Sourceforge Direct Download is a great little extension for Firefox 1.5. If you download from sourceforge a lot it sets a default mirror and you completely avoid those horrible intermediate pages.

Well, it appears as though Wikipedia has crossed the line for the content filter I am currently testing. Of course, what is most interesting is the reason why: White Supremacy.

Perhaps this helps explain the Kewnstock incident and why Wikipedia can not be trusted.

That’s right, Dataman is moving to yet another format. This time, pure audio to be distributed on the web. Yes, Dataman is jumping on the Podcast bandwagon.

Of course, I need some assistance, primarily in the form of voice actors. Initially I will be writing, directing and editing the show together, although I may decide to have guest directors/writers/editors if people have good ideas.

The show will take place 5 years after Dataman’s death (remember, he was killed by the Voice) and the world is in a pretty horrible state.

In particular I need voice actors who can fill the roles of:

• Dataman
• The Voice
• Him!
• Other real-based characters (Will, Paul, Dave, etc)
• Other miscellaneous voices

The idea will be to produce one roughly 20 minute episode each month. It will be similar in the way it works to traditional radio shows.

If you are good with sound effects or music, that would be great too. (This project will aim to not violate any copyright law).

To audition, send an mp3 file of your vision for the character you wish to play (you can play multiple characters), email me (if you don’t know my email address, submit a comment saying you would like to audition and I’ll email back. That way I can avoid spammers a little).

Currently I am looking to only provide the lines that would be required to be said by the voice actors so that the story is not entirely revealed. There will be sufficient direction to ensure the lines are said in the proper context.

This is not a commercial endeavour (at least, not currently) and there will be no renumeration to anyone who volunteers to help. If you are good in the role, you will earn a special place in my heart, and if the project ever does go commercial, I’ll be sure to involve you.

Product placement will be considered if you have a product that fits in well with the show.

So come on, get involved in this exciting new project.

It seems that Dave isn’t the only one that feels the need to prove he is a man. Over the last couple of weeks I am beginning to feel that I too need to prove my manhood in visible ways. I have begun to grow a beard. Surely the more body hair one has, the more masculine that person is.

And today I went to Ikea (okay, maybe that was girlie) to find something that might store my DVDs. I ended up buying a table (for something else) and a chest of drawers. But, being Ikea I got to build them myself.

Somewhere along the line it looks as though the people at Ikea have discovered tools other than the humble allen key. In assembling the funiture I had to use two screwdrivers and a hammer (there were nails, not to let out my frustration).

The table assembled fairly easily (as you would imagine) and didn’t wobble as is prone to happen with Ikea furniture. I like to think this was a side effect of going beyond the allen key.

Then with manly sweat on my brow I took to the chest of drawers. Well, after unpacking the box it looked like enough stuff to build a small space shuttle. Unfortunately when assembled it wasn’t a space shuttle, but a chest of drawers. Nevertheless I am quite happy.

Now to put all my DVDs inside and document them as I do so. Soon I will have an accurate figure of just how many DVDs I own. No doubt I will need to buy another chest soon.

So what were the likely events leading up to the 15/11 prank? The Mill takes this hypothetical journey through the minds of the pranksters in an effort to unveil further clues to the identity of the prankster.

Stage one: The Preparation It is likely that time was taken to prepare the prank and that other alternatives were considered prior to the final decision to go with the flowers. Possible alternatives might have been Singing Telegrams, Strip-a-Grams or possibly a combination of the two.
Stage two: The message Once the flowers had been decided it must have become obvious to the prankster that a message needed to be written. The prankster would have spent considerable time trying to find the perfect balance between providing sufficient clues and giving themselves away immediately. References to “Java” and “Michael D. Cameron” stood out within the message and were likely the subtle clues left by the prankster. There was also a line referring to “you are my Ace”, which may refer to either some sort of flying expert or perhaps a reference to Will’s liking of poker.
Stage three: The order From the photographic evidence and the comments suggested by Will, the flowers were ordered with a free teddy bear. As I can count 10 stems in the photograph (some others may be hidden from view), I concluded that the prankster purchased the medium flowers (12 stems) for $59.50. As for the Vase, it is likely that $25 would be chosen over $35, bringing the total cost of the prank up to $84.50. The prankster may have even phoned the florist to ensure that their true identity (needed for billing) would not be revealed.
Stage four: The aftermath The prankster was likely to be eagerly awaiting a response from Will. It is likely that a slight jump in traffic could have been seen to Omegadelta.net as the prankster waited impatiently for reports of the prank’s success. Although with the recent addition of RSS to the site (albeit a cut-down version) it is unlikely that anything other than circumstantial evidence can be gleamed from the server logs.
This was a well thought out prank and the pranksters will be revealed. If not today, then surely some other day.