By now you've probably already seen lots of major sites (Google, Wikipedia, Wordpress, Reddit, etc.) make significant changes or shutdown altogether to protest SOPA and PIPA for a day.

Reddit has a great explanation of what all this web censorship really means for users, websites, and search engines both via a blog post from yesterday (this is a permanent link) and their homepage today (this is only temporary until the blackout ends).

And Wordpress.org makes it really easy to make your voice heard, letting you send letters to your representatives (if you're in the US) or to the State Department (if you're outside the US) in just a few clicks. This issue affects those outside the US as well, as described in the Reddit post.

I found Google's censored logo and Wordpress.com's homepage to be some of the most visually striking and effective messages:



The reason so many people are making a big deal about this is that it really is a big deal, and there's too many people that aren't aware of it. Hopefully this stops bills like these which try to regulate the internet without actually knowing the widespread implications of such actions. The mere fact that Reddit would be considered a foreign site and Pirate Bay would be considered a domestic site under the wording of the bills makes it clear that they were drafted without any real technical understanding.

TV show schedules seem really weird now, with shows taking breaks mid-season or waiting to start new seasons after the holidays. I found a comprehensive list on Warming Glow of when shows are starting/resuming over the next several weeks since I watch too many TV shows. Here's the short version (with some additions by me):

ABC: Happy Endings/Modern Family/Suburgatory (Jan. 4)
NBC: SNL (Jan. 7), 30 Rock/Parks and Recreation/The Office/Up All Night (Jan. 12)
CBS: How I Met Your Mother (Jan. 2)
FOX: The Simpsons/Family Guy (Jan. 8), Fringe (Jan. 13), New Girl (Jan. 17), Bob's Burgers (Mar. 11)
FX: Justified (Jan. 17), Archer (Jan. 19)
AMC: The Walking Dead (Feb. 12), Mad Men (March)
HBO: Eastbound and Down (Feb. 19)
SHOWTIME: Californication/Shameless (Jan. 8)
IFC: Portlandia (Jan. 6)
Comedy Central: South Park (Mar. 14)

The complete, much longer list can be seen here.

This video is pretty cool...



Here's the behind the scenes on how they made it (kind of long):

Saw this on Reddit and figured it was well worth posting. It's footage of Tom Cruise running down the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world located in Dubai, for the next Mission: Impossible movie.

As one of the Reddit comments appropriately stated, "Tom Cruise is kind of a douche, but Ethan Hunt is fucking awesome."

I saw this post today on RealityPrime where it was titled "This Is Magic" and I have to agree. And the fact that this technology was created at U of I makes it even cooler. The short version is this video shows how objects (including ones in motion) can be added to a photograph and interact with the lighting and objects already present in the image. The long version can be seen in the abstract I've included after the video. But really you just have to see the video.

It's been a long time coming. And I suppose with Halloween around the corner it's appropriate to be bringing symbii back from the dead. Long story short, I got a bit bored with posting for a while, and then when there had been a hiatus of a few weeks (and then a couple of months), I started thinking that if I was going to start posting here again, why not do an overhaul of the design as well?

Several more months later, I realized that if I was going to hold off on posting until I did a total redesign that accomplished all that I wanted*, it'd be a long wait since I've had various things keeping me busy. So I had it in the back of my head that I should start posting again, but nothing seemed worthy of a first post after such a long hiatus. But today I saw something that I found really cool...one of the kind of things that inspired me to start posting on symbii in the first place.

So symbii is back and I hope you'll still find it contains Something You Might Be Interested In! :)

-Niraj

P.S. Seriously, it's been so long since I posted something that the tools I use for posting look unfamiliar.

(*) I have a lot I want to redo...it's been a long while since I've messed with the actual code that runs this site, and a lot has changed in the world of HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc...The PHP code needs some serious cleanup too since I just kept building on top of it over time as I added features.

Season 2, Episode 3 is now available! This week Dave and I talk about capitals, sponsors, browsers, sandwiches, answer mailbag questions, and more!

Get it via any of these methods:

iTunes podcast page	Zune podcast page	Direct MP3 file

Play Podcast (using Flash):


Or you can still sign up for the feed if you're using some other software/reader.

The Tremendous Upside with Dave and Niraj podcast is recorded via Skype.

Season 2, Episode 2 is now available! This week Dave and I talk with a special guest and discuss sandwiches, random wiki articles, sponsors, answer mailbag questions, and more!

Get it via any of these methods:

iTunes podcast page	Zune podcast page	Direct MP3 file

Play Podcast (using Flash):


Or you can still sign up for the feed if you're using some other software/reader.

The Tremendous Upside with Dave and Niraj podcast is recorded via Skype.

After taking a year off, we're back with Season 2 of Tremendous Upside! This week Dave and I recap 2010 and talk about Super Bowl Commercials, Office Food, Sandwiches, Twitter, check the mailbag, and more!

Get it via any of these methods:

iTunes podcast page	Zune podcast page	Direct MP3 file

Play Podcast (using Flash):


Or you can still sign up for the feed if you're using some other software/reader.

The Tremendous Upside with Dave and Niraj podcast is recorded via Skype.

Inspired by the Subway footlong wager between Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal, Mark and I agreed to a War Across The Shore. The winner of our fantasy playoff matchup would get to smack the loser in the face with a Chipotle burrito. Plus, the winner earns an extra smack for each 5 points of victory margin. Well, thanks to 46.5 points by Brandon Marshall and 38.5 by Chris Johnson, Mark won the right to smack me 13 times with his 202.5 point total. Enjoy the video evidence.

Burrito Contents:
double-wrapped tortilla
cilantro-lime rice
pinto beans
barbacoa beef
mild salsa
cheese
and EXTRA sour cream