BASIKX

Honest Discussions Make Better Policies

2013-11-13T13:37:00.002-05:00

NSA PRISM for Dummies: Email

2013-06-21T10:08:00.001-04:00

Equivalencies:

Postcard = Normal (Unencrypted) email
Letter in a sealed envelope = Secure (Encrypted) email
Postal service = internet backbone and the SMTP email delivery protocol
Mail box at your house = Gmail/Hotmail/Inbox
Public road next to your mailbox = Internet Service Provider (AT&T, etc)
Camera on the public road pointed at your mailbox = PRISM

Basically the NSA PRISM program is making a copy of every piece of mail you send as the postal service moves it from your mailbox into the postal system.

If you are not encrypting the email (like sealing a written letter in an envelope) before you put it in your mail box, anyone with access to the backbone (where SMTP protocol handles delivery between mail servers in plain text) can read it.

Anything you attach to that unsealed email (documents, pictures, etc) can also be read.

basikx.net going up for auction!

2010-03-12T08:07:00.000-05:00

Looks like some schmuck wasted their money. AGAIN!

Hello Markus,

You were previously in contact with Acquire This Name about purchasing the domain name basikx.net. While we were not able to reach a sale agreement for the domain at that time, we want to let you know that the domain will soon be available in auction thru NameJet.com. If you are interested in bidding on the name in auction, please visit the domain basikx.net for more information. In general, the bid minimum bid price for the domains at NameJet start between $69-69 USD.

Feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Regards,
Your AcquireThisName Team

As for the "previous contact", here's what they offered to sell me my old domain name for...

Hello Markus,

We have received your email regarding the domain basikx.net.

The owner of the domain has listed the sales price at $ 2,600 for this domain.

If your next offer is reasonable for this domain, an AcquireThisName.com (ATN) representative will contact the owner on your behalf. Upon hearing from the domain owner, we will notify you.

Please note: Owners of valuable domains will often receive several offers per week. Your offer should be great enough to motivate the domain owner to reply.

Best regards,

Trevor
AcquireThisName.com
Trevor@AcquireThisName.com

Meh. Not worth it.

Bye Bye

2009-12-21T09:36:00.002-05:00

It's obvious this blog is going nowhere right now.

I don't have the time or the motivation to write anything for it. I've shifted over to using Facebook and Friendfeed for my daily updates.

www.basikx.net will cease to work, but basikx.blogspot.com will continue to be here.

Have at it, squatters. Waste your money on basikx.net again. I dare you!

Markus, OUT!

I'm testing Posterous.

2009-07-02T10:38:00.001-04:00

Please ignore the Posterous randomness that will likely ensue.

Posted via email from Markus's posterous

Hello 2009

2009-01-07T10:07:00.001-05:00

No new resolutions this year. Last year's resolutions are still in effect.

Basikx.net LIVES!

2008-12-27T20:44:00.002-05:00

After a year of some squatters sitting on my site name, basikx.net is finally mine again. I guess they finally realized that the traffic for my personal blog wasn't worth $20K. Surprise surprise.

Right on. Now I can continue my plans of world domination... as soon as I hit the level cap with my Undead Rogue.

Mobile Friendly

2008-12-25T14:15:00.001-05:00

Look at my blog! Holy cow it's been stripped bare!

Why would I do such a thing? Because I've got to do something here. I'm certainly not posting anything and I'm pretty sure that most people quit checking this site for updates several months ago.

Well I'm here to say that I have plans for this site. Crappy plans, but plans all the same. Stay tuned, both of you!

Lawnbott Chronicles: The warranty ROCKS, thankfully.

2008-10-22T22:29:00.001-04:00

Herman's Warranty:
Overall 2 year warranty and any parts replaced under warranty get a 1 year extended warranty.

This is a great warranty and I will tell you why. Herman is wearing out a wheel motor every three to six months and I was worried that sooner or later I would have to purchase these motors myself (around $150 each).

It's a downer that the parts wear out that quickly, but I am pushing this model to its limit. One square acre is a large yard even with an extra battery. Add in frequent weekends out of town and it can take Herman a while to catch up, if he does. During summer weeds grow fast in the low country and the fat septic system grass gets too thick even for my riding mower, but Herman tries. It only gets worse when he starts to limp and beep because his motor doesn't work. Every other time of the year Herman keeps the yard looking great without water or fertilizer.

Just so I don't spend the post putting KA Robotics down, I want to give Vishal credit for always being friendly and helpful when I call for support. The only time I ever paid for any parts is when I thought the motor failure was my fault. An autopsy later on proved otherwise and Vishal sent me a replacement right away. I kept the spare motor so Herman can attack nature with less down time. I imagine these motors would last for years on a quarter acre lot.

Just to re-cap:
1. I still recommend Lawnbott to anyone who asks, but I know my mileage varies.
2. Pushing any machine to the limit reduces life expectancy.
3. The Lawnbott is very easy to work on and replacing parts is easy.
4. KA Robotics stands behind their products, even if their product is owned by an abusive slave driver like me...

Flock 2.0 Beta

2008-08-05T23:21:00.001-04:00

All the goodness of Firefox 3, but with the great social and blogging features of Flock.

I really liked Flock 1, but it ate up memory something fierce (I had to restart it once an hour or it would eat all the available ram and crash). I'm hoping that the move to Firefox 3 as their base will fix that problem.

Overall, I like looking at the My World page and seeing what's going on in Flickr, Facebook, Myspace, Gmail, del.icio.us, etc without having to visit each site. Itsa nice...

I recommend giving it a spin. Click here to try the beta.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

James Hansen on Climate Change

2008-07-04T10:54:00.001-04:00

Archive: basikx.net

2008-05-27T15:33:00.000-04:00

My counter jumped into the triple digits today! This site's in the big leagues now. Pretty soon I'll have corporations beating down my door, begging to put a banner here. Well I say NO! That's why I paid for this site instead of using one of those free servers. I don't want consumer culture promoting its "buy me and you'll feel better" crap next to my creative productions. People might start thinking I endorse that crap.

On a less critical note, I'm getting to the point in GT3 where all I have left is the Endurance races. I don't know if I want to finish it or wipe my card and start from scratch. I'm curious to see how far I can get in the game without losing a race... I think I have what it takes to at least get 25%.

Basikx.net circa 2002!

2008-05-15T11:29:00.003-04:00

MakeUseOf.com just did a post about the Way Back Machine that shows you pages from the internet at certain points in the past. Just for kicks I put basikx.net in and, lo and behold, it was in there!

It truly was a blast from the past...

VBS.tv Sails Out to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

2008-04-15T13:28:00.003-04:00

Awesome post on Treehugger on the North Pacific Gyre. Lots of video...

2 Minutes: Another Inconvenient Truth

2008-04-14T15:15:00.002-04:00

Another Inconvenient Truth Slideshow in 2 Minutes from George Spyros on Vimeo.

It may make more sense to me because I watched the original, but it is basically an update to the movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

Warhammer Video

2008-04-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

Lawnbott Chronicles: Herman, Slayer of Trees

2008-03-20T08:41:00.004-04:00

A couple months ago, my wife and her father planted a willow tree in the front yard. They bought a sapling about six feet tall and lovingly placed him in a low spot where he would be able to soak up the sogginess that is our front yard.

A couple weeks ago, the tree was looking pretty sad. The wind had bent the trunk so the upper part was parallel to the ground and we thought we would have to stake the trunk to keep it from falling over.

Last week, the willow tree righted itself and finally started looking healthy. The trunk was straight(er) and we praised the tree for standing it's ground.

Also last week, I put Herman back out in the yard after his winter break. All was well until...

Apparently, Herman strolled up to the tree, popped his front wheels off the ground, and eviscerated the trunk with 3200 rpm of "I just came out of hibernation and I'm hungry" FURY! While I find the idea of owning a robot that topples trees exciting, my wife was very upset. We got a new sapling that same day, but this time we barricaded the area for protection...

My wife now takes great joy in laughing at Herman when he fails to eat her tree.

We're going to take the old stump and plant it in the back yard (another soggy spot) and give him a chance to show off that fighting spirit yet again.

What D&D Character Am I?

2008-03-10T18:59:00.000-04:00

I Am A: True Neutral Human Druid (5th Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-12

Dexterity-15

Constitution-13

Intelligence-15

Wisdom-15

Charisma-12

Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

The Story of Stuff

2008-03-08T19:04:00.004-05:00

Yet another reason I try to pay a little extra to buy quality items that will last. Though in the future I'm going to try and buy second-hand more often.

Don't forget to check out the "Another Way" section of her site.

RSS feed is under control

2008-02-29T13:39:00.005-05:00

I successfully trimmed my RSS subscriptions to a point where I get through all the new posts at least once a day. It takes me most of the day to do so, which I want to reduce more before I consider the goal met.

Also, I started using the "share" feature in Google Reader that creates an RSS feed out of articles I enjoy. I placed it in the left column under my "Comics" Blogroll.

Enlightenment 2.0

2008-01-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I found another convention that put it's video up for the world to enjoy:

Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0

On this page they also reference The Science Network which has more media available. Good stuff...

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:23:00.000-05:00

For my first post of the year, I will lay out my Resolutions for 2008:

Blog with a purpose!

Update this blog when I make progress on my resolutions (look for the "Goals" tag).

Be more organized and reduce the amount of crap I own.

Read and implement Zen To Done habits.
Get rid of anything I didn't use last year.
Unclutter up my desk and keep it clean.
Use the time saved to further my other resolutions.

Increase exercise and personal fitness.

Do 30 minutes 3 times a week (minimum) of aerobic or weight training exercise.
Do 5-15 minutes of yoga every day.

Follow a healthier diet (less junk/fast food and caffeine).

Reduce caffeine and carbonation consumption to "weekends only".
Only eat out at lunch once a week.

"Live Intelligently"

Research environmental impact and energy use of major purchases.
Increase the energy efficiency of my house.

Reduce energy consumption at the data center where I work.

Bring virtualization to the production environment.
Server consolidation to reduce electricity and heating costs.
Increase efficiency by utilizing higher voltage power configurations (400/230V AC).

Reduce the amount of information that I try (and fail) to consume everyday.

Prune my RSS feed reader by 50% in January, then set a maximum amount of time a day to read. Adjust feeds weekly based on interests and time allotted.
Reduce my personal email accounts to one.
Reduce the number of podcast subscriptions in iTunes.

Did I miss anything?

Basikx.net - The lost RSS feed...

2007-12-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that even though basikx.net is no longer my site, I can still subscribe to the basikx.net RSS feed.

So, I'll be back-posting entries from the old site in order to create the illusion of longevity for basikx.blogspot.com...

Six Steps to NOT Learn a Foreign Language

2007-12-21T14:07:00.000-05:00

My Esperanto escapades have come to a close. I never made time for it, so the week I spent actually studying never stuck. Now it is lost to me.

This is a habit of mine. Not necessarily the quitting, but the act of starting a language that I want to learn, then losing momentum in the long term. At least once a year I start thinking about how wonderful it would be to learn a second language and the rest of the pattern goes something like this:

1. Gather Resources

This is the easy part with Google. Thanks to the Intertubes, I can be neck-deep in "Introduction to " and native foreign websites as fast as I can download it.

2. Understand the Structure

This is the part that I think I enjoy most. If I can't understand "How" the sentences work, it consumes me. I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t care about this if I don’t know what the words mean, but figuring out the pattern holds a special kind of reward.

3. Build Vocabulary

I fail miserably here. Usually after I memorize my first list of words, I’m burned out. Rote memorization is hell for me.

4. "Lack of Necessity" Epiphany

Now that I have enough of an understanding to decipher sentences with the help of a dictionary, I ask where can I apply it in my life? More often than not, anything I want to talk about or learn is available in English, so my incentive to master the language for speaking is small. Then I start looking at all the other cool stuff I could be learning instead and…

5. Lose Interest

Yeah, it would be neat to communicate in a foreign language, but going out of my way to find someone to talk with doesn’t interest me. Remember, I am an introvert.

6. Wait x Months and Start Again...

For some reason, I can’t stop trying though… And I don’t mind. I enjoy being exposed to different cultures that surround the language under scrutiny, so I consider this time well spent, even if I never become fluent. At the best, I can inspire someone else to be curious (probably my kids) and help someone who wants to learn by pointing them to good resources. At the worst, I’ll always have a couple phrases that stick with me forever…

Mi kredi mia pancreas estas Elvis!

TED speech by Philippe Starck

2007-12-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

In a nutshell: Increase your awareness of the human situation, contribute useful things to the world, and live intelligently. This is part of our responsibility as super monkeys...