Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 21, 2011, 11:40 am
First off, the gorgeous new trailer for the first part of The Hobbit has just been released:
Now, a slight digression. Back when the internet was new (and I’m not entirely exaggerating with that), the Jargon File was created as a living encyclopedia of words, phrases, terms, and events common to ... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 22, 2011, 4:39 pm
Part 1: The Event
Part 2: The Spin
Gawker: ‘It’s a Food Product, Essentially’: Fox News Starts Spinning Pepper Spray Cops
“I don’t think we have the right to Monday-morning quarterback the police,” O’Reilly says, “particularly at a place like UC Davis, which is a fairly liberal cam... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Oct 27, 2011, 12:36 pm
Washington state is expecting a 47% turnout in this election — and people bitch and moan about how nothing ever changes.
I support the #occupy movement. But I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that if every one of the #occupy protesters actually voted, there are a lot of races that wouldn’t be as c... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Sep 20, 2011, 9:00 am
From Ding, dong, DADT is dead! – Boing Boing:
On September 20, 2011, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” will officially become past tense. More: Washington Post. Here’s the document (PDF) memorializing the transition. Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Sep 18, 2011, 6:58 pm
From Tiger Beatdown › “Elitism:” Now, It Basically Just Means “Not Having Sex With Everybody”:
We get a lot of sexist narratives about love, but none of them are more pernicious and subtle than this: The Frog Prince story. You could call it “Beauty and the Beast,” too. Or you could ca... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 26, 2011, 10:16 pm
If you’re at all interested in movies, Stanley Kubrick, Kubrick’s version of Stephen King’s The Shining, set design, psychology, or any combination of the above, you really should take twenty minutes to watch both of the following videos.
The Shining: Spatial Awareness and Set Design Part One... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 20, 2011, 12:50 am
I got a mystery package in the mail today. Opening it, I found a fun little surprise to go with the Awkward Family Photos game I mentioned the other day: The 2012 Awkward Family Calendar!
February 28th and August 8th look like especially good days to me. Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 12, 2011, 8:24 pm
Long-time readers will know that my family has been featured on the Awkward Family Photos website not just once, but twice, and both photos were also featured in the Awkward Family Photos book.
Well, you can’t keep a good thing down — we’re now also featured in the Awkward Family Photos game!... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 6, 2011, 10:39 am
From On the Origin of Transformers:
The advocates of ID, who are arguing that their belief should be included in science classes in Texas, Tennessee and other states, say that if a living organism has a design that cannot be explained by the theory of natural selection, it is proof of an Intelligen... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 2, 2011, 8:45 pm
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve done much in the way of “real” blogging. Believe me, I know — it’s been bugging me. However, the reason for the delay has been for two very interconnected reasons: I don’t like blogging about things that are happening until they’ve actually hap... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 2, 2011, 3:19 pm
From Markdown is the new Word 5.1:
There’s a way out of this loop of bouncing between cluttered word processors and process-centric writing tools, a way to avoid having cater to Clippy’s every whim while not having to hide your own work from yourself in order to concentrate. People have been sa... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 2, 2011, 3:00 pm
From Business Class: Freemium for News?:
I had a perspective changing talk on the subject of pay walls with the chief executive of a big publishing company…. He asked me what I think about pay walls. I told him what I always say: The main currency of news sites is attention and not dollars and th... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jul 2, 2011, 2:16 pm
From The Eternal Shame of Your First Online Handle:
Those of us who came of age alongside AOL must contend with something even more incriminating than a lifelong Google profile: A trail of discarded online aliases, each a distillation of how we viewed ourselves and our place in the world at the tim... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jun 8, 2011, 10:41 am
From Yeah, Sure, We’re Underinvesting in Education, but Hey Look… Squirrel! | Slog:
Look… squirrel!
That’s pretty much the level of discourse we’ve been having over education funding in Washington state, the kind that’s designed to keep our eyes off the ball by assuming that voters hav... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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May 2, 2011, 11:23 am
From “USA! USA!” is the wrong response - War Room - Salon.com:
For decades, we have held in contempt those who actively celebrate death. When we’ve seen video footage of foreigners cheering terrorist attacks against America, we have ignored their insistence that they are celebrating merely be... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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May 2, 2011, 11:10 am
Prairie and I were watching a movie last night, and so we missed the announcement of the Big News. After the movie, as I scrolled through my Twitter and Facebook feeds, I got more and more disturbed. Not surprised, really…but I just wasn’t comfortable with most of what I was seeing people post (... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 19, 2011, 2:05 pm
Today, the Seattle PI’s Big Blog linked to an MSNBC story about how swearing can apparently help lessen how much pain is felt.
…the researchers had thought that swearing would make the cold water feel much colder, lowering the participants’ tolerance for pain and heightening their perception ... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 15, 2011, 7:22 pm
Once again, it’s about time for my annual mini-vacation at Norwescon. This is my second year as part of the ConCom (_Con_vention _Com_mittee — those of us who are crazy enough to volunteer to assist with planning and running the con), and I’ve really been enjoying it.
While for the first year... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 7, 2011, 12:21 pm
When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal
This was far funnier than I expected it to be. I only wish it didn’t have the big “Funny or Die” banner and the intro, so that it was less immediately obvious that it was a joke. They should have saved that for the end... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 6, 2011, 11:33 am
From Why Not Just Privatize Higher Education? | Slog:
Some of the biggest losers in yesterday’s state House budget proposal are our state’s public colleges and universities… or I guess, more accurately, their current and future students.
The House would slash another $482 million from higher... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 3, 2011, 2:00 pm
This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the introduction of one of the first “portable” computers, which also happens to be the first home computer that my family had. This was the machine that first got me into much of the geekery I’ve been into for years.
From Osborne!:
The Osborne 1 had... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Apr 2, 2011, 1:34 pm
Well, we’re here! We’re finally officially out of Kent and living in Ellensburg, in a cute little one-bedroom apartment just a block off of the CWU campus.
Though the official ceremony won’t be until June, I am now officially a CWU graduate, having earned my Bachelor’s degree from the Law a... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Mar 10, 2011, 11:40 am
A fun new piece of photo editing/post-processing software was just released yesterday evening. One of the features that’s become very popular in many of the iPhone photo apps like Camera+ or Instamatic is the easy ability to apply post-processing filters and special effects. Often designed to mimi... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Mar 8, 2011, 11:06 pm
During my between-homework breaks today, I snagged bits of time here and there to see if I could slap together a new design for my site. Initially I was just hoping to find a decent temporary placeholder theme until I had time to really dive into a full redesign, but as it turned out, I think I’m ... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Mar 7, 2011, 6:32 pm
While I don’t really think that very many people noticed, something went all pear-shaped over the weekend and this blog disappeared for a few days. Thanks to some assistance from Dreamhost support, I’m back up and running…mostly. Some of the plugins I used broke, and I’ve lost the customizin... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 29, 2011, 2:21 pm
While killing time the other day, I ran into a weird little “feature” on Twitter that, I have to admit, I don’t entirely understand.
As part of their new interface, there’s a tab at the top titled “Who to Follow”, when then has a tab called “Find Friends” that allows you to hook int... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 24, 2011, 11:48 am
Friday night, I went out to the final Den of Sin Friday fetish night at Club Vogue at Neighbours Underground. I’d been looking forward to this for a couple reasons: one, because it had been a while since I’d been out to the club, let alone on an “event” night; two, this would be my first tim... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 20, 2011, 12:00 pm
It seems that Jan. 20th is Penguin Awareness Day. Though I was not aware of this, I am aware of penguins. You should be too.
Just in case you’re not…here are some penguins.
Be aware.
All photos by me!
(via insaners, via Cheryl) Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 17, 2011, 7:51 pm
At the end of Part II, I mentioned my “we’re outta here” letter. Here’s what I sent to Ellensburg Property Management:
Dear,
I am writing to you on behalf of Prairie, as she does not currently have internet access. Thank you very much for your assistance with the problems Prairie had with ... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 17, 2011, 7:24 pm
Okay. So at the end of Part I of this little adventure, I’d left off with ominous words about how moving in to the new apartment did not go smoothly. That’s actually something of an understatement!
(Facebook people: most, if not all, of this post is copied directly from my original Facebook not... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Jan 17, 2011, 6:41 pm
We’re moving to Ellensburg!
Bet’cha you never expected those words to come from me, did’ja? But you did, and this is the point where I can finally publicly ramble on about what I haven’t been allowed to talk about until now.
(People who know me on Facebook know some of this already, since ... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 7, 2010, 10:24 am
I very rarely remember my dreams, and usually when I do, it’s just a few very vague bits that fade almost immediately upon waking up.
Last night, though, I had something of a doozy. I was living with my parents and brother in this apartment, and we were all a good decade or two younger…or at le... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 6, 2010, 1:40 pm
Dad asked me (through Mom, via Facebook chat) about my current wish list. I hadn’t been paying much attention to wanting “stuff” lately. Prairie and I do most of our book shopping through second-hand outlets, and my (mostly complete) camera upgrade has done a masterful job of taking care of th... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 3, 2010, 4:59 pm
There’s been a book list meme going around Facebook for some time now that purports to be a list of 100 books of which most people will have read only six. I’ve been tagged a few times, and have seen the note pop up when other friends have passed it on. I’ll go ahead and toss my list in this p... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 2, 2010, 6:31 pm
Bruce Schneier nails this.
From Schneier on Security: Close the Washington Monument:
Securing the Washington Monument from terrorism has turned out to be a surprisingly difficult job. The concrete fence around the building protects it from attacking vehicles, but there’s no visually appealing... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Dec 2, 2010, 1:42 pm
This is a fascinating look at a trial from a juror’s perspective: hearing the evidence, trying to balance all the factors and evidence in coming to a decision, and watching the legal system at work. Perhaps of particular interest to me as a Law and Justice student, but the kind of thing that I thi... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 19, 2010, 9:58 am
Sad, but very true.
From elusis: (stix cartoon by eyeteeth of Small Pecul:
The thing is that nothing about this is new. Private citizens being arbitrarily singled out for intrusive searches and rough treatment by authority figures because of their appearance, their “attitude,” or just a mom... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 17, 2010, 12:26 pm
A couple days ago, disgusted (as everyone should be) with the TSA’s current policy of sexual abuse at the screening stations (your choice: nude photos or sexual assault), I tweeted this:
After this http://djwudi.com/4fk and similar, I’m almost disappointed I’m not flying soon. I’d wear m... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 13, 2010, 11:21 am
Last night, a friend of mine in Anchorage was getting together with some friends. The plan was to watch the new sci-fi movie Skyline, then have a “boys’ night out.”
When I got up this morning, I thought the results needed to be saved for posterity. Here, then, is Karl’s review of Skyline, a... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 12, 2010, 12:04 pm
Pulp’s ‘Common People’ has been one of my top ten songs for quite some time now. I’ve mentioned it a time or two in the past, which I spent a few minutes throwing together a silly little video putting the audio from the song against this mashup of the song and panels from Archie comics, whic... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 11, 2010, 3:03 pm
Okay, folks. Some of you aren’t going to like this at all. However, I think these are questions worth asking.
Every year, I see a strong majority of my friends and acquaintances promoting Banned Book Week, “an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendmen... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 10, 2010, 7:38 pm
Here’s another Apple Pages template I created for my school work, this time for my Legal Writing class. This is a court briefing (or pleading) template, based (more or less) on the court standards for Washington State.
It must be stressed that I in no way guarantee that this template exactly sati... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 9, 2010, 1:05 pm
Leave it to the kids to figure out how to make Facebook as safe, secure, and drama-free as possible.
From danah boyd | apophenia » Risk Reduction Strategies on Facebook:
Mikalah uses Facebook but when she goes to log out, she deactivates her Facebook account. She knows that this doesn’t dele... Comment - Like
Michael Hanscom posted an article on
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Nov 7, 2010, 6:03 pm
From First Look at RockMelt, a Browser Built For Facebook Freaks | Webmonkey | Wired.com:
We’ve seen browsers custom-built for the social web before, most notably Flock, which launched as a MySpaced-up version of Firefox. Mozilla experimented with Ubiquity, an in-browser tool for posting to d... Comment - Like
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