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Say… Darth Vader’s scars?

For a mere $5000, you can own your very own piece of Anakin Skywalker. The auction house Profiles in History has released their latest catalog, featuring a ton of original props from the Star Wars movies. You could pickup copies of the script in various drafts, some Chewbacca teeth, and some spare Yoda parts. (The head pieces look like Yoda fell into the lava instead of Anakin).

The catalog is pretty big, and is downloadable in four pdfs, with the Star Wars stuff beginning in part 2 of the catalog. Plan ahead, and get your holiday shopping done early - assuming you have cash to burn, and the person receiving would appreciate a severed Greedo antenna.

From: Slashdot.org

Hopefully no one reads this today. You should be outside going to a parade, having a barbeque, or be trying to blow stuff up with a couple of M-80’s.

See you Tuesday, hopefully with all your fingers still intact.

My apologies to those outside the US that don’t get the day off, and to those that had to work today.

Pardon the “off-topic” post, but it’s something I just felt like writing about today. It’s the weekend anyway - you shouldn’t be working.

For those who don’t know, I drive a Ford Bronco. The Bronco has been my truck of choice since I began driving, starting with my first vehicle after I got my license. I love the Bronco, though I don’t know why.
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Ever burn ants with a magnifying glass? Then Ant City is the place for you.

Just a few short videos good for killing a couple minutes of time:

Lego Star Destroyer
These two folks built the Lego Star Destroyer and used a webcam to document the 10-hour process, snapping a frame every 5 seconds to create a stop motion movie. The video is about 3-4 minutes long, but it’s pretty fun to watch. Lego Star Destroyer Build (divX)

Street Fighter Salsa Dancing
Two contestants in a salsa dance competition using Street Fighter as their theme. They went beyond just the costumes, and even worked in some Street Fighter special moves into their dance: Street Fighter Salsa (WMV)

Star Wars: Episode XII
And one last quick one found by Andy at the office, Star Wars: Episode XII (QuickTime)

Time for another installment of It Came From The Search Logs…

• “swf guy moves browser”
• “song splish splash i was taking a bath baby in the beath”
• “flower power flowers grooooovy”
• “007 mini games to play right now!”
• “this lawn has been painstakingly mowed for your scenic enjoyment”

Previous: It Came From The Search Logs

Just in case nobody has seen this yet, this is a short flash game to test your ability in determining if the photo of the person you’re shown is of a serial killer, or a programmer.

Programming Language Inventor, or Serial Killer?

I only got 4 out of 10 right, which according to the game apparently means that I shouldn’t be involved in any sort of IT hiring process.

If you have a blog of your own, take the MIT Weblog Survey. It only takes about five minutes, and you’ll help make the world a better place.

(Or something like that - whatever makes you feel good.)

Great article over at the Guardian Unlimited by Richard Stallman on the dangers of software patents. He suggests what could happen to programmers by using an example of what could have happened if literary patents could been issued.

Here’s one example of a hypothetical literary patent:

Claim 1: a communication process that represents, in the mind of a reader, the concept of a character who has been in jail for a long time and becomes bitter towards society and humankind.

Claim 2: a communication process according to claim 1, wherein said character subsequently finds moral redemption through the kindness of another.

Claim 3: a communication process according to claims 1 and 2, wherein said character changes his name during the story.

If such a patent had existed in 1862 when Les Miserables was published, the novel would have infringed all three claims - all these things happened to Jean Valjean in the novel. Hugo could have been sued, and would have lost. The novel could have been prohibited - in effect, censored - by the patent holder.

I’m all for people getting credit where credit is due for the work they’ve done, and using copyrights to try and protect your work, but when someone patents a progress bar, preventing me from putting one in my applications, that’s just plain ridiculous.

Article

It was pretty touch and go for a while, but I made it. (Actually, my life wasn’t in any real danger, but there were a few times where I just wanted someone to shoot me.) I’ve been down all week with a lovely combination of a sinus infection and bronchitis. I knew things weren’t good when my doctor looked down my throat Tuesday night and jumped back saying something like “aaagguhgghh!!!” (That’s the best I think I could spell that.)

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