Blogospheric Overpressure

I've moved

2007-05-17T04:20:00.000-04:00

All things Lee can now be kept up on at my Wordpress.com blog. All my old posts have been migrated too.

Ubuntu

2007-02-10T06:04:00.000-05:00

Now that Annalisa's computer has a bridged Internet connection I can play with the live Linux CDs I burned while trying to troubleshoot her wireless problem. (Linux has trouble with wireless and the booting would hang when trying to get an IP address). A "live CD" has everything you need to start the operating system on boot, but makes no changes to the hard drive. I burned Knoppix, one of the first live CD distributions, and Ubuntu "Dapper Drake." I must say I was impressed with Ubuntu. Everything worked off the bat: sound, network card, display (and at the perfect resolution, too!). Even the startup sound is very peaceful ; ) It does take forever to GET started, though. Knoppix blows it out of the water here.

Here's a screenshot:

I didn't like the brown and tan theme Ubuntu used at first, but that's not bad. I was having a blast with Gnometris, which is the best Tetris clone I've played. This distribution has restored my love of Gnome over KDE. Gnome just seems more streamlined than KDE, and I just like the layout and feel better. If I had a PC now this is what I'd be running.

Wow, Bill must be off his medication

2007-02-06T01:25:00.000-05:00

He's starting to sound like a slightly watered down version of Ballmer. He says the following about the Apple iPhone:

So the key trend to look at is the importance of software and then say who really has shown the ability to do strong software? In some ways, just we have. If you define it more broadly, yes, Apple has done a few things well. Google has done a few things well. But the leaps in software and the kind of long-term investments we’re making make it clearer than ever that we picked the right business, and the right place to contribute.

I can't believe he said that with a straight face. I know I'd certainly laugh in anyone's face that was spewing that type of total, confounding bullshit. He's riffing the company most of the features of Vista were designed to emulate, Apple, and Google, probably the biggest innovator of the last 10 years. Bill's uncanny ability to fuck people over is what made Microsoft a giant, but now he's turning into a big philanthropist like most robber barons do when they want to redeem their images. It must be pretty embarrassing to hear yourself deny the truth like this.

TiVo

2007-02-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

Annalisa's parents have been kind enough to get us TiVo. I was heartbroken to see on the TiVo website that they require a phone line for the initial setup. We had been hoping to avoid getting a landline and were worried this would make us give Verizon $20 a month we didn't have to. I saw the other night that the Series 2 box has built-in ethernet and could use this to setup and download program guides in lieu of a regular phone. This better be the case, because the box is on its way. It wouldn't make sense to have an ethernet jack and have to rely on a modem to dial in every week to download schedules. I'm glad more and more devices support home networking. We're also in luck because the router's positioned next to the television so we don't have to buy a TiVo wireless adapter. I think TiVo only supports WEP security, which is ridiculously insecure.

I also noticed that TiVo has a PowerPC processor. I guess IBM's not totally devoid of customers after Apple dumped them, as the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and X-Box 360 all run their CPUs as well.

SA Goonz

2007-02-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

Browsing any thread about American fighter planes in GBS on Something Awful always lets you know how many misguided punk kids think Russian planes were TOTALLY RAD BADASS. Sure, some ugly, inferior, all stainless steel Soviet warbird was the greatest thing with wings. If ever there was an indicator that someone was a maladjusted loser, it's a deep love of Soviet crap. The goons are always showing off some cheap knockoff of a Soviet military watch in "show your stuff" threads like it's something to be proud of. I suppose the knockoffs are better quality than the real deal, because Glorious People's Collective Watch Faktory made movements that would lose up to half a minute a day.

Microsoft IIS, or, Insecure, Inefficient Shit

2007-02-03T02:39:00.000-05:00

(Warning: fanboyism to follow)

I just found these two images via a Digg post about the Dolphin Stadium (where the upcoming superbowl will be held) website being hacked and having a malicious trojan installed. It goes to show what a crappy house of cards Microsoft's webserver is. Of course the stadium's site is running IIS, which is an open invitation to hacking. I can see running Microsoft products at home for ease of use, compatibility with programs, et cetera, but WHY do it on your server? If you're hiring people to make your site and keep it running, at least make them use reliable software. You can save tons of money, too.

And just to prove my point: Myspace runs IIS too. Ick. You've got to give it to these hackers. TONS of Internet Explorer users will be visiting this site now and getting infected. I have a pipe-dream that one day the Internet will finally be rid of IE and the crap it proliferates.

Wordpress, OHHH YEAAHHH

2007-02-03T00:28:00.000-05:00

I just want to say I adore the new login screen for Wordpress 2.1. I don't often describe things as sexy, but:

Quoth Paris Hilton: "That's hot."

Now all we need is for them to overhaul all of the administration interface with the stuff from the Shuttle Project. One of the best changes they made to the admin panel in 2.1 was making all those damned RSS feeds in the dashboard load in the background AFTER the dashboard loads. I can't tell you how silly it was to log in and have your important recent activity panel not load because the umpteen wordpress blogs were getting hammered with feed requests. Now I don't need to whittle away at code in wp-admin.php anymore. Wee!

The other thing I love is the crontab that lets the database backup plugin automatically backup the database and e-mail you the file hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. I have it set up to send the file to my Gmail account every Saturday at 5:30 AM.

DD-WRT and the WRT54GL

2007-02-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

In a vain attempt to eliminate Annalisa's wireless connectivity issues I flashed my Linksys WRT54GL with the DD-WRT firmware. I should say that "flashing" the router simply means loading a different operating system on it than the one provided by Linksys. The "L" in WRT54GL stands for Linux. The original WRT router ran a firmware based on Linux. A law professor pointed out that this required Linksys to release the firmware source code or violate the terms of the GPL. Hackers rejoiced and soon 3rd party firmwares began to pop up. Years later Linksys decides to base its firmware on the proprietary VxWorks and hinders "flashers" by slashing the amount of memory onboard the new version 5 of the WRT.

Enter the lovely little WRT54GL, with 4 megabytes of memory for flashing with whatever you like. There's one feature of DD-WRT that I think will end Annalilsa's wireless woes for good: wireless bridging. With a wireless bridge, there would be another router in her studio getting its connectivity via wireless from the router in the living room. Annalisa's computer would have good ol' ethernet running to it. As a bonus, all of our computers could share her printer as well. Why Linksys doesn't put this in the official firmware, I'll never know. Oh wait, that would deny them the money they make from print servers and shitty "range extenders" that aren't worth a dime.

There's so much more one can do with DD-WRT. You can crank the radio's transmit power, use channels that aren't intended for use in America (if you want the FCC to kick down the door ; o), and even set up your own wi-fi hotspot and charge people to browse. You can also choose which antennas transmit and receive and make the easy setup button on the front turn off the wireless radio.

PS Extra nerd points to DD-WRT for showing the router's uptime and load averages.

Signs of things to come?

2007-01-30T16:39:00.000-05:00

ITV-F1 posted the testing times from Valencia:

Testing times from Valencia (30 January)

1. ALONSO McLaren 1m12.563s

2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m13.529s

3. PIQUET Renault 1m13.550s

4. MONTAGNY Toyota 1m13.672s

5. VETTEL BMW 1m13.678s

6. TRULLI Toyota 1m13.735s

7. HEIDFELD BMW 1m13.858s

8. FISICHELLA Renault 1m13.871s

9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m14.025s

10. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m14.519s

11. ROSSITER Honda 1m14.643s

12. SATO Super Aguri 1m15.674s

13. WEBBER Red Bull 1m15.726s
14. BADOER Ferrari 1m16.388s

Fernando really blew the doors off of Kimi (not to mention everyone else), not a good sign for Ferrari. I'm going to miss Michael. I admit Alonso's got talent, but he's such a big girl's blouse I can't respect him. Who can you root for this year? Overrated punks like Kimi, sons of big names from the past (Piquet, Rosberg), and talentless morons that are either paying for their seats or pandering to home-country sponsors (hello, every Japanese driver that Super Aguri puts in a car).

I usually never let testing times influence my predictions for the upcoming seasons, but that's a big gap. I guess this year we might see McLaren FINALLY return to their 1998-1999 form. Ferrari's going to miss Ross Brawn and Michael, that's for sure. I don't think Ross will take kindly to Kimi when (or if) he returns from his sabbatical. Kimi describes himself as "lazy" and doesn't like to test too much. I doubt he can give the invaluable technical feedback that Michael did as well.

Now this is a couch

2007-01-30T13:27:00.000-05:00

If I had money to burn, I'd definitely buy this thing.

What an honor it would be to watch TV whilst sitting on one of the most dominant race cars of all time, the magnificent Porsche 917. You could pretend to be Steve McQueen's hit-and-run victim!

Tempting Nokia toy

2007-01-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

I hadn't really paid attention to the considerable buzz about Nokia's new N800. It seems like a pretty good deal at $399 (TigerDirect has it for 10 bucks off). For a desktop fanatic like me, though, this seems to make more sense for mobile Internet. About the only thing I do online these days are check Gmail and my numerous RSS feeds with Google Reader and I imagine this would suit those uses quite nicely. I don't like typing at length on laptop keyboards and one can't even find a decent laptop for less than $1,500.

And something that earns the N800 major points with me: it runs Debian Linux. Apparently battery life is a disappointing 3 hours, and away from wi-fi it's only good for jotting notes and watching movies and viewing pictures. Still, it's a neat little product.

Google Reader continues to amaze me

2007-01-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

A while back I wrote a post praising Google Reader, the new RSS reader from Google Labs. Tonight I delved a bit deeper and found a neat feature I hadn't noticed before: sharing items. If you find an interesting item in your feeds you can mark it to be shared for others to see. You can give your friends the URL for your shared items and they can read the stories that interest you at their leisure. Google even makes a feed for your shared feeds. This is an awesome application, folks.

In case anyone might be interested, my shared items can be found here. I love stuff like this. Aside from all the "Web 2.0" hype, the great thing about it is the idea of sharing information with your friends. RSS is a great technology and I can't wait to see more neat things done with it. I use it to keep track of when Annalisa's Dad updates Pater Familias, to automatically download my favorite podcasts, and to keep track of news and blog updates. And, of course, the aforementioned sharing of stories found on Digg and Google Reader.

WHO SAID SIT DOWWWN?

2007-01-19T21:06:00.003-05:00

After motivating the troops, Steve plans to "bury" Eric Schmidt and make Red Hat's CEO eat out of a dumpster. I hate to use Internet vernacular, but LOLLOL!

DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS, OR, BALLMER THE DOUCHE

2007-01-19T21:06:00.001-05:00

This is how you get hyped about working at Microsoft. A sweat-stained, steely-eyed Steve Ballmer rants and raves onstage until you get the message that you're supposed to love having your ideas stifled by idiotic managers.

ZFS

2007-01-17T05:51:00.000-05:00

This blog post I found via Digg details all the fantastic things about Sun's ZFS filesystem. The idea of plugging in another drive and just having it pool in with the space available on the original drive makes me weak in the knees. Sun's an awesome company. One bad thing about the emerging trend of using tons of consumer-grade PCs linked together and running Linux is the hit Sun's taken in the server market.

My dream PC

Little Things Make Me Happy

2007-01-17T05:37:00.000-05:00

I just got a Blue Card from American Express. When Blue was first rolled out they put a smart chip on it so that you plugged the card into a reader hooked up to your PC and it generated a unique, one-time-only card number for you to use for online purchases. I wonder just how many people went to the trouble of ordering the reader, hooking it up, and taking the time to use it.

Maybe not many, because now Blue comes outfitted with an RFID chip inside. You wave your card in front of Express Pay readers and you've paid for your purchase. I've used this twice at 7-11 and love it. I realize it's only a gimmick to get you to put purchases on your card rather than use debit or cash, but I love junk like this. So far the only places that utilize Express Pay that I would frequent look to be 7-11, McDonald's, and Regal Cinemas.

I've already read a blog post about some guy making a "tinfoil hat" for his Amex Blue so people can't read his card and make fraudulent charges. There are tons of people who think RFID will be the downfall of mankind. Your card info's MUCH more likely to be gotten via a fake swiper placed over a normal card slot. I would hope American Express uses some type of challenge/answer routine in order to avoid such incidents. People balked when it was announced that new U.S. passports would include RFID. I see their concern, as terrorists hunting American citizens to kidnap is a bit more of a high-stakes matter than a few charges for gas and beer.

Ms. Dewey

2007-01-15T19:10:00.000-05:00

Ending my last post with a bit of praise for Google, I suppose I should provide a look at what the "competition" is doing. Microsoft is testing out a superfluous interface for Windows Live Search (gee, that page sure looks familiar) called Ms. Dewey. You type in your search terms and the sassy actress spits out "cool" little quips. What an idiotic idea. This is 2007, (most) people just want to get the info they want, and FAST. Why wait for some cutesy crap to finish? It's just a hindrance.

This is like something that would've been considered cool back in 1998. Maybe they should just make Live Search better instead of tarting it up like this. I prefer to just type vulgarities in and see what she says.

Apple's iPhone

2007-01-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

The long-rumored Apple iPhone was unveiled at Macworld recently. The features that interested me the most are the "pinch" gestures for zooming and shrinking text and images and the sensor that rotates web pages to landscape orientation automatically when you turn the phone on its side. It's also an updated iPod of sorts, with different menu layout and Coverflow, which is a snazzy if not totally necessary feature. I suppose there are folks who pick songs by flipping through their album art. I just browse it to admire the pretty stuff.

Sure, it's not a 3G phone, but most networks aren't 3G capable just yet. They'll come in 4 and 8 gigabyte models pending FCC approval. The best thing about this is that the worthless Motorola RAZR (what a stupid naming model they have) will be old hat. You can put all the aluminum in the world around it, and still Motorola's poorly written, crash-prone, ugly OS resides within. The thing that excites me most about more sophisticated phones? More Google app goodness on the go. I would be in heaven to have quick, easy access to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Reader from my phone. I can't heap enough praise on Google, they just get it.

Woodford Reserve Distillery Tour Pictures

2006-12-20T03:16:00.000-05:00

I came across these pictures a while back somewhere on the Net. They're from a tour of the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Kentucky. I figured I'd post them here on my blog. Sure beats producing actual content myself!

Rolling hills make me happy

Cool limestone abounds

Scottish copper pot stills

Coming of age

I love the small farm-type settings of the Woodford and Maker's Mark distilleries. Compare these with places like the Jim Beam distillery, which looks more like a power plant.

Blogs, blogs, blogs

2006-12-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to make a post about Annalisa's dad's new blog Pater Familias. Unlike me, he updates daily about stuff that might be interesting to people other than nerds. I thought any links to his site could help increase his visibility in Google (I know my inactive Xanga account is indexed, so I posted about it there, too). I made a sitemap for his blog to help stuff in the archives get found by searchers. Looking at what keywords Google currently has for him just from submitting the URL is pretty slim compared to all the stuff he's written about so far.

It's my first experience with getting a domain name and web server/HTML and PHP stuff (before it was all crappy ISP hosting). As you might be able to see I've made some minor tweaks, which while pretty meager, I'm very proud of. I'm not even going to BEGIN to think about learning CSS just yet. All in all a fun learning experience.

Digg: The most Web 2.0 site on the Internet

2006-12-13T17:58:00.000-05:00

I include a link to Digg in my sidebar and even a snippet of an RSS feed on the sidebar as well. I decided I should make an entry promoting this site because I love it so much and spend so much time on it. Digg enables users to exercise editorial control over what stories are featured on the site. A user can "digg" a story to make it appear higher in the rankings and even hit the main page. Alternatively, one can also "bury" a story as spam, duplicate, or inaccurate. The same holds true for comments on stories. I can't tell you the feeling of satisfaction I get when I bury a comment I disagree with!

Sure, the comments section is beset with stupidity, but it's better than on most sites out there. Digg has numerous categories catering to many different interests, but I'm mostly found visiting the technology and video section. Digg does all this with typical Web 2.0 AJAX flash. It's probably the snazziest site I've seen in a while. Thank goodness "flashy" no longer means Macromedia (or should I say Adobe now?) Flash and annoying techno sound files in web design terms.

You can also keep track of what your friends digg and even subscribe to RSS feeds of the articles they have dugg. Here's mine.

On nefarious business practices

2006-12-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

Recently Novell made a deal with Microsoft whereby Novell would pay Microsoft in order to prevent litigation because of "infringing code" in Novell's Suse Linux product. Novell's payment was something in the ballpark of 40+ million dollars. Microsoft paid Novell $348 million. Somehow, I don't think Novell will be missing that 40 million.

If Suse Linux (and Linux distributions made by other companies) contains code patented by Microsoft, why not prove it before threatening various Linux vendors with lawsuits? Before Novell, Microsoft allegedly approached Red Hat, which rightly told them to sod off. My guess is that Microsoft wants to finally deal a blow to Linux by getting its tendrils in the market via Novell. Poor, greedy Novell thinks it's going to become the premier Linux provider, when in reality they'll be screwed over once this four year deal is over with. Microsoft can extort as much as they want from them when it's time to renegotiate over the non-existent infringing code. Novell can't pay up, so MS can swallow them to become Microsoft Linux.

What Microsoft wants to do is plant the seeds of doubt in the business IT world: "If we use (insert name of non-Suse Linux distro here) on our network, we can be sued by Microsoft!" If companies should have learned one thing during the 90s, it's beware of Microsoft bearing gifts. Ask IBM, who got burned very badly by MS with OS/2. Ask Apple, who had their GUI copied by a supposedly trusted software developer. More recently, ask the various PlaysForSure media player partners Microsoft had. They worked with MS to create an inter operable digital rights management "ecosystem" where everyone could co-exist and profit. WRONG: Microsoft decides it wants to enter the media player market with the Zune. Guess which format the Zune doesn't support? PlaysForSure. It only plays Microsoft's own, new DRM system.

Microsoft doesn't care about compatibility between Windows and Linux. It views Linux as a threat in the business and web servers arenas. Something like 70% of the web runs on Linux and Apache. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's boneheaded, sweat-stained CEO, has stated on numerous occasions that Linux is a problem. Even going so far as to label it communist.

Novell should prepare for customers abandoning them in droves. People who care about open source software and what it means will smell this sour deal from a mile away. This move will have the exact opposite effect they wanted. I'm sure Red Hat will appreciate the business.

Update: I just saw this article on CNET. 80% of IT professionals say they'd adopt a Linux that was "safe" in terms of intellectual property? Come on. I'm 100% certain Microsoft paid that research company to say that. They've paid for anti-Linux FUD from supposedly impartial studies before. By adopting this stuff your business is at Microsoft's mercy and your licensing costs will go through the roof.

Sony and Proprietary Formats

2006-12-11T23:58:00.000-05:00

Sony's at it again with regard to proprietary formats. This time their forced "standard" is Blu-Ray. You'd think they would have learned something from the humiliating defeat VHS dealt Betamax. Sony's big attempt to penetrate the market for high definition players is its Playstation 3 gaming console, but even that can't save this moribund format. Adding Blu-Ray drives to the PS3 has held up production and inflated the already high price by a few hundred dollars. Meanwhile HD-DVD is supported by the X-Box 360 (which is already firmly entrenched in homes) via an add-on drive, and the Nintendo Wii generates buzz with innovative gameplay and networking.

Sony also includes exclusionary provisos in its licensing agreements, stating that players that wish to support Blu-Ray cannot play back HD-DVDs. It's this type of pettiness that only hurts consumers who want dual-format players. Some have said both technologies are doomed to failure, but I don't think that's so. Even with the increase in digital downloads, no one really has space to save a bunch of high definition movies. People are collectors, so I think good ol' optical media still has a lot of years left. From what I hear the Blu-Ray transfers are half-assed, and there are tons more titles available on HD-DVD (HD-DVD certainly has more presence on retail shelves).

I don't think we'll be seeing Blu-Ray much longer. At least I hope not.

More goodness from Google Labs

2006-12-09T21:41:00.000-05:00

After setting up a Wordpress blog recently I've become more acquainted with RSS feeds. Before I rarely bothered checking or subscribing to my favorite sites' feeds. Now I'm afraid I'm on the road to becoming a full-fledged RSS addict.

I was in Barnes & Noble today checking out nerdy computer books and came across a giant Google guide. In it they showcased the Google Reader, a web-based RSS aggregator. I just checked it out and it is AWESOME. I never thought web-based applications would be any good, but Google has won me over. First with Gmail and now with this fantastic reader.

It's fantastic to have all my favorite sites' RSS feeds available to me at any computer. And for extra Google flash: whenever a new item gets added to a feed Google Reader flashes the name of the feed in the list. Pure class!

Leave it to me to end my 8-month or so posting drought with something tech-related.

Net Neutrality

2006-04-07T13:33:00.000-04:00

Republicans defeated the "Net Neutrality" bill the other day. Great news, as now telcos can be even more greedy! They can slow IP traffic they want to discourage, charge twice for bandwidth, and make Google, Yahoo, etc. pay more because they use a lot of bandwidth. I know Republicans are supposed to be business friendly, but this is ridiculous. Chalk one up to ignorance and lobbyists.

In my fantasy world Google would start providing its own access and Comcast dies a lonely death.

Ultimate Geek Watches

2006-03-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

This article showcases the must-have tech watches for geeks. I was very proud to see the Tag-Heuer Monaco 69 featured, of course. Now if only they'll actually produce this little wonder.

Steve Wozniak wears the Nixie Tube watch at the bottom of the page. Now there's a true geek endorsement if there ever was one.

Current Reading

2006-02-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

I just finished the wonderful book The Chariot Makers: Assembling the Perfect Formula 1 Car by the great Steve Matchett. I must admit that even with Steve's skill at making the most esoteric of F1 tech details understandable I was left baffled by some of his descriptions. Nevertheless, I would gladly read volumes on Formula 1, no matter how complex. Next on my list is his book The Mechanic's Tale, where he recounts his entire 10-year stint working at Benetton. My favorite parts of his first book were the recollections of working with Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 95.

13 days until the start of the 2006 season, by the way. I can only hope that Ferrari can manage to dominate things a little more this year. I must confess I didn't watch enough last year to even know what exactly was at fault for the '05 performance. I'm hoping Bridgestone are to blame and not the car. Renault fared pretty well to win a championship so soon after getting back into things. They managed to end the Williams/Mclaren (and lately, Ferrari) domination of the past 25 years. If Michael can't win, I'm glad it was someone with talent like Alonso.

End rambling.

Best Buy's X-Box Aftermath

2006-02-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

This article says Best Buy made a few heads roll re: the X-Box "bundling" fiasco. People lined up to get their 360s at the midnight releases and found they had to spend bucks aplenty on crap accessories. "Oh, you want our ad price? You have to buy these low impedence, de-oxygenated, rare earth Monster Cables for $89.99 as well to get that!" Well you wouldn't let your customers have their gaming experience be ruined by not getting the complete solution, would you?

If this hadn't made it to the media these guys would've gotten promoted. If Best Buy really cared about not having unwanted junk forced on its customers the home office back in Podunk, Minnesota wouldn't rank stores (and assign budgets and inventory) by accessories bundled or magazine subscriptions tacked on to checkouts. Ohio's attorney general is already bringing a class action suit against BBY for other chicanery. I only hope customers wise up and start making noise about their magazine racket.

I know retailers are in the business to make money, but I wish those predictions of e-commerce burying brick-and-mortars from the pre dot-com burst would come true. There's nothing at Best Buy you can't get cheaper on Amazon, New Egg, or Dell, Sony, or Apple's websites. Hey, you can even get Entertainment Weekly or Sports Illustrated subscriptions on Amazon now!

The Fabulous Paul Lynde

2006-02-13T01:33:00.000-05:00

While watching Charlotte's Web with Annalisa the other night I was reminded of the late, great Paul Lynde, who voiced the gluttonous rat Templeton. I came across that page which has tons of quotes from his long run on Hollywood Squares. My favorites are:

Peter Marshall: When Richard Nixon was Vice-President, he went someplace on a "good will mission," but instead wound up being stoned and shouted at. Where did this take place?

Paul Lynde: Pat's room.

Peter Marshall: Where does most of the olive oil in the world come from?

Paul Lynde: Caesar Romero’s comb.

Zing! If only the character Roger from American Dad (whose voice is an impression of Lynde's) could be half as funny. I think Seth MacFarlane gets a lot of mileage out of today's college kids not knowing where a lot of material and voices are taken from. Seeing people on the Internet making up explanations for references they don't know the first thing about irks me. I once saw a forum member magisterially claim that Benjamin Disraeli was a U.S. Senator. Well, at least they properly placed him in the political sphere.

And don't even get me started on how derivative American Dad is.