The *Nixed Report

It isn’t too far into 2014, and we’re already experiencing some interesting turn of events.  Thomas Holbrook II is now writing for Muktware once again.  His focus will be on Chromebooks, Chrome OS, and other topics, such as civil liberties online.

Speaking of civil liberties, that is one topic that will see coverage in this week’s links.  We have the usual developments in free and open source software, but also from a few other fronts as well.

Unix

• Don’t Blindly Trust Open Source, verify it: Mozilla Calls for Protection from NSA Spying (Muktware.com): Swapnil Bhartiya, founder and editor of Muktware, writes about the NSA and how the availability of a project’s source code isn’t immune from tampering, especially if developers don’t pay enough attention.
• ZaReason’s Zeto a Part of their Latest Offerings (ZaReason): Though the company has been criticized for their tablet, the California-based company keeps quietly releasing new products, such as the Zeto.  It’s powered by the newest generation of Intel processors as well as powerful NVIDIA graphics.
• Ars Technica on Verizon vs FCC (Ars Technica): The courts have invalidated most of the Net Neutrality rules put out by the FCC.  ISP’s can’t be treated like phone companies.  Only time will tell whether ISP’s will start to throttle traffic in order to prevent competition throughout various Internet-based industries.

Overlooked Pop Culture

• Fukushima Radiation Hits San Francisco? (Kill Your TV YouTube Channel):  According to a test with a Geiger counter, radiation levels at a San Francisco beach were discovered to be at abnormally high levels.  Is this from Fukushima?
• Superbabies? (Mail Online): A Chinese firm is apparently trying to see if one can map the genes of those who are especially skilled in Math.  Imagine picking out the smartest embryos and combining other good genes with them.  Interesting indeed.
• Daniel Bryan Has a Concussion? (24Wrestling.com): Though not seen on WWE’s website, it seems that Daniel Bryan suffered a concussion during the cage match from the last Monday Night Raw.  Again, no official statement has been made on WWE.com.

The magazine industry is still going fairly strong today.  Going to any major general retailer, book store, or grocery store, one will always notice the magazine and/or book sections.  The captions of the covers can grab the attention of everyone, as the whole publication screams, “Please buy me!”

Unfortunately, some disasters can occur.

Without commas, one might assume that the cops would pursue Rachael Ray for killing her own family with PETA not far behind.

In short, commas save lives.

Magazines aren’t the only victims of such simple oversights.  Movies can also be the unwitting victims, especially in retail outlets as pictured on the right.

Ok, so are we hunting for whales or are we afraid a certain sexual organ is shrinking?  Are we talking harpoons or sperm count?

Remember kids, sticker placement is important.  Very important!

Speaking of which, it’s come to our attention that there are times in which ejaculating will help put out fires, according to the closed caption on the left.  Granted, this was shamelessly swiped from Buzzfeed, but that’s ok.

They have a history of shamelessly swiping content from everyone else.

So remember kids, pay attention when doing any type of captions, no matter the medium.  By the way, if anybody knows where the first two images came from, we’ll gladly link to the original source.  Just let us know in the comments section.

By Thomas Holbrook II

On Old School Raw, several legends made guest appearances.  “Double A” Arn Anderson, Sgt Slaughter, DDP, Booker T, and others would help bring back some wonderful memories of WWE.  The one pleasant surprise that ended the show was none other than Jake the Snake Roberts coming out with his customary bag to the dismay of The Shield, a faction that imposes it’s own “brand of justice.”

There was more to him than the giant snake.  His ring psychology was so effective, his mic work so extraordinary, that physique didn’t matter.  Here’s a rare piece of footage of him in WCW.

There was more to him than the giant snake.  His ring psychology was so effective, his mic work so extraordinary, that physique didn’t matter.  Here’s a rare piece of footage of him in WCW.

The intellectual villain has been a rarity in professional wrestling, and nobody has matched him to date in my humble opinion.  I remember his brief feud with Sting and to this day, it’s a shame that it wasn’t lengthy.

So who is your favorite wrestling legend?  Feel free to sound off in the comments section below.

The new year has started off right with more dedication to this site, including having some links ready for everybody to check out each week.

Have a link you want to see here?  Feel free to drop us a line in the comments, on any of our social networking places (linked to the left), via phone (660-474-0345), or by e-mail (thomash2@thenixedreport.com).

Unix

• Fedora Project: Sponsored by Red Hat, version 20 of this Operating System is the first stop on this year’s Distro Journey.
• Is Microsoft Grasping at Straws? (FOSS Force): Ken “helios” Starks asks the question of whether Microsoft is on their last legs regarding competition against Free and Open Source Software.  From mentioning the aQuantive buyout to Rockstar, Starks paints a picture of a company that has grown desperate.
• Razer’s Project Christine (MaximumPC): Those who are seasoned veterans when it comes to upgrading PC’s may have had their fair share of nicks and cuts on their hands and fingers.  Razer is apparently wanting to change all of that by creating a modular gaming system that lends itself to easier upgrades.

Overlooked Pop Culture

• The British Punk Band that Fooled Reagan, Thatcher, and the CIA (The Daily Beast): Crass, a British Punk Band conducted a prank in which a fake phone call between then President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher caused quite a stir.  American intelligence blamed the soviets, while the British blamed Argentine spies.  The lead singer is disturbed to this day that governments were so easily fooled.
• On News Sources and Bias (Bonnie Kristian):  The argument is made that there is no way to get rid of bias in news or the media in general.  The blog post links to sources that they pursue on a regular basis.
• Decapitated Sex Toys Prompted Police Probe (The Smoking Gun): A Florida woman’s ex-girlfriend had apparently cut off the heads of a few dildos, prompting her to contact the police.  Due to lack of evidence, the case was eventually closed.  Of course it wouldn’t be Wednesday Weekly Links without something really weird like this.

First off, for those who missed it, here’s the latest episode of our podcast.

I’ve set up Fedora 20 on the HP Elite 410y Desktop, and it works so far.  Seeing as how it contains LibreOffice, I should be able to work with some documents while running this OS for about a month.

One of the things I’ve been wanting to do for some time is get down to the nitty gritty in terms of installation and how well the system works.  I don’t have a system that’s portable with NVIDIA graphics, because the Toshiba Tecra M9’s GPU is problematic (it hangs on the latest binary drivers).

Due in part to Bruce Byfield’s observations about distro reviews not quite having enough details (i.e. how smooth the installation is, etc… etc…), I figured I’d take a bit more time in terms of installation.  I’ve taken a few notes and made a few observations about some of the quirks of installing Fedora 20 from a Live DVD.

Some people donate to the Red Cross or volunteer at soup kitchens around the holidays.  During the 2013 season, Ken “helios” Starks conducted an outreach called the “12 Geeks of Christmas.”

Twelve geeks were sent reconditioned notebook computers to give to a child whose family couldn’t afford one otherwise.  On his blog, he wrote:

We send said Geek a reconditioned laptop with Linux on it and they locate a school-aged child in their community that wouldn’t normally be able to afford a computer in the household.  Deliver the computer and spend some time showing the parents and the child how to use it, and support them when they need help.

Yeah, I know…that’s asking a lot.  But 12 of you did it.

Richard Kapler is credited as one of those geeks who gave a computer to a child who is doing everything they can to make it into college.  There are currently plans to tell the story of more of these geeks.  Well done, helios.  Well done.

By Thomas Holbrook II:

I remember growing up with the NES.  It was the predominant gaming console of the late 1980’s.  That’s why it could be found in Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

Though I didn’t own one, I’ve also played the Sega Genesis and found it to be fascinating.  This 16-bit console hit North America before the SNES, making it among the first of the 16-bit systems.

Sonic, Mortal Kombat, and other games that had more of adult elements (in some cases, via cheat codes) were possible under the Genesis.  However, friendly games like Ecco the Dolphin were also available for enjoyment.

Sporting a Motorola 68000 CPU, this console ran off the same architecture as old school Apple computers.  Though it never really took off, the company eventually released add-ons to increase the capabilities of the Genesis.

Though they never quite made it in the console market, Sega can still be found today publishing popular games for numerous platforms.  Thank you Sega for re-igniting my passion for vintage gaming.

Out with 2013, and in with 2014.  No matter what this year brings, it won’t be boring.  With that said, here’s some links for you to check out this week.

Unix

• Getting Involved in FOSS (opensource.com): The Red Hat sponsored website has seven ways for people to get involved in various projects that share their source code and invite collaboration from others.  For those who can’t code their way out of a paper bag, there’s always writing documentation and creating digital art for the various projects, because good instructions and pretty icons can go a long way in making an application more attractive.
• Exciting Changes to 5.0 of the Phoronix Test Suite GUI (phoronix.com):  Though it was initially written in GTK2, HTML 5 is being used instead.  According to Michael Larabel, “This new GUI to Phoronix Test Suite 5.0 is being written as an HTML5 interface. This is being done for portability and network transparency with the Phoronix Test Suite commonly being used on embedded devices and servers where there is no connected devices — remote support for PTS 5.0 HTML5 GUI can be enabled, otherwise it’s only exposed locally.”  Work on the interface is currently ongoing.
• Now It’s Our Turn (Blog of helios):  Ken “helios” Starks has been through quite a bit over the years.  He decided to tell the story of how he is now able to give back to those who have helped him, starting with Randy Noseworthy.  It looks like the Reglue Project will be able to help bridge the digital divide more than ever.

Overlooked Pop Culture

• District Judge Rules in Favor of Warrantless Border Searches (Maximum PC):  The controversy continues over warrantless border searches as a Federal Judge declared that risk of seizure was insignificant, so plaintiffs have no standing.  It looks like it’s time to learn how to use encryption or data wiping techniques before traveling to other countries.
• Horrible Things Done to Male Sexual Organs (deadspin.com): In weird news, males have apparently hurt themselves in the no no parts in 2013.  Some of these entries will make you laugh, others will make you cry, and the rest will make you hurt down there.
• 14 Million Doses of Potassium Iodide Ordered (infowars.com):  The stuff that prevents radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid is apparently being ordered in an unprecedented quantity, according to this.  It is apparently related to the problematic Fukushima reactor.  U.S. Sailors have apparently come back sick after helping out in the area, and have sued the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).  This tidbit may crop up again this year.

The final issue of the magazine for 2013 is available for popular consumption.  Here’s what’s covered:

• Social Networking Ads and How they may backfire.
• Linux Mint Debian Edition
• Google Drive being used on the construction of this year’s final issue as well as a preview of things to come in 2014.

The magazine may be downloaded here.  The clouds on the cover page courtesy of Kamil Porembiński via Creative Commons.

Ah, wonderful glorious scientific research.  It can bring about amazing discoveries, such as cures to diseases.

Unfortunately, one of those so called “possible cures” for AIDS turned out to be a false positive.  According to the New York Post:

Dr. Dong-Pyou Han spiked a clinical test sample with healthy human blood to make it appear that the rabbit serum produced disease-fighting antibodies, officials said.

$19 USD in grants were received, his “findings” were published in journals, and others wondered how he managed to pull it off.  Things were hunky dory until the National Institutes of Health checked the so called “serum” to find it had been spiked.

So remember, when someone says, “follow the science,” trust only after verifying.