Someone sent me a link to woot.com this morning. I exclaimed that there is a special place in hell for the person who decided to use that domain for a commerical purpose. That hell involves having nothing to do but sit on efnet for millenia. Then I noticed the linked Thinkgeek page.
w00t belongs to gamers the world over. It seems to have been derived from the obselete 'whoot' which essentially is another way to say 'hoot' which itself is a shout or derisive laugh. But others maintain that w00t is the sound several players make while jumping like bunnies in Quake III. Still others want you to believe that it comes from the phrase 'wow loot' used in multiplayer RPGs many moons ago. And if you can believe it some folks even think it was derived from the gaming phrase, 'We Own the Other Team!' Fiction or fact? I suppose you'll just have to decide what 'w00t!' means to you...
Fiction you fucks. There is another special place in hell for people who think words like pwn and w00t are the recent inventions of multiplayer gamers. This word had become popular and then gone out of fashion long before Quake III was released. The first time I heard it was on efnet in a hacking related channel in 1992 or 1993. Its a combination of Woohoo and Root; as in "Woohoo, I got Root!"
Words like pwn and w00t are so obviously hacking related that its hard to understand why gamers would rationalize that they have something to do with quake. However, it is really interesting that these words have been appropriated by that scene and become extremely mainstream. When I saw Cartman say pwn on national television a few months ago I almost jumped out of my seat. I don't really know who invented the term, but that person is likely only one degree of separation from the folks who hang out at summercon.
I freaking hate those Summercon idiots. Nothing but a bunch of drunks imho.
Also, I believe gamers made up the ';)', typing and the internet (with the help of al gore).
Hilly Kristal, whose dank Bowery rock club CBGB served as the birthplace of the punk rock movement and a launching pad for bands like the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads, has died. He was 75.
RIP Hilly.
This is a good story about him that I heard on NPR yesterday.
A new technique shows resizing of images while keeping the important features of the image undistorted, also allows you to protect or remove part of the image with anything removed being automagically and seamlessly filled in.
This is making the rounds in technical circles today. The technique simple and very effective! Apparently Adobe has hired this guy so hopefully we'll see commercial availability soon.
We will now see better image spoofs on the interwebtubetrucks! I can't wait!
You know that dream where you are standing in front of a large group of people. You are giving a lecture. And you look down and you realize you aren't wearing pants. And then you look at the screen and you don't understand what you are supposed to be presenting on.
Yeah. That kind of sums up my Summercon experience.
Only I was wearing pants. I think. Yeah, I most likely had pants.
And I knew what I was supposed to talk about. How well I articulated is another matter.
But I don't fully remember giving the presentation. Something about source code mutation? Anyone? Bueller?
...
I don't drink beer. Why does my laptop smell like beer?
...
I vaguely recall something about screwing with spammers by throttling SMTP transactions, but it seems that talk was mixed with a detailed discussion of Scotch, and why Whisky doesn't have an "e"
Uhh, if you're looking for your pants. I think i have them.
Thanks again for speaking, it was a great time and i hope we're ready to do it again next year
This is right after they got in on in the middle of the lobby. But seriously Summercon was and absolute blast. Best con about man on man action I have ever attended :)
LINDSAY WILL NOT BE CHARGED - What Would Tyler Durden Do
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:51 pm EDT, Aug 22, 2007
I know this is a bullshit post, but do you think cases like this could be used as legal precedent for others to escape conviction of DUI, drug possession, etc?
