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
I still detest companies that treat customers as nothing more than cash cows — dumb lumps of flesh who need to be squeezed to extract the maximum amount of cash possible. It’s a short-sighted strategy that ultimately means losing customers, but in this economy you’re going to sell more companies trying it. How’s this new firmware from Panasonic sound?
Be thankful you don’t live in Germany. Unless you live in Germany, of course.
(continue down this rabbit hole)It’s a simple business concept that many companies just don’t get. Align your company’s objectives with your customers’ objectives, and you will be successful. Fail to do so, and you may be successful for a while, but ultimately you will suffer a series of mistakes which cause the public to lose confidence in your company.
(continue down this rabbit hole)It turns out that if you show random Australians a Linux computer running KDE4 and tell them it’s Windows 7, they suddenly develop a new love for Microsoft products. Check out this video. I think the lesson to take away is Windows users want Windows to be more like Linux, but they’re still not willing to try Linux.
As always, Microsoft is taking the lesson to heart. They’re attempting to hire a strategic planner whose job will consist of thinking up ways to torpedo Linux. I can’t blame Microsoft for trying to beat the competition, but I’ll stick with Linux, thank you very much.
My cat chewed through the cable of my Guitar Hero World Tour bass pedal. While there is a cheat code that automatically plays the pedal as required, and thus lets me continue playing, it does mean I can’t earn any cash for playing songs. And with replacement pedals selling for $50 on eBay I couldn’t bear to buy a replacement. I could call Red Octane and try for a warrenty repair, but it’s really hard to explain how a cut cord is a manufacturing defect. So, I repaired pedal, and took photos in case anyone else has the same problem.
(continue down this rabbit hole)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 | ¶