Kaleb's Grey Matter

Aussie Gamer Loses PS3 Court Case Over 'Other OS'

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:32:00 GMT

dotarray writes "An Australian man who took Sony to court over the company's decision to remove Linux functionality from the PS3 console has now lost his claim, with the court clearing the manufacturer of any wrongdoing regarding the upgrade."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

HP Holds Navy Network 'Hostage' for $3.3 Billion

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:04:00 GMT

The Navy has to pay HP billions to buy the out-of-date equipment and examine blueprints for the network. It's another example of the military's utter reliance on outside contractors.

Department of Justice Lists Survivalists, Constitutionalists in Extremism Guide | Public Intelligenc

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:48:17 GMT

Department of Justice Lists Survivalists, Constitutionalists in Extremism Guide | Public Intelligenc

Source: publicintelligence.net

A recent guide from the Department of Justice detailing terms and concepts used by extremist groups lists constitutionalists and survivalists . The 120-page, Law Enforcement Sensitive guide to Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism describes itself as a glossary designed primarily as a tool ...

From the article: "A recent Department of Justice guide for investigators of criminal and extremist groups lists “constitutionalists” and “survivalists” alongside organizations like Al-Qaeda and the Aryan Brotherhood."

Oh, nice. Apparently, I'm a terrorist. A very ineffectual and reluctant, not to mention completely incompetent as a warrior, terrorist.

http://publicintelligence.net/department-of-justice-lists-survivalists-constitutionalists-in-extremism-guide/

Don't know how much credence I can give to this, but jeeze. It wouldn't surprise me.

Prosecutor Loses Case For Citing Wikipedia

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:19:00 GMT

Hugh Pickens writes "The Phillipine Daily Inquirer reports on a recent case where the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) lost an appeal after seeking to impeach the testimony of a defendant's expert witness by citing an article from Wikipedia. In her brief, the defendant said "the authority, alluded to by oppositor-appellant, the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders DSM-IV-TR,' was taken from an Internet website commonly known as Wikipedia" and argued that Wikipedia itself contains a disclaimer saying that it "makes no guarantee of validity." The court in finding for the defendant said in its decision that it found "incredible ... if not a haphazard attempt, on the part of the (OSG) to impeach an expert witness, with, as pointed out by (the defendant) unreliable information. This is certainly unacceptable evidence, nothing short of a mere allegation totally unsupported by authority.""

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Unite Against ACTA - To Arms!

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:51:18 GMT

Unite Against ACTA - To Arms!

I liked a YouTube video: For many years, we have lived a free people under the internet. It is here that we have built our communities. It is here that we confess our fears and nurture our aspirations. It is here that we share our thoughts and our hopes. It is here that...

Resho Dal - The Christian Talibans drew approximately 90,000 ppl to a religious gathering on Washington Mall. Paul Jehle, a Christian Mullah, gave a speech on how Christian the U.S. was and should be. Ayatollah Glenn Beck just took over, and I think he was about to cry a couple of times... They had their military wing hold a speech, represented by the Fedayee Colonel Carney. Oh man, oh man...

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:18:41 GMT

- The Christian Talibans drew approximately 90,000 ppl to a religious gathering on Washington Mall. Paul Jehle, a Christian Mullah, gave a speech on how Christian the U.S. was and should be. Ayatollah Glenn Beck just took over, and I think he was about to cry a couple of times... They had their military wing hold a speech, represented by the Fedayee Colonel Carney. Oh man, oh man...

Editorial: Watching is a crime? | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:23:26 GMT

Editorial: Watching is a crime? | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post

Source: www.salisburypost.com

The resisting-arrest conviction last week of Felicia Gibson has left a lot of people wondering. Can a person be charged with resisting arrest while observing a traffic stop from his or her own front porch?

Unbe-freakin'-lievable! No not really - unfortunately.

McDonald's Hamburgers Don't Age

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Things that are made from organic material age and decay, especially when they stop being alive. A piece of home-baked bread, say, left on your kitchen counter, will get moldy relatively fast. Lord knows what some ground beef would smell like after a week. But the artist Sally Davies has been photographing one McDonald's hamburger and fries every day for 137 days. They look basically exactly the same.

Here is Day 1:
Here is Day 94:

Here is Day 137, which actually looks like things have improved in the 43 days since the picture above:

Far be it from me to tell you what to eat, but I am pretty sure your stomach can't break that down any better than the mold and microbes in the air. Check out the whole progression here.

Via Buzzfeed.

Getting Welfare Payments in Casinos: Gambling With Government Money?

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:36:15 GMT

Getting Welfare Payments in Casinos: Gambling With Government Money?

Source: www.dailyfinance.com

In California and Michigan, welfare recipients use their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to withdraw the funds from ATM machines in casinos. If they proceed to roll the dice with the money, wouldn't this be state-backed gambling?

In case anyone ever wondered why I'm against welfare, here's one reason

Nichole Richardson At age 4: Mom knows everything! Age 8: Mom knows a lot! At 12: Mom doesn’t really know everything. At 14: Mom doesn’t know anything. At 16:Mom doesn’t exist. At 18: She’s old fashioned. At 25: Maybe Mom does know about this! At 35: Before we decide, let’s ask Mom. At 45: I wonder...what Mom thinks about this? At 75: I wish I could ask my Mom about this. Post this if you have or had the best Mom in the world!

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:05:54 GMT

At
age 4: Mom knows everything! Age 8: Mom knows a lot! At 12: Mom doesn’t
really know everything. At 14: Mom doesn’t know anything. At 16:Mom
doesn’t exist. At 18: She’s old fashioned. At 25: Maybe Mom does know
about this! At 35: Before we decide, let’s ask Mom. At 45: I wonder...what Mom thinks about this? At 75: I wish I could ask my Mom about
this. Post this if you have or had the best Mom in the world!

Howfuckedismydatabase.com

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:52:53 GMT

http://howfuckedismydatabase.com/

GPS Tracking Without a Warrant Declared Legal

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:51:00 GMT

jnaujok writes "The Ninth Circuit court has declared that attaching a GPS tracker to your car, as it sits in your driveway, or by extension on a public street, and then using it to monitor every one of your movements, is totally legal, and can be performed by the police without needing a warrant. So, if you live in the Western United States, big brother has arrived."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hello - Google Search

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:13:46 GMT

https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbwssl.cgi?Gw=Hello

10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling - The Oatmeal

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:21:35 GMT

Shared by Kaleb Hornsby
Then instead of than also makes Kaleb angry. Kaleb smash.

10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling - The Oatmeal

Source: theoatmeal.com

Ahhh pet peeves

Palindromicity of Integers in C# blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:31:09 GMT

Palindromicity of Integers in C# blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Palindromicity of Integers in C#

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:30:55 GMT

In my software engineering course, we were assigned to create a function that will test for the palindromicity of a an integer. My first try is as follows:

static bool palindromicity(int n)
{
    return n.ToString() == new String(n.ToString().Reverse().ToArray()));
}

I know mine is not as efficient as could be, because I am reversing the entire number instead of just the final half. After examination by the professor, however, my function was incorrect and so were the code samples of the entire class. The defect was that a conversion to string was used, when the professor stated that we must use integers.

Here is my next try:

static bool palindromicity(int n)
{
    if (n < 0) return false;
    else if (n < 10) return true;
    else
    {
        int head;
        int tail;
        for (int m = Convert.ToInt32(Math.Pow(10, Math.Floor(Math.Log10(Convert.ToDouble(n))))); n > 10; m /= 100)
        {
            head = n / m;
            tail = n % 10;
            if (head != tail)
                return false;
            n -= m * head;
            n /= 10;
        }
        return true;
    }
}

How to Hire from the Bottom of the Barrel

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:25 GMT

I recently read an article, Fifteen ways to kill your job interview, which included an interviewer’s top list of annoyances that ruin the candidates chances in an interview. Things like “Speak ill of anyone, especially past employers” make sense and are a red flag in an interview.

Reading through the full list, I was struck by how self-centered the post was to employers. Employers and hiring managers seem to think programmers are just desperate for a job. We have to jump through numerous hoops that are pointless and have nothing to do with doing a good job AND smile while doing it.

Here are a few ways to “kill” your job interview that had me rolling my eyes: “Be unprepared”, “Shake hands like a fish”, “wear a suit”, “Appear desperate”. Keep in mind that each of these was not just “things to avoid”, but is considered something that would “kill” the candidates chances of the job entirely.

Do you have so many brilliant programmers walking through your door that you can’t deal with a weak handshake? Or wearing slacks and a shirt instead of a suit? Anyone who eliminates candidates for every single one of these (irrelevant of technical skill, mind you) will end up with a team of fake, sales-ey, over-groomed and under-talented people who can’t code their way out of a paper bag.

Meanwhile, the employers don’t have to do anything but ask questions and nod sternly. Interviewers are often not ready right at the interview time. They often do not prepare by reading the resume or learning anything about the candidate online. The interviewer rarely wears a suit or any special clothing. And many many times interviewers leave their phones on, act uninterested, complain, cut the interview short and every single thing on the list. So candidates are expected to jump through hoops most of which have nothing to do with the ability to do a good job but employers don’t have to do any of them?

The winning line was “Your interview is all about what you can do for the company, not what they can do for you.”

That is NOT what an interview is about. An interview is the time for both sides to figure out if this is a good fit. Very few employers are willing to setup another hour-long meeting with the manager and team AFTER they’ve made an offer for the candidate to determine if it’s the right fit. Even if they are candidates don’t have time to re-visit every employer who made an offer. And why should they? An interview goes both ways.

Of course, it’s not just him. This employer-centric attitude is common in the job industry at large. Just read any major job board blog to find loads of “helpful” advice about putting aside your individuality and personality, how to dress, hire someone to write your resume and cover letter, fake it till you make it.

On the surface it makes sense. After all, they have the job and programmers want the job, so they have all the power, right? Here’s an employer-focused argument that is easy to understand: if you treat candidates like they don’t matter, only the desperate ones will want to work for you.

I’ve spoken a lot on the blog about the difficulty in recruiting and hiring great programmers, but that’s all based on the assumption that you’re interested in that sort of thing. A self-centered approach to interviewing won’t ever attract the really talented programmers. Even if they easily get past these lists, any self-respecting programmer would be turned off by such a myopic approach to hiring.

And the “me me ME” employers won’t mind (and most likely won’t notice) if their approach turns off all the good programmers who will mysteriously disappear or accept other offers. The lucky programmers may even notice the demeanor in the job post or early correspondence and bail earlier than that.

The programmers that get hired will be the ones who couldn’t get a job anywhere else. If any good ones slip through, the management style probably matches the self-centered hiring style and they’ll leave soon enough too.

Being a self-centered employer is a great way to laser-focus your hiring to the bottom of the barrel.

FileHelpers Library 2.0 - Marcos Meli

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:59:29 GMT

http://www.filehelpers.com/

A Fast CSV Reader - CodeProject

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:58:52 GMT

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/database/CsvReader.aspx

Philly Requiring Bloggers To Pay $300

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:49:00 GMT

Kurofuneparry writes "Pennsylvania generally and Philadelphia specifically have had a number of budget issues and some bloggers are seeing the results. From the article: "yes, cash-strapped cities can't very well ignore potential sources of income. But at the same time, there must be some room for discretion and common sense.""

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

5d45K.png

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 03:46:00 GMT

5d45K.png

David Coblitz

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

"A committee can make a decision that is dumber than any of its members."

PS3 Hacked via USB Dongle

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:07:00 GMT

dlove67 writes "PSX-scene.com reports that the first PS3 modchip has been tested and confirmed working. Working off of a USB dongle, It appears to be relatively user friendly and claims to not void your warranty, and online gameplay works (at least for the time being). It's been a long time coming, cheers to the PS Jailbreak Guys." The video is attached below if you're curious. Can't help but point out that this wouldn't have happened if Sony hadn't decided to yank the Boot Other OS option.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Obama supports 'the right' for ground zero mosque - Yahoo! News

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:46:09 GMT

Obama supports 'the right' for ground zero mosque - Yahoo! News

Source: news.yahoo.com

Weighing his words carefully on a fiery political issue, President Barack Obama said Saturday that Muslims have the right to build a mosque near New York's ground zero, but he did not say whether he believes it is a good idea to do so.

Obama defends private property rights - gets slammed by conservatives (and some "libertarians"! Why am I not surprised!!??

TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:26:59 GMT

http://www.last.fm/music/TV+on+the+Radio/_/Staring+at+the+Sun

TV on the Radio – King Eternal

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:00:34 GMT

http://www.last.fm/music/TV+on+the+Radio/_/King+Eternal

The Oregon Trail - Official Trailer

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:52:09 GMT

The Oregon Trail - Official Trailer

I liked a YouTube video: In 1864, a family embarks on an impossible journey into the untamed American West. Based on the classic educational computer game, The Oregon Trail by MECC. Coming Soon! Check out our channel and subscribe! http://www.youtube.com/halfdaytoda...

Micro-trenching at Google

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:53:44 GMT

Micro-trenching at Google

I liked a YouTube video: A video of micro-trench race filmed on Google campus April 16, 2010: a fun day focused on latest trenching technologies, innovation, and knowledge sharing. Thanks to all who participated!

Somebody's wrong on Wikipedia, and I have to fix it.

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:30:12 GMT

Somebody's wrong on Wikipedia, and I have to fix it.

It looks like USA Today is really hurting for $$. The front page is a full pa...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:26:37 GMT

It looks like USA Today is really hurting for $$. The front page is a full page ad. http://twitgoo.com/1en9ex

Facing 16 Years In Prison For Videotaping Police

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:26:00 GMT

krou sends this snip from the Maine Civil Liberties Union: "The ACLU of Maryland is defending Anthony Graber, who faces as much as sixteen years in prison if found guilty of violating state wiretap laws because he recorded video of an officer drawing a gun during a traffic stop. ... Once [the Maryland State Police] learned of the video on YouTube, Graber's parents' house was raided, searched, and four of his computers were confiscated. Graber was arrested, booked, and jailed. Their actions are a calculated method of intimidation. Another person has since been similarly charged under the same statute. The wiretap law being used to charge Anthony Graber is intended to protect private communication between two parties. According to David Rocah, the ACLU attorney handling Mr. Graber's case, 'To charge Graber with violating the law, you would have to conclude that a police officer on a public road, wearing a badge and a uniform, performing his official duty, pulling someone over, somehow has a right to privacy when it comes to the conversation he has with the motorist.'" Here are a factsheet (PDF) on the case from the ACLU of Maryland, and the video at issue.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

DORA THE EXPLORER in INCEPTION: Incepción Trailer

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:23:08 GMT

DORA THE EXPLORER in INCEPTION: Incepción Trailer

I favorited a YouTube video: Can you point to the trailer that combines Leo's new sci-fi movie and Dora The Explorer? Very Good! Nothing in pop culture is safe from Electric Spoofaloo! http://take180.com/spoofaloo

Because Every Country Is The Best At Something

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:10:28 GMT

Because Every Country Is The Best At Something

Source: www.informationisbea...

UPDATE 1: 21st May 2010: Removed Slovakia for ‘Overweight Women’ (it’s actually Mexico – source). Apologies to the beautiful women of Slovakia. Changed Uruquay for ‘Most World Cup Wins’ to ‘Science For Kids’ (source). Review the changes we’re making to this image – LIVE!

We're number one! For serial killers apparently. :/

Stack Overflow

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:43:04 GMT

http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=%s

Project Euler #9 with Python blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:22:07 GMT

Project Euler #9 with Python blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Project Euler #9 with Python

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:21:53 GMT

While doing Project Euler exercise 9, I realized that python has no formal mechanism to break out of an outside loop. Here is my answer:

from itertools import count
p=False #to break or not to break
for b in count():
    for a in count():
        if a >= b: break
        c = (a**2 + b**2)**.5
        if a < b < c and a + b + c == 1000:
            p = True
            break
    if p:
        print a * b * c
        break

Project Euler #8 with Python blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:20:34 GMT

Project Euler #8 with Python blog.kaleb.hornsby.ws/...

Project Euler #8 with Python

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:20:10 GMT

For Project Euler #8, one must find the greatest product of five consecutive digits in a rediculously large number. Here's my go at it:

k = '73167176531330624919225119674426574742355349194934' \
    '96983520312774506326239578318016984801869478851843' \
    '85861560789112949495459501737958331952853208805511' \
    '12540698747158523863050715693290963295227443043557' \
    '66896648950445244523161731856403098711121722383113' \
    '62229893423380308135336276614282806444486645238749' \
    '30358907296290491560440772390713810515859307960866' \
    '70172427121883998797908792274921901699720888093776' \
    '65727333001053367881220235421809751254540594752243' \
    '52584907711670556013604839586446706324415722155397' \
    '53697817977846174064955149290862569321978468622482' \
    '83972241375657056057490261407972968652414535100474' \
    '82166370484403199890008895243450658541227588666881' \
    '16427171479924442928230863465674813919123162824586' \
    '17866458359124566529476545682848912883142607690042' \
    '24219022671055626321111109370544217506941658960408' \
    '07198403850962455444362981230987879927244284909188' \
    '84580156166097919133875499200524063689912560717606' \
    '05886116467109405077541002256983155200055935729725' \
    '71636269561882670428252483600823257530420752963450'

biggest = 0
for a,b in enumerate(k):
    m = 1
    for i in k[int(a):int(a)+5]:
        if i == '0': continue
        m*=int(i)
    if m > biggest:
        biggest = m

image_1278059634.gif (192×192)

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:01:15 GMT

image_1278059634.gif (192×192)

image_1278059634.gif (192×192) - posted by Frilo - tags:

Add a side-mounted End Call button to your iPhone 4

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:07:41 GMT

It’s clearly a joke but seeing the $29 advertised price, Apple might be eyeing this a possible option to compensate for the $175 million it’s losing giving away iPhone 4 bumpers. [via osXdaily]