Amusing: August 2007 Archive Page

The Wilhelm Scream is a sound effect that appears in many action films, as an in-joke among sound designers.

It's funny, because it's true.... David Galef satirizes the humiliation humanities professors have to go through when requesting research funds:

To Professor Michael Wall, Chair, English Department: This has to do with the travel budget for the coming academic year. As we discussed last spring, I need something on the order of $700 for the annual Joyce conference, held this year in Miami, December 3-5. I saved the department money last year by using Blackboard exclusively rather than hand out Xeroxes, and in any event, this shouldn’t break the bank, right? Let me know soon, please, because I have to book the flight. (Inside Higher Ed)

Seton Hill has actually been very good to me, though it was a struggle last year finding funds to bring students who were presenting at the 4Cs. (We managed.)

The smell of a flower - The memory of a walk in the park - The pain of stepping on a nail. These experiences are made possible by the 3 pounds of tissue in our heads...the BRAIN!! --Eric H. Chudler --Neuroscience for Kids (University of Washinton)

My son was asking me a lot of questions about how alcohol affects the brain, and an internet search lead me to this great site. I hope they have another neuroscience poetry competition.

A pity effort to hack into the hacker-only conference DEFCON was attempted by the NBC reporter Michelle Madigan. Apparently the Associate Producer for Dateline NBC entered the DEFCON with a hidden camera and tried to film attendees confessing to illegal activities. According to some sources, Madigan was working on an investigative piece called "Hackers for Hire" which would have shown the underground world of the hackers community.

The DEFCON folks quickly picked up the scent (some claim they were tipped off) and told the audience that there is a reporter among them with a hidden camera. Michelle Madigan quickly left the conference room, chased down by over 100 of the participants. The tables turned on Madigan on exit, when she was chased down by a dozen of reporters trying to interview her. --Michelle Madigan attempts to hack DEFCON (OG Paper)

Mob justice.

I don't think the "chased down by a dozen of reporters" is accurate -- it sounded to me like it was a small gang of hackers who half-heartedly pretended to be reporters. One said "Thanks for playing!" and others chorused "Bye!" when she left the parking lot.

While the video is credited to "Elizabeth Safran," there is something very discomfiting about a gang of men mocking and poking fun at a woman as she makes a beeline for her car. Having said that, Madigan had attended under false pretenses, and while the small crowd escorting her to her car was annoyed, they simply counted on their presence in numbers to give them authority, and -- like any hackers would hack any system -- used the tools of the existing system in order to upset the status quo. The TV news "perp walk" is a media event designed to shame a suspect and celebrate the power of the authorities, and here we see a reporter making that walk of shame.

--3D Hectopus Animation (Rainbow Hector Weblog)

Just a 3D, six-legged character animation. Not the best walk cycle I've ever seen, but it was fun making it.