Florida and Aruba down. One more trip to the ultra-hot weather (Texas) to come.
delusions of grandeur
...now browsing by category
Back in the Saddle Again
Saturday, July 14th, 2012WordPress and CAPTCHA Systems
Thursday, June 28th, 2012Just installed my first CAPTCHA antispam system on Drinkhacker.com today at the behest of my web host. (We don’t get much spam, but, well, long story.) Installed SI CAPTCHA and it seems to work as advertised, page loads aren’t significantly impacted, and the images are easy to read. Anyone else have in-depth experience with CAPTCHAs on WordPress? Anything I should look out for?
Chris Null: International Cocktail Magnate
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012From today’s inbox:
Dear Sir:
Hello! We are pleased to see that your company can supply The Noodle & Boo Cocktail on the Internet. And our company needs this kind of products now. However,the information about this product is limit, and we hope that your company can provide more details about The Noodle & Boo Cocktail. In addition, we want to know if we can purchase it in China?
If we cannot, shall we directly purchase this kind of product from your company?
Looking forward to your reply as soon as possible, thanks very much.
Autumn
Henan Zhuliu Jiapin Trading Co.Ltd
Tel: +86-(0)371-55910420
Fax: +86-(0)371-55697092
Website:www.hnzljp.com
Zip code: 450000
Add: # 67 Wenhua Road, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China
A Funny Cat Picture
Monday, June 18th, 2012This is our cat eating a wooden artists’ model.
Eat Before Partying
Thursday, May 17th, 2012You will obey the squirrel on campus.
Fun With Books You Haven’t Read
Saturday, May 12th, 2012See, the New York Times newsroom is no better than you. (I haven’t even heard of a few of these titles.)
How to: Change All Files from “Hidden” to “Unhidden”
Friday, May 11th, 2012Vestiges of a virus left a computer with most of the files in the My Documents folder invisible, so the malware creator could make it appear that files were damaged (and magically “repaired” once you paid for the software to fix things).
I removed the virus but the files stayed set hidden. Online advice about fixing this didn’t work, but I stumbled upon the correct solution myself. Here’s how to fix this issue if it happens to you. This should work in most versions of Windows, from Windows XP to Windows 7.
Find the folder containing the files you want to repair in Windows Explorer.
Right-click on the folder and choose Properties.
The “Hidden” box will (probably) be clear, indicating all files are “unhidden” — which isn’t correct.
Check the box so that it has a check mark in it (not a square). Click Apply and select “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files.” Click OK.
It will take several minutes for all files in that folder to be updated. They will now all be hidden. Don’t panic.
When it’s done, UNCHECK the “Hidden” box so that it’s clear, and click Apply again. Select the “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files” option again and click OK.
Now, all files will — finally — no longer be hidden.
It’s Not a Small World After All
Thursday, May 10th, 2012Today I Learned: DisneyWorld is nearly as large in square mileage as San Francisco.
Claiming the Blog
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012Just a formality.
| Blog: |
| ChrisNull.com |
|
Topics:
|
| Wackadoodle, Paranoia, Miscellany |
T-Rex Disco
Friday, April 6th, 2012I lol’ed.
Nodding Off
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012Up in the middle of the night? It’s normal!
We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night – but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.
Say What?
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012My collected works can be bought for $41, it seems.
(Please do not buy this.)
Inspiration
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012The problem isn’t coming up with great ideas. The problem is remembering them after you get out of the shower.
“The first thing they told me was, ‘Leave your cats and get out.’”
Thursday, January 26th, 2012In a story full of great quotes, that was perhaps the greatest.
Dispatch from CES 2012
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012Best CES schwag ever: Radio Shack’s pre-charged, portable smartphone battery pack. No more worrying about my phone dying at 2pm.
Top 10 Movies of 2011
Sunday, December 25th, 2011By popular demand… my personal (and completely subjective) top 10 for the year.
- We Need to Talk About Kevin
- Another Earth
- Martha Marcy May Marlene
- The Artist
- Margin Call
- The Way
- Hanna
- The Help
- Shame
- Rango
What I Want For Christmas
Friday, December 2nd, 2011This.
Awards Season Is Officially Here
Monday, November 14th, 2011These screeners arrived today…
Fact Checking the Cadillac World Thorium Fuel
Thursday, October 20th, 2011I’m writing about this here simply because I have nowhere else to put it: In the course of writing about alternate energy sources for autos, I’ve found (what looks rather obvious from the outset) that the much-reported-upon nuclear-powered “World Thorium Fuel” vehicle from GM is not a real concept vehicle but merely a 3D rendering from this fellow.
Somehow numerous outlets have convinced themselves that the “WTF” (red flag, IMHO) was “unveiled” at a 2009 auto show, that a laser-and-thorium-powered car was “introduced” at said show, and that it means that “nuclear cars [are] not science fiction any more” (that from a New York Times contributor!).
They’ve all been duped.
It’s just amazing how reportage feeds upon itself. It’s like a game of telephone. In the beginning someone probably noted that a guy that’s really good with computers mocked up a highly implausible Cadillac. Somewhere along the way the facts got lost, and by the time it hit the mainstream the WTF was a real prototype that you could tool around with and which would last for 100 years without a fill-up. I have no idea how the detail about the Chicago Auto Show came into the picture, but hey, what’s a good lie without something that sounds legitimate to back it up?
Here’s what Cadillac said in response to my query, just for the record:
We did not produce that concept. It was rendered by a freelance designer as a creative/visionary exercise. I don’t have a lot of details on the how’s and why’s of its creation….it just sort of appeared. We’re pleased that our Art & Science design was inspirational…..but outside of that, we don’t really have a view on it.