One of you is gonna fall and die, and I'm not cleaning it up!

Mal ,'War Stories'


Natter 63: Life after PuppyCam  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


aurelia - Jan 28, 2009 10:51:56 am PST #3997 of 30000
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

I don't think the actual TV companies care much at this point.

The broadcasters care because they haven't budgeted for continued analog broadcasting.

The government should've worked directly with the manufacturers to subsidize the converter boxes instead of the stupid idea of coupons. Some of the people who got the first run of coupons couldn't buy boxes before the coupons expired because stores either weren't carrying them yet, or didn't order enough. So coupons didn't get used, which complicated the accounting for the fund. Plus the cost of dealing with coupon applications and mailing the coupons, blah, blah, blah. The whole thing was just stupid.

And I'm angry because my converter box won't work with my VCR like it's supposed to.


§ ita § - Jan 28, 2009 10:52:35 am PST #3998 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

maybe they think that way because of some alien symbiote in their brains....

They themselves are aliens that don't understand the human body and its extent.

I may just get along without a TV

Also alien talk.


Frankenbuddha - Jan 28, 2009 10:56:32 am PST #3999 of 30000
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"

The Most Ticketed Cars on the Road

Whoa, I'm surprised to see my car in the top 10 list (Suburu Outback)


aurelia - Jan 28, 2009 10:56:47 am PST #4000 of 30000
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

I also read that a significant percentage of the people who haven't gotten a box yet don't plan on watching any broadcast TV after the cutover, and just plan on watching DVDs and stuff that's online.

I have a box, and this is what I'm going to have to do. Maybe I should sell the box to someone who actually watches TV as it airs.


Connie Neil - Jan 28, 2009 11:03:38 am PST #4001 of 30000
brillig

Maybe I should sell the box

Black market boxes!


tommyrot - Jan 28, 2009 11:03:42 am PST #4002 of 30000
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Get lit: illuminated clothing lights up the night

Fiber optics are, well, fiber. Makes sense to weave those fibers into haute couture fashion clothing. Not exactly designed for shrinking violets, the Lumitop clothing line will make a statement on any dancefloor or red carpet. Check out the gallery below for more samples of this latest stab at tech fashion. There's even something for the guys… well, only if your name is "Gunther." You have to wonder where the battery pack goes.

Surprisingly, the clothing can be washed — just remove the batteries. Different colored LEDs are used to change the colors, and yes, there's an on/off switch.

Maybe it's because I'm a geek, but I like the idea of women wearing glow-y clothes - at least the ones in these pictures look pretty....


Atropa - Jan 28, 2009 11:10:23 am PST #4003 of 30000
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.

Get lit: illuminated clothing lights up the night

Ooooh. I want illuminated details on a bustle skirt.


§ ita § - Jan 28, 2009 11:32:32 am PST #4004 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I don't like most of the clothes in the article, but I do like the idea. Too much for me for a whole top, but it would make a good belt.


Strega - Jan 28, 2009 12:02:46 pm PST #4005 of 30000

In DC's defense: We've got insane numbers of long-distance commuters. There are people who are driving from Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia to jobs in DC, or to other parts of the metro area. And all those states have something that Chicago doesn't: mountains.

DC's certainly got plenty of its own problems too, lord knows. But I do think one reason businesses & schools & the fed shut down at a hint of snow is that they have to factor in what's going on well outside of the Beltway.


tommyrot - Jan 28, 2009 12:23:12 pm PST #4006 of 30000
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

So the new version of iPhoto has the ability to recognize (and label photos of) people by their faces. But this is interesting: iPhoto's Faces Recognizes Cats

A huge disappointment for pet owners, was word that iPhoto's newest feature, Faces, wouldn't recognize animals according to Apple employees on the show floor. We even did a few tests at Macworld Expo with images they had of the dog Luce.

Well, we are happy to say that we were able to get iPhoto to recognize Robbie's Cat, Lola.

In clear images with two cats to choose from, the feature was able to pick out the correct cat. Like adding people to faces, the key is to train the software to recognize a person, or animal in this case, by tagging a few images manually.

Once a base face is established, iPhoto begins finding the person, or animal, on its own. At that point, you just need to confirm the animals face in the Faces' "Confirm Name" menu.

Search results mirrored those of our tests with human faces, with a small percentage of images that were either, not the correct person, or in some instances, a random round object.

This is a banner day for pet owners.

And technology marches on. I expect we'll see even more cat photos online....