I'm glad to see my Nintendo selling some product:
Shoppers eager to find the new Nintendo DS can rejoice at least for the time being. Nintendo today announced it will increase total shipments of Nintendo DS to North America by 40 percent, to 1.4 million systems before the end of the year. Due to the systems popularity, many retail stores across the country are reporting shortages, and the initial batch of 500,000 units all but sold out a week after Nintendo DS launched on Nov. 21.
[ Nintendo ]
Of course even this volume doesn't guarantee a success. Better keep the good games coming, big N.
ieHTTPHeaders is an explorer bar for Internet Explorer that will show you the HTTP Headers IE are sending and receiving.
[ blunck.info ]
The easiest way to debug the protocol traffic that surrounds your webpages...
Until we knock down the notion that we are the enemy of Muslims everywhere, our war on terrorism will never end.
[ DallasNews.com | Local Columnists ]
Mr. Blow has a very good point. Those Americans who do feel that they are at war with Islam clearly don't understand the war. Mr. Blow also states:
Then get to know your Muslim neighbors. You have 7 million of them here. Build bridges of understanding. Seek justice. Fight prejudice.
Excellent advice. Some of us are American born and love the US. Some of us came here as an invitation by America or Americans, and you should treat your guests well, no? Others came here fleeing bad conditions or dreaming the American dream. So few Muslims came here with hate, and all of us would prefer if they hadn't.
However he also states:
And that brings me back to a column of a few weeks ago. I expressed my longing to see Muslim Americans rise up in a highly visible repudiation of terrorism – and as a sign to the world that the U.S. isn't hostile to Islam.
I guess that means all of our efforts so far haven't reached his ears. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has put together an online petition with over 600,000 signatures denouncing terrorism with rather strong language:
We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts.
[ Not in the Name of Islam Petition ]
And they've sent out press releases about it, I'm sure to Mr. Blow's paper. Unfortunately I don't have a syndicated newspaper column to use as soap box, I just have a crappy blog. I would love to know if there is a better way to communicate these feelings. If websites don't do it, and petitions don't do it, and press releases don't do it, and rallies don't do it, what will help the American Muslim community to communicate these feelings of disgust for the minority of “Muslims” who feel that the proper thing to do is resort to barbarism?
On October 4th, 2004, we released version 4.0 of the Amazon E-Commerce Service (ECS), previously referred to in beta as AWS 4.0. ECS 4.0 provides unprecedented access to Amazon’s product data and E-Commerce functionality allowing developers, Web site owners and merchants to leverage the data and functionality that Amazon uses to power its own E-Commerce business. It provides access to detailed product and pricing information for all items across all Amazon product categories – this information includes detailed product attributes, product images and customer-supplied content such as reviews, Wish Lists and Listmania lists. In addition, ECS 4.0 provides advanced search, remote shopping cart and enhanced Wish List search capabilities for enhancing and personalizing your Web site or application.
[ Amazon.com ]
I'm a bit put off that I didn't get the memo. I've been irritated with the 3.0 AWS for a while now, my updates frequently get a 530 error, wish lists stopped working so long ago, their entire catalog is old or unavailable through 3.0. Good to see they have the replacement. Bad to see that they didn't send out an email.
Less frequently, men will call women dudes and vice versa. But that comes with some rules, according to self-reporting from students in a 2002 language and gender class included in the paper. "Men report that they use dude with women with whom they are close friends, but not with women with whom they are intimate," according to the study. His students also reported that they were least likely to use the word with parents, bosses and professors.
[ Dude -- professor studies 'dude' ]
I've used it for men, women, children, my Dad, boss. And I'm glad to hear it's staying, because I don't think I could stop myself.
Sounds so yummy and innocuous.
Rich chocolate, chocolate chips and milk blended with ice, topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.
[ starbucks beverages ]
Wait, let's check the nutritional information. Seems like some of those numbers are high, so let's check the “unhealthy food standard” that achieves a 1 on the unhealthy food scale, the Big Mac. Ouch.
It is the unprofessional opinion of the davidkearns.com staff that no one should make the Starbucks® Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino® Blended Creme a daily part of their diet.
I have agents in the field who point out juicy tidbits like this:
Whether black from a bottomless cup or as a Frappuccino mocha skim latte, it's our culture's elixir, coffee . . . In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Java, Joe or a cup of mud . . . Most of us drink it everyday but few of us know the effects it has on the world's economy or even our own bodies. Also, how do you brew the perfect cup? And, travel with us to the goat hills of Ethiopia to where it all began.
[ To the Best of Our Knowledge ]
Oh, and then I listen to tidbits like this and remember what they say...
I don't think this is a “Nokia” at all, and Nintendo is really only counting sold NDS systems:
Shoppers spent Thanksgiving week stuffing their shopping bags with Nintendo hardware, setting the stage for 2004 to be the year of the hand-held holidays. Shoppers snapped up more than 500,000 Nintendo DS systems during Thanksgiving week, representing more than 90 percent of all units available in stores across the United States.
[ News : Article ]
So odd that I picked mine up on a whim. I've now noticed that many of the games that I'm interested in aren't out until later this month or even February in some cases. If you do know where the extra 10% of the units are, post here, N8 and Scot would sure appreciate it.
It's the two great tastes that taste great together:
Tap into your own light and dark side and create a Samus Haiku, capture the spirit of Metroid Prime 2: Echos for a chance to win ... great prizes
[ Metroid Prime 2 Echoes - Haiku Poetry Contest ]
Of course if these prizes look cool, wouldn't you have them already? Are there dirt poor haiku poets out there who dream of playing Metroid on a brand-new GameCube?
Yet another thing that should already have been in Windows:
Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.
[ Sysinternals Freeware - Utilities for Windows NT and Windows 2000 - Process Explorer ]
This one is almost frequented as much as gvim on my computer. If you are any sort of SA or Developer, this is a must. (And G$ will agree)
 Retro Studios deserves an ice cream party. There newest foray into the Metroid universe, $a(B0002ILS1U,Metroid Prime 2: Echoes), may not seem to different from Metroid Prime, but what it lacks in new isn't necessarily a bad thing. MP2:E plays every bit as good as the first, but with a great new story line, great new baddies, great new levels, and some unique trans-universe puzzles. The splitting of the planet makes for interesting game play that hearkens back to some Zelda or Banjo-Kazooie games (of which I can't quite put my finger on), but in a 3D spooky way. If you liked Metroid Prime, you must get a copy of Metroid Prime 2: Echos.
Update: $a(B00006F2ZR,Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance) had the 2 castles with some interaction. However MP2:E has much more interaction than C:HoD did, which I always felt was underused in that title.
$a(B0002ILS1K,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door) is very similar to Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 and a whole lot more. The graphics have easily been kicked up a notch, if not two. The story is unique, imaginative, and works in elements from the most recent Sunshine Mario. Mario now has extra moves based on the fact that he is made out of paper. And the battle has some very ingenious additions including a live audience that can help or hinder you. If you liked Paper Mario, this one is a no-brainer.
I do like it when I support a company and they repay me for that loyalty. And yes, that means Nintendo. I've dutifully purchased the Nintendo DS, although I must admit that I wasn't really sold on the idea. I picked up $a(B0006B0O9U,Super Mario 64 DS), since Mario is a good intro to any Nintendo platform. I thought I was just buying a copy of Super Mario 64 slightly reworked for the DS platform, but I believe I've got a whole lot more. There are something like 30 new stars in the game. There are new ways of getting those stars including “crystal stars” (like the 8 red coins, but now there are 5 stars hidden) and new “secret castle stars”. I knew that there was going to be new playable characters: Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi. I didn't know that there was a whole story behind where 3 of those characters went, and I'd have to rescue them. And I had no idea that there were new mini games, many of which support networked multi-player modes. All-in-all there is a great game with easily $30 more fun packed into it.
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