With me about to go into detail on the phenomena I call “The Cult of SpaceX” I thought it would serve well to express upfront just what I do actually like about SpaceX, which is quite a bit. In fact, if I didn’t like something about SpaceX the more hostile elements of its fanbase wouldn’t […]
Bits And Bytes – Program 7: Computer-Assisted Instruction
One set of early applications that the home computers of the early 80’s were exceptional at (given the primitive graphics available) were those that taught something. Known in this video as “computer aided instruction” this episode of Bits and Bytes focuses on some rather impressive instructional programs intended for children, spanning the various major home […]
Whatever Happened To Pokemon Go?
Last year Pokemon Go was the thing; everyone everywhere was playing it (or at least those who had decent phones were). You couldn’t escape it! Now, you see only the die-hards even bothering to fire up the game. Granted, only a few months ago I finally got a chance to play it, but that was […]
The Computer Chronicles – Word Processing (1983)
When computers as we think of them today (microcomputers, as the terminology of the day would name them) were introduced, one of the most critical uses of them, and certainly the one most people took to the easiest, was typing out documents. Be it something for a business, a letter to a friend, writing the […]
SpaceX? Where Do We Begin…
Twitter Reacts To The MLGW Zach Randolph Hoax
I discussed earlier today the absolute stupidity of an event that happened here in Memphis where people actually thought that Grizzlies player Zach Randolph was paying off people’s MLGW utility bills if they paid on the convenience store kiosk’s today , something that you would think no one would treat seriously, but, in typical Memphis […]
The Cost Of Photobucket Image Hosting
I’ve been letting the Photobucket drama play out over the past week without much commentary – after the initial hit, I just wanted to see what they would do in response to the criticism lobbied against them, and the results are about what I expected: Photobucket isn’t changing anything, beyond allowing one particular type of […]
An MLGW Payment Kiosk Error Spawns A Bill Payment Hoax
I’m still trying to get all the details on this one, but I think I have enough to be able to write about this accurately enough, so let’s get to it: It would seem today that, for whatever reason, an error in the bill payment kiosk’s for Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) would “not […]
The Launch Of STS-135
6 Years ago today, the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle program. I wrote an entry last year, but incidentally, for whatever reason, didn’t include launch video. No idea why, but I’m rectifying that now. The Final Liftoff of Atlantis The Space Shuttle is the most-flown American manned […]
Skipping The Convention
So, right now, an event I used to go to every year, Anime Blues Con, is happening here in Memphis. It’s, as the name suggests, and anime convention, and it’s been in previous years something I’ve looked forward to since learning about it in early 2011 – I would first attend the convention in 2012 […]
SpaceX’s 3rd Launch In 12 Days, And The Heaviest Payload Yet: Intelsat 35e
I’m covering this one quickly, since I missed the launch live, but on Wednesday the 6th of July, SpaceX, after 2 previous failed attempts to launch, finally got Intelsat 35e off the ground and into one of the highest orbits possible for the booster with such a payload. This high initial orbit was to preserve […]
AVGN Season 2 Review Plan
I’m going to get to reviewing Season 2 of the Angry Video Game Nerd soon enough, and I thought it would be cool to share the general idea of how I’ll go about it, as while Season 1 was straightforward, Season 2 provides some challenges. Season 2 consists of 24 episodes, spanning through 2007 and […]
Here’s Some Random Rocket Launches – Have A Great 4th Of July!
It’s the 4th of July tomorrow and, being quite honest, I had nothing quite planned to write today or tomorrow. However, to keep up with the spirit of Xadara, my love of space, and in a classic “Happy Birthday America” bit of patriotism, I’ve decided to just flood you with some random rocket launches in […]
Photobucket, You Just Don’t Get It, Do You?
I can’t tell if it’s intentionally them avoiding the issue, or if they are truly that stupid that they don’t understand the hate they are getting, but Photobucket is seriously not actually saying anything on what people are giving them hell for. To capitalize on this, they posted this link on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/photobucket/photos/a.10150566349440632.667777.52045600631/10158873616505632/?type=3&permPage=1 […]
Tech Scammers Arrested In The UK And Microsoft Discontinuing Syskey!
Touching on our old friend, the tech support scam, we have some news coming from a well known member of the anti-scammer community, Lewis of Lewis’s Tech. To start with, we have the recent arrest of 4 people who were probably the masterminds behind a few groups: while we all know the calls originate in […]