The life and death of Skunkwerkz
Having recently formed up a new company, my business partner and I had an idea one day. We’d call our development group Skunkwerkz. It was an inside joke. Nothing ever came of it until one day I needed a domain name. I was building an email archive and needed a domain name to host my old corporate email on for searching purposes. What better place to do that than on our development machines, so I registered skunkwerkz.com and set it up. No web site, no publicly reachable email accounts, etc. Hidden away from the public eye, not visible except via WHOIS, etc. Just for me, just my little thing. All was clicking along fine until one day, I got a really ugly email from an attorney.
So apparently Lockheed-Martin FUCKING SUES PEOPLE for registering domain names that “infringe their trademark” and I made the hit list. My little joke that I never intended to be publicly available apparently got found and was misinterpreted. So apparently they’ve got attorneys that sit around and dig through WHOIS or something. WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT?!?!? Maybe they have a bot or something that scans for it. Whatever the case, I got a nasty gram from them showing previously won cases and a list of domains that they’ve ceased… over 100 of them. Some not even really all that similar. But apparently, you can’t use the name Skunk and Works in the same sentence without lighting these guys up.
So with that, my email archive is now moved over to good ol’ Intellidick.com where it will live out the rest of its days. The skunkwerkz.com domain has been surrendered and I’m left without anything. They didn’t even offer to cough up the $12 bucks to cover the registration fees.
Long live Skunkwerkz.com, my pointless little joke that never was going to be anything more than a URL for me to use. Oh and to all of the attorneys that have nothing better to do than sit around and scan the WHOIS registry, congratulations on being great at your job. You got what you wanted. You took away my freedom to enjoy the internet. Thanks for that.
Hey Nikon! Thanks for nothing!
Posted by ekrunch in Rants, Technology on November 30, 2009
Looks like Nikon put out that update for the NEF Codec that I was asking for.
It officially supports W7 now, even though the 1.8.0 release worked from what I read. Still no 64-bit support for Vista / W7. So hey, thanks for nothing!
Seriously though… what’s the hold up? Are you using some 3rd party library in your code that’s not available in 64-bit or are you just too cheap and/or lazy to upgrade your development tools? Come on now, 64-bit Windows is coming. Almost all new servers are 64-bit and a significant portion of Windows 7 installations will be 64-bit. Get with the program already! NEF Codec 2.0 needs to get here and it needs to be 64-bit.
Network neutrality, are you ready for the internet without it?
Posted by ekrunch in Technology on November 21, 2009
A friend of mine over at The Systems Engineer sent me a disturbing image and I thought i’d pass it on. This is just a taste of what the internet might be like if certain people have their way. All I can say is that if you don’t know what this is about, you should pay more attention to what your government is doing …
The internet without net neutrality
Ready or not world… 64-bit Windows is coming!
Posted by ekrunch in Technology on October 24, 2009
Looks like 64-bit is finally going to get a decent launch for the desktop windows world. Let’s face it, Vista 64-bit didn’t go over too well. Software vendors just weren’t ready for it. I was just browsing Dell’s site and it seems that all of the new Windows 7 based installations will be 64-bit. Looks like the boys in Round Rock are going full speed ahead. This validates an article I read months ago saying that Microsoft was going to push OEMs to package 64-bit copies of Windows 7. Hopefully other vendors will follow suit and we can start down the path to more 64-bit software for the desktop PC. Although the only real benefit for most users is the higher maximum memory, it’s still nice to see the industry FINALLY progressing. (*nix systems have been 64-bit for YEARS now) It’s also nice that as 64-bit software matures, those of us who have been running it for the past few years can finally get some real 64-bit performance tuning from our application vendors. All I can say is that I hope software vendors who have been holding out on 64-bit get a clue pretty quick! Those new Dells are shipping and nothing pisses off John Q User faster than some vendor telling him that he doesn’t need 64-bit support… even if the vendor is right. 
Oh and Nikon, please fix the damned NEF Codec to run with 64-bit operating systems… it’s really not that hard. Upgrade your development tools and just do it please. We Nikon D-SLR users pay a lot of our cameras and do so willingly knowing that Nikon makes some of the best products in the industry. Show us a little love and support 64-bit operating systems. 
Stupid Biking Acronyms!
Okay, so i’m back into biking (which is pretty much why I haven’t blogged all summer) and wanted to share what I’ve discovered. Biking has changed! It was apparently starting to change back when I was into it last time (circa-2002) but I never really paid attention.
The biggest and most obvious change is the influence of .com and the acronyms now used in biking. Years ago, biking manufacturers produced a few different bikes for “road biking” and a few more for “mountain biking”. Most of the road bikes varied from cruiser to full on racing and it was very commonplace to see them at any bike shop. Mountain bikes were just that … mountain bikes. The big difference back then was whether or not they had a front and/or rear suspension. Little did I know, the acronym storm was brewing…
After my return I started seeing terms like AM, FR, DH, XC, and DJ pop up. I had NO IDEA what those meant so I started doing some digging. In the past we just bought a mountain bike and swapped out a few parts to suit it to the style and terrain that we rode on. Now they build custom packages for each and every style. Here are a few of the acronyms and their meanings.
XC – Cross Country – Going really fast on featherweight bikes. Riding trails that are raked, packed, and have painted markers to warn you of “danger”. This is what you do when you live in a really flat area like Louisiana where vertical isn’t an option… Might as well go fast. These bikes are generally hard tail with a small amount of travel on the front fork. (Who needs travel when you go around all of those roots?)
AM – All Mountain – Doing trails and hitting all the fun but mostly reasonable stuff. These bikes are heavier and designed to take more abuse than an XC bike. These bikes are generally full suspension with 4-6 inches of travel but with the ability to climb as well. AM riders take their bikes up the hills as well as back down.
FR – Free Ride – Building crazy wooden tracks all over Whistler with incredible jumps and drop offs. Full throttle, throw down. These bikes are heavier than AM with tougher components. They also tend to be full suspension with a lot of travel.
DJ – Dirt Jumping – Falling off cliffs while holding on to a bicycle.
SS – Slope Style – Big jumps and stunts that go downhill. Commonly associated with Dirt Jumper.
DH – Downhill – A race to see who can coast the fastest on a motorcycle that’s had the engine removed and then using a ski lift to get back up. Big ass bikes, tons of travel to work with. Usually in the 70lb range, these things suck to pedal uphill but smoke everything down.
UA – Urban Assault – Terrifying your neighborhood parks on your mountain bike. This is what you do when you live in the burbs and are too lazy to take the bike out to the trails where it belongs. It can also been defined as “Trying to justify spending all that money on a mountain bike for riding on the pavement.”
As much as I can appreciate all of the new “styles” of riding and the diversity, I think it really boils down to where you ride and how you want to ride there. You need a bike that’s strong enough to do what you want to do at the speed you want to do it at. Sure, you can downhill on an XC/AM bike, but you’re going to use the brakes a lot more and you can forget the big jumps. I’ve done a lot of great stuff on my XC bike, but i’ve also had to replace a good bit of the components on it thanks to my All Mountain Habits.
Time to go All Mountain
I think my XC riding days are over. After moving to Chicago I had pretty much given up on mountain biking, simply because I didn’t know where the real trails were. Most people would point me toward the forest preserves, which are PAVED. Not exactly what I was looking for when it comes to riding a mountain bike. 
Thanks to a friend of mine who rides, I’ve now rediscovered the joys of mountain biking and have had a great season. I’m a little beat up and bruised, but it’s been great nonetheless. What else I discovered is that I’m not really an XC Rider. XC is short for Cross Country, which is basically just road racing in the dirt with a few bumps. That’s just not my style. After much research, i’ve decided to sideline my 2003 Rockhopper Comp FSR XC and build a new bike. This bike will be set up for All Mountain riding and hopefully will survive a season without me having to replace tons of parts on it.
Without further ado, here’s a picture of the frame i’ve chosen, it’s the 08 KHS XCT 555 and will be built out using a custom component grouping and design for an All Mountain / Freeride style as opposed to a racing style.
KHS XCT 555 Full Build
And now T-Shirt Hell is going to get some of my money.
A friend of mine sent me this earlier and I thought I would share it for everyone to enjoy. Mine will be on order soon!
I hope I don't black out, because this is awesome!
2 Years of Lifereef
Posted by ekrunch in Fishy Fishy Fishy, Useful Information on July 16, 2009
It’s been two years since I set up the 90g tank, complete with Lifereef equipment. I didn’t really know much about Lifereef when I bought the tank, but my interactions with them have been nothing short of fantastic. In the past few years, i’ve had no problems with the system other than my ignorance of the hobby in general. The owner of Lifereef has always been responsive and helpful with every request I made. This is amazing considering I didn’t even buy the stuff from him directly… I got it second hand! I have ordered some additional equipment from Lifereef and everything has always been delivered as promised and the craftsmanship of the product is still fantastic.
Here’s to two years of a successful reef tank, powered by a Lifereef sump, skimmer, and refugium. Everything is still working like a champ, the tank looks great, and I couldn’t be happier with the service. Very nicely done Lifereef.
… Now it’s time to go clean all of the nasty fish poop out of that skimmer. …
I got hit by a car today!
I just wanted to give a shout out to all of the people who don’t look to their right when making a right hand turn! I was out riding my bike this morning and went to cross in front of a car at a stop sign. She had stopped and there was a pack of cars coming. I stopped and stared for a second, she inched up and then stopped again. I assumed she was going to wait for the cars so I went … and then so did she! Mistake : Never assume the other guy is paying attention!
The good news is I walked away clean. I was clipped into my pedals so when her car hit me, I just fell over onto her hood and the bike held me up. I left a righteous “Ed Print” in her hood before I slid down and hit my elbow on the pavement. I got some pretty good road rash from that one. The bike survived with just a minor hit as well, I had to get the wheel trued up and change the tube, but I was able to ride the bike home so not having to walk the mile carrying the bike was a plus!
Funny how you react when this stuff happens. Everything happened in slow motion and I thought to myself “I can’t believe i’m actually getting hit by a car!”
Anyway, the moral of this story, look to your left AND YOUR RIGHT when you’re turning… there could be a biker there. 
Gun Control … this pretty much sums up my feelings on it.
Yeah, this will do nicely.
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