This is the homepage for James Brokaw. I'm a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, currently stationed in Washington State. I'm a avowed snow lover, part-time ski instructor, and year-round backcountry enthusiast. The header photo was taken of me atop Cowboy Mountain. Other hobbies include hacking, juggling, and generally being geeky.
This page exists primarily to serve as a homepage and link list for my web server, but it's set up as a blog, and I'll post interesting thoughts and ideas here.
Log into Hedgie
Hedgie Photography
Hedgie Photography Blog
Ladyhedgehog's Web
Waiting for War
Alpha Centauri on Linux
Links off Hedgie:
Slashdot
Quadradius
Hack A Day
Beermapping
GovTrack
Great news! Somehow this bill passed through Congress completely under the radar, and despite my use of GovTrack RSS feeds, somehow I missed this until it became law. I haven’t seen any mention on military.com or other sites.
(continue down this rabbit hole)So there are two different XBox 360’s you can buy — the expensive one with a hard drive, or the cheap ($199) one with no hard drive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well without a hard drive, so people go and buy memory units to let them save games. Even users with hard drives often buy memory units to let them backup games, or transfer data to friends’ consoles. Basically, the memory units expand the functionality of the XBox 360, making it a more desirable product and improving sales, right? So Microsoft would want people to buy memory units, right?
(continue down this rabbit hole)
TechCrunch says it would be naive to assume this means Bing users are more susceptible to ads. They claim that since Google is larger, its customers are statistically less likely to click on ads. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and is akin to saying that since Toyota outsells Ford, Toyotas should have fewer accidents per mile driven.
No, TechCrunch got the right answer then tossed it aside for feel of offending Microsoft fans. Most people use Google; it’s reliable, it’s powerful, and we understand it. Bing doesn’t add anything for the typical user. Why would anyone switch to Bing? Well, $100 million dollars in advertising dollars attracted enough attention for Bing to be the second-largest search engine after Google. So, now we’re left with the people who listened to Microsoft’s advertisements using Bing, and those who ignored them using Google. Hmmm…
I think I know why Bing users are more likely to click on ads that Google users.
Hedgehogs in Space? And no, I’m not talking about Hedgehog Launch or the slightly less fun Hedgehog Launch 2. Nor am I actually considering putting a hedgehog into space, because that’s just cruel. But one of the inspirations I took away from ToorCamp was that amateur space exploration, or at least near-space exploration, is well within the reach of hackers here on Earth.
(continue down this rabbit hole)The weight of the world has forced me to install Twitter. Dunno if I’ll actually be an active twitterer or not, but I need it to follow people. Dammit. Anyway, I’m LordHedgie if you want to see if I get active.
| ¶Believe it or not, Cisco is putting flash games on the web now. Check out the Binary Game which tests your ability to convert to and from binary quickly. For those of a less nerdy nature, try Bubble Spinner, the first game to actually improve on the classic Bubble Shooter game.
No comments | ¶TinEye is in open beta, meaning anyone can get an account. It is to images what Google is to text — it searches not for words (like Google Images does) but for the image itself. Upload an image, and it will find copies and varients across the web. Good for locating stolen copies of copyrighted images, or sources of photoshopped pictures, etc. Very powerful and interesting web tool for graphics!
No comments | ¶Here’s another high-quality free game, better than most store games — Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game similar to Warlords. Try the Wesbowl multiplayer variation for unique fun!
No comments | ¶When it comes to beer, its quality over quanity. But how do you find the gems amongst all the Coors? Try Beer Mapping, the Google Maps of beer.
No comments | ¶Okay, I’ve been playing this for years. I’m a lifetime member of Quadradius (username Hedgie). You can play for free; members get some extra options and extra powerups appear in member-only games. Try it out, and if you see me, say Hello.
No comments | ¶