Brain on Fire Tim McCormack, distilled.

Due to a lawsuit by Eolas against Microsoft, Internet Explorer (both 6 and 7) is not allowed to auto-load movies, flash, and other plugins. The effect is that users must click an empty area with a gray outline to load the content or start interacting with it. The standard approach to route around this usability fiasco is to dynamically load the <object> and <embed> tags with javascript. Here I present an easier, more readable, and unobtrusive technique for embedding content in IE6 and IE7.

I've heard people complain that they "don't want to pay $5 to watch a PowerPoint presentation" or that they "already know about that" or that it's "preaching to the choir". Okay, fine. If you're too poor or too lazy to pony up the hour and five-spot to watch a damn fine movie, I'll reimburse you for the ticket price. (Up to $6, first 5 takers, first-time watchers only, payment in exchange for receipt or ticket stub. Scout's Honor, folks.)

1. An Inconvenient Truth: I don't care if it appears to be based on a PowerPoint presentation. It's a damn fine documentary and call to action on global warming, plus you finally get to see Al Gore's humorous side.
2. V for Vendetta: It's not another mindless action film, as I had imagined -- instead, it is a commentary on what could happen if the current gov't-led terrorization of its own populace were to be carried too far. Plus lots of good action scenes, and an inspiring ending.
3. Supersize Me: Morgan Spurlock puts his life on the line to see just how bad a steady fast-food diet could be. My eating habits improved drastically after seeing this.

Edit: I'm in Ohio for the semester, so C'ville folks might not have the opportunity to be reimbursed unless they send me a ticket stub through the mail :-(. I hate mail-in rebates too, but what can ya do?

BBC News recently carried a story on an anti-filming system in development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I predict it will fail miserably.