingly high. This site has 56 examples of classic good-girl-art covers from a variety of publications - like "Gangster Gun Molls" and "Cow Puncher" - each with a publication date and a brief description. There are some real gems here. Some of the covers will appeal to our age's smirking love of kitsch, but most are beautifully executed works of art. Our favourite is "Torchy" from 1950, featuring a wasp-waisted girl so sexy that even the portraits in an art gallery are checking out her curves.
http://www.samuelsdesign.com/comics/agoodgirl_romance.html
When we saw Steve Conley's name in the URL for this site, it rang a bell. Steve Conley's Kaleidescape remains one of the best collections of background graphics for Web pages out there, some five years after its creation. His Super Marketing: Ads from the Comic Books brings back memories of old. Remember X-ray specs? How about "Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys"? We never did find one with an apron in our bunch. Go visit the site or we'll kick sand in your face.
Kaleidescape: http://www.steveconley.com/kaleid.htm
Super Marketing: http://www.steveconley.com/comicads.htm
What happens if you take some essentially useless objects such as AOL CD-ROMs, marmite, and a dead cat and attempt to devise alternative uses for them? Well, you get a site like this one. No holds are barred here, and we won't comment on the cat-hating suggestions offered by some, but other suggestions are quite inventive. One wit suggests that marmite could be used to stick the leaves back onto the trees in the fall while another is practical enough to recommend CDs as impromptu pizza cutters. The age of invention is clearly not dead. Our favorite is to collect those CDs and convert them into a fish costume or a bullet-proof vest. If you're passionate about such things, you can discuss and rate the suggestions on the online forum.
http://www.eddnet.org.uk/comedy/
There's a lot of open space in Oklahoma and Jeremy Reid has used a chunk of it for his home-brewed wooden roller coaster. Reid graduated in 2001 from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in, surprise, mechanical engineering. Unlike most of the legion of roller coaster fans, he decided to build a personal roller coaster. It's all wood except for the fastenings and other mechanical pieces. The track measures 444 feet long. The total weight, in case you want one shipped, is just under five tons. Reid supplies lots of photos and two videos just in case you don't believe it actually works. It does.
http://www.jeremyreid.com/
You know how when you exit some little roadside attraction, there always seems to be a machine that for a few quarters will spit out a pressed penny embossed with a permanent reminder of the place? More than a demonstration of the present economy, squished pennies, as they're known amongst aficionados, are collectible to many, and there's even a museum dedicated to them in Washington, D.C. The curators of the Squished Penny Museum make a clear distinction between squished pennies and squashed pennies, the latter being what you get when you put a penny on railroad tracks. Unfortunately, on our reviewer's last trip to D.C., the museum was closed (for, what, $2 worth of renovations?), but she's hoping that she can catch it the next time through.
http://www.squished.com/
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
We're not sure exactly how Bile does it, but the site seems to scan Amazon reviews to contort them into tailor-made savagings of your musical taste. Bile hates everything. Type in the name of your favorite singer, band, or album and it will be mercilessly critiqued - with a link to purchase, of course.http://www.chthonicionic.net/bile/
You know Roger Staubach, Ross Perot, and Lee Harvey Oswald call or called Texas home, right? But did you know that Gene Roddenberry, Janis Joplin, and Carol Burnett were born in that state? Famous Texans is a clever little site that gives brief bios and caricatures of some of the more famous and infamous residents of the Lone Star state.
http://www.famoustexans.com/
SOFTWARE
Xouvert: Experimental Fork of XFree86
The purpose of the Xouvert (pronounced "zoo-vairrr") project is to address management shortcomings of the widely used XFree86 project. XFree86 is the graphical display software used in just about every modern PC-based Unix system. Developers and users have complained for a long time that XFree86 is too slow to adopt new technology and support new graphics chipsets. This is partly due to its legal structure, and partly due to the conservative and insular nature of the XFree86 developer clique. Xouvert seeks to address those concerns by promising stable releases every six months, an easy method for developers to submit patches and enhancements, and a completely open structure. With its open mailing lists, IRC channel, and archives, anyone can see what's going on, contribute, or download the development code at any time.http://www.xouvert.org/