Keiths-Place - Diving off the net

Welcome to Keith's Place

Keith — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 01:39:00 -0600

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the Internet! Within these pages you will find my creations, discoveries, and thoughts - well, the stuff that I have decided to make public at any rate.

For example: did you know that I am into IT security? Or that you should take an interest in Copyright? How about the "risks" associated with gaming? Well, these are just a few of the topics covered within. The exception is my job, you are unlikely to find anything here on that - I talk about that all day, why would I want to keep talking about it here?

Once again, welcome. Please dive in.

The "Amen Break" and the Copyright argument

Keith — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:42:14 -0700

"Over protecting intellectual property is as harmful as under protecting it. Culture is impossible without a rich public domain. Nothing today, likely nothing since we tamed fire, is genuinely new. Culture, like science and technology, grows by accretion, each new creator building on the works of those who came before. Over protection stifles the very creative forces it’s supposed to nurture."

- Judge Alex Kozinski, Dissenting in the White v. Samsung Elec. Am., Inc., 989 F.2d 1512 (9th Cir. 1993) ruling.

Flash Mob in Liverpool Street - The T-Mobile Dance

Keith — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:46:56 -0700

Last Thursday at 11:00 there was an excellent example of the flash mob form in Liverpool Street train station in London where most of the concourse starting dancing. I am calling it an "example of the form" because it was actually organised by T-Mobile, but aside from that it had all the hallmarks: A group of people who turn up, do something, melt away afterwards, and most important of all; the general public knows nothing about it.

Handgun as a Medical Device?

Keith — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:52:35 -0700

I think I have stumbled across my WTF moment for the month.

Constitution Arms (how's that for a name) claims that they have received federal approval to market a handgun as a medical device - because it has been designed to be used by the disabled and by seniors.

Reyn Ouwehand performs "Green Beret" theme

Keith — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:41:22 -0600

What we have here is Reyn Ouwehand performing a fabulous modern version of the "Green Beret" theme by (the great) Martin Galway. It also happens to be an excellent example of what a single talented musician can do with a handful of instruments and a loop machine.

Aurora: 3D Concept Browser

Keith — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:55:19 -0600

Aurora is a design concept for a 3D browser by Adaptive Path who are working in partnership with Mozilla Labs and have presented a mock up of what a future browsing experience might look like. So, it's not a real product, or even a product in development, but it looks cool nevertheless.

Auriga: a 60fps, 720p, AMV

Keith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:52:00 -0600

Another first for Nostromo, he has (to my knowledge) created the first 60 fps AMV. He used special software to interpolate extra frames into the Anime to make it effective.

God it's smooth. It might as well be an advert for HD.

24 fps may be the minimum rate for smooth images (in a medium that produces motion blur), but it is clear that the eye can keep up with higher rates.

Probably much higher.

The Watch for a Steam Punk Generation

Keith — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:28:00 -0600

A couple of my friends are into steam punk, and I have just seen what I am sure they would regard as a wonderful birthday or Christmas present: HD3 Complication's Bi-Axial.

Arthur W. Burks, early computer theorist, dies.

Keith — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:03:00 -0600

Ah dammit, how did I miss this?

19-May-2008 - Arthur W. Burks, Early Computer Theorist, dies. Burks worked on Eniac, (amongst other things) and wasn't one of the "old guard" so much as he was part of the "original guard". I guess there aren't many left.

Mailbag Showdown!

Keith — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:49:00 -0600

This is a gem from Yahtzee (of Zero Punctuation fame) which I found over at despotliz's journal, where he takes a rather articulate exception to the dissenting email he received following his, apparently, controversial review of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".

When critic’s attack.