a bunch of stuff

2009

December
November
October
August 2
July 5
June 2
May 1
April 1
March 19
January 13

2008

December
October 15
August 23
July 3
June
May
April
March 48
January
Remember Bob — Microsoft’s phantasmagorically...
Aug 21st
“1st Level Fighter / 14th Level Aristocrat: His stat block is...”
— From an ingenious feature on...
Aug 21st
Want.
Aug 21st

My chat with Sprint about why my Sprint...

Xander: Thank you for contacting Sprint. My name is Xander. How may I assist you today?
Clive Thompson: Hi Xander!
Xander: Hi Clive
Clive Thompson: I've been having a problem with my Sprint wireless modem.
Xander: I'll be happy to assist you with that today Clive.
Clive Thompson: I'm having no problem logging on, and surfing the Internet.
Clive Thompson: I've been using it for five months now with no problem.
Clive Thompson: But today, I found that I could not load the web site www.boingboing.net.
Clive Thompson: That site is not down -- other people around me can access it, using wifi or other forms of Net access.
Clive Thompson: It's just me, using the Sprint wireless service.
Clive Thompson: So I'm wondering: Is Sprint now filtering or blocking www.boingboing.net for some reason?
Xander: To verity other sites other than that one site works?
Clive Thompson: Yes -- every other site I'm visiting is loading no problem.
Clive Thompson: And email is working, as well as instant messaging -- i.e. every other form of data transport.
Xander: This is on your [NUMBER DELETED] line?
Clive Thompson: No, it's on my [NUMBER DELETED] line.
Clive Thompson: A connection card plan.
Xander: Are you using internet explorer?
Clive Thompson: No, Firefox. But I'll try Internet explorer if you want.
Clive Thompson: It's not loading via Internet Explorer either.
Xander: If you don't mind please.
Clive Thompson: I already tried and reported the results -- scroll up two lines and you'll see! It didn't work in Internet Explorer either.
Xander: Please try clearing your history, cookies and saved files from Internet options.
Clive Thompson: All right -- hold a sec.
System System: Connected with Xander
Xander: Did that help?
Clive Thompson: I'm afraid the site is still not loading.
Clive Thompson: I cleared the cache, cookies, and history in both IE and Firefox, but www.boingboing.net is still not working.
Clive Thompson: Do you know whether Sprint uses any blocking software? I know that Boing Boing has from time to time been blocked by several of the major corporate blocking services.
Xander: I apologize, however there may be something on that site that blocks access from certain device.
Xander: Sprint doesn't block any sites or content.
Clive Thompson: I didn't *think* Sprint had any blocking software installed, but I wasn't sure.
Clive Thompson: Why would something on that site render it inaccessible from a Sprint wireless modem?
Clive Thompson: It's a pretty inert device, the modem -- it just sends packets back and forth, theoretically.
Xander: I do apologize, it may have something to do with the browser settings.
Clive Thompson: Do you have any suggestions of what I can do about this?
Clive Thompson: If it's something to do with the browser settings, can you suggest something to change in them that would make the site accessible?
Xander: You might want to try in permitted sites, adding that site.
Clive Thompson: Okay, let me try that right now. Hold a sec.
Clive Thompson: Hmm -- didn't help, it appears. The site still won't load.
Xander: I apologize, you may want to contact the site and see if they have certain content restrictions.
Clive Thompson: Okay, I'll ask them and get back to you. What do you mean by "certain content restrictions"?
Xander: Anything that would restrict access to the web site.
Clive Thompson: All right. Thanks!
Xander: Not a problem.
Xander: Have I resolved the issue that prompted you to chat with us today?
Clive Thompson: No, you haven't, but thanks for trying.
Xander: Thank You for contacting Sprint, our goal is to make your chat experience a great one. Please complete the short online survey presented at the end of your chat. Should you have any additional feedback or comments you would like to provide regarding your chat or chat agent, please send us an email at: sprint.customerappreciation@connextions.com. If you have any further questions about your account or about Sprint’s products or services please contact us by chatting in again.
Clive Thompson: All right, thanks.
Aug 20th
Jason Burnett, Canada’s Olympic trampoline medalist,...
Aug 19th

I have no idea who this person is --...

TrustworthyTrout: Have you lied to your children today?
pomeranian99: Nope.
TrustworthyTrout: ?
pomeranian99: Yeah, no.
TrustworthyTrout: ok
pomeranian99: Have you?
TrustworthyTrout: state who you are or i'm blocking you
pomeranian99: Clive Thompson.
TrustworthyTrout: i don't know you
pomeranian99: I'm really nice.
pomeranian99: Hey, what's it like being a chatbot?
TrustworthyTrout: wtf?
pomeranian99: You're *not* a chatbot?
pomeranian99: Sorry, I think I have my Turing filter set too high.
TrustworthyTrout: ?
pomeranian99: See, the problem is, every time you go "?", I'm like, y'know, that is *exactly* what you program a chatbot to say when it doesn't have a preprogrammed response.
TrustworthyTrout signed off at 8: 08:24 PM.
TrustworthyTrout is offline and will receive your IMs when signing back in.
Aug 19th
“In fact, if he got to count [his gold medals] in a separate...”
— globeandmail.com: Zero to...
Aug 18th
“Parents are more afraid of their kids playing Grand Theft...”
— Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas...
Aug 18th
Warch Watch
The best Star Wars chase scene filmed since the 1970s … and it wasn’t done by Lucas, but...
Aug 14th
How the divecam works: How do they do it? Well,...
Aug 13th
Nice. I like it when a memoirist has his...
Aug 13th
First it’s a Batman who’s afraid of bats. Now...
Aug 12th
A squishy, rubber car!
Aug 11th
An application for the Iphone that costs $1,000 and does...
Aug 8th

Freudian, really

mishatepper: I was just explaining also in another window that his closing talk at the Interactions conference in Feb talked about the need for literacy in the interactions of everyday life, of urbanity in particular as a system of signs and meaning that one can become more or less fluent in, as well as digital interactions
pomeranian99: sos
pomeranian99: wow
pomeranian99: i mean
pomeranian99: ahahahah
pomeranian99: great typo
Aug 7th
Man, this looks like fun. Video chat with up to six people...
Aug 7th
So, for $1,000 a month, I can have a full-time personal...
Aug 7th
“I was in the middle of a riveting conversation with science...”
— Vanity Fair: vanityfair.com
Aug 5th

Astrobioethics

“Have you ever wanted to put a new word in the dictionary? Now’s your chance: say hello...
Aug 5th
If all history books were written like this, kids would...
Aug 5th
Warch Watch
A snapshot of my 12-year-old soul. Check out that blatant rip off of the Star Wars opening...
Aug 4th
Warch Watch
Me Right Now: Clive Thompson on Vimeo (via Vimeo)
Aug 4th
“It’s going to be really weird when I’m 80 years old, in a...”
— Shawn Johnson Balances Life...
Aug 4th