How to Spy on Ryan (Moulton): January 2007

Friday, January 26, 2007

Comings and goings

Lauren visits, my beard leaves, Lauren leaves, my mom visits, and leaves

Here are some new albums of pictures from Lauren's visit and My mom's visit. Lauren finally decided to exercise her veto power over my beard, and I wasn't sorry to see it go.

Most have you have probably seen this since I've sent it around, but the Google search for miserable failure is very different as of this afternoon. (For those not familiar, the first result used to be Bush's biography.) This was part of a ranking change that I worked on with a coworker to fix google bombs. It's gotten a little bit of press so far, on the Google webmaster blog, on my manager's blog, and on Search Engine Land. The wikipedia page was changed 3 hours after we saw the google blog post go live.

No matter how much experience I have with the internet, it still tickles me every time I do something that gets talked about in a language I don't understand, although the last time it happened it was a little more embarassing.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Christmas and xkcd

Christmas was great this year, although a little awkward as I slowly transition from the status of poor college student to not-so-poor person with a job and all that that entails about gift giving. According to my grandma, the buckeyes I made this year were the "the most delicious things I've ever eaten," so if you were the recipient of some, I hope you enjoyed them, and if not, be jealous :b. My mom got me a Roomba, which is as I speak busily cleaning my apartment for me in preparation for Lauren visiting tomorrow. It's kinda like having a huge slow-moving cockroach that cleans for you. That might not sound like an endorsement, but remember I used to have madagascar hissing cockroaches as pets. A few other favorite gifts include a book of Charley Harper's artwork, a T-shirt that says "Google is Ruining Everything!" a laser level, a hand painted pot from Lauren, and lots of assorted candy and food.

I wanted to share with you all a webcomic I've been enjoying for the last few months called xkcd. The humor is best appreciated by geeks, and in particular, geeks with exposure to higher math, but there's something there for everyone. Here are a few of my favorites:

Things I Support

No matter your political beliefs, if you value freedom you can support this group. They are dogmatically consistent in their support of personal freedom, even when it conflicts with public opinion and common sense. They ask the questions that should be asked. As such, I support them even when I disagree with their position on any particular issue. They are as essential to the functioning of our society as the media.

It's unfortunate that the political issues surrounding the Boy Scouts of America have overshadowed the rest of what it does. It is responsible for more of my values and character than any other influence, and remains a fantastic organization. On the issue of permitting Gays and Atheists to be members, I consider myself part of the loyal opposition. As an Atheist myself and an Eagle Scout, I will support and participate in the organization so long as it will accept my support and participation.

The Nature Conservancy takes a unique approach to protecting wildlife. Their primary methodology is to simply take the money you donate and use it to buy land. Political progress is one election away from reversal, but the progress of the Nature Conservancy is as permanent as property rights.

A microfinance charity with a personal twist, Kiva matches lenders in the developed world with people whose lives could be substantially and permanently improved with a small loan. The loans are interest free, but you get your money back at the end of the term and improve someone's life in the process.

Freedom of speech is the most essential right. All others spring from it. In the US, we protect speech, even reprehensible hateful speech, more thoroughly than any other nation on earth. Many people aren't nearly so lucky.

The Medical Art Company
Award winning medical and scientific illustration, located in Cincinnati, OH.

Carriage House Farm
They provide fresh local produce, honey, and horse stabling to the greater Cincinnati area. If you are interested in the workings of a farm, keeping bees, the politics of local food and family owned farms, or just what produce will be available at the next market, check out the frequently updated blog.

This game is definitely the most fun I've had online, and I also worked on it! Imagine Starcraft where each unit is controlled by a human and you'll be pretty close to imagining this game.

It's heartwarming that an organization that believes in bringing all knowledge to everyone just by creating the tools to allow everyone to volunteer is actually succeeding at it.

College a cappella represent!

The original Rankmaniac

How to Spy on Ryan.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Comings and goings

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Christmas and xkcd

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