Josh's Weblog

Feline Friday

I have not done a Feline Friday in a while. Here's Snowball vs. The Chair:

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Pictures” Friday, Dec 22 2006 09:24 AM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  1 trackback

1978 Star Wars Holiday Special

Possibly some of the worst television ever made, the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is online: part one, part two. Where else can you find a show that inexplicably starts with nothing but Wookie dialog, features the first appearance of Boba Fett (in cartoon form), and a drunken singing Carrie Fisher (prompting a Star Wars don't drink and drive commercial?).

There is more detail than you could possibly want about this special on wikipedia.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “General” Thursday, Dec 21 2006 08:36 AM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks

Free To Choose

IdeaChannel.tv has brought us the whole Milton Friedman series Free To Choose here. While we can't download it, we can at least stream it.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Politics” Tuesday, Dec 19 2006 08:59 AM  |  Permalink  |  1 comment  |  No trackbacks

Usability Myths in Movies

Jakob Neilsen touches on computer usability in the movies and finds a lot of bloopers. I remember laughing out loud at Jurassic Park's security system supposedly analyzed instantly by a Unix-aware 12-year-old.

Beyond Jakob's article, I am continually amused by the disparity between what problems are easy or hard to solve with the computers on Star Trek. Of course, that's not a usability issue, but rather a believability one.

Jakob's predicts two problems from the spew of bad information on the use and capabilities of computers from the movies: too much focus and funding of bad user interface ideas, and users that blame themselves when they encounter problems making computers work for them. Add to this the already known problem of people that buy computers with no idea what they can or cannot do, what is easy or hard, and what one should cost.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Technology” Monday, Dec 18 2006 10:52 AM  |  Permalink  |  1 comment  |  No trackbacks

Pacific Northwest Storm

The big storm that came through the Pacific Northwest took out my power, my web provider's power in Seattle, and even dropped a tree on the chicken coop:

However, judging by the stories we hear of people still without power, accidents with downed power lines and trees (including some fatalities), and people that have lost their homes, we're counting ourselves lucky.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Pictures” Saturday, Dec 16 2006 05:28 PM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks

Barney's Christmas Extravaganza

The children will enjoy the first Pet's production, Barney's Christmas Extravaganza.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Politics” Friday, Dec 8 2006 11:01 AM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks

Snap Preview Anywhere

I added the Snap Preview Anywhere script to my pages here today. It's a great Javascript thumbnailer for external links.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Blogging” Thursday, Dec 7 2006 09:35 AM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks

Banning Trans-Fats

Trans-fats, typically produced through a process called “hydrogenation,” have been banned in city restaurants by the New York City Board of Health. While hydrogenated fats have a longer shelf life many believe that they contribute to increased levels of “bad” cholesterol.

This is likely to become a trend, but I wonder why people worried about trans-fats couldn't just patronize restaurants that publicly tout their “no trans fat” policy? Bloomberg's New York just likes to run your life for you, I guess.

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “Politics” Tuesday, Dec 5 2006 09:16 AM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks

Funniest Thing on the Penn Jillette Radio Show

While in general the Penn Jillette Radio Show is not kid-friendly, I was struck by this extremely funny item in the November 30, 2006 show on iTunes (time 16:53):

I've never been a big fan of faux realism on television, and while other's like it, I don't enjoy ER or CSI. Real life emergency room and forensic investigations are not like that, folks. Just like people in real life don't always have the snappy comeback. (My best snappy comebacks are usually invented a day or so after the conversation.)

Josh Poulson

Posted in category “General” Friday, Dec 1 2006 02:24 PM  |  Permalink  |  No comments  |  No trackbacks