I bought a coffee maker so that I could be even lazier. It’s a piece of junk. I don’t suggest you buy one.
I am a lazy person. If I don’t want to do something, it won’t get done immediately. This laziness dominates everything I do, so you can naturally assume that my morning routine is a pathetic mad-dash for class, work, or wherever I need to be.
Days ago, an auto-grinding auto-brewing coffee maker was on sale for $55 on woot.com. To be specific, it was the Cuisinart Grind & Brew 10-Cup Coffee Maker with Gold Tone Filter. Normally about $140, this seemed like a great deal at the time.
I knew that this coffee maker would be a boon to my laziness. If I just set it at night, I could wake up in the morning and JUST KNOW that my coffee was freshly ground and brewed to perfection. With this in mind, I knew that I could hit the snooze button several times and still make it to class “on time.”
It’s been three days, and I’ve already condemned this machine to “counter-top decoration” status. And so begins the three day narrative of my experiences with the worst coffee maker ever designed…
I get a text from a coworker that my coffee machine has arrived at Starbucks. I didn’t order it through Starbucks, but I work there and naturally have all of my cool new Internet things shipped there. Getting a package through WWCC’s mail system is impossible. The fact that it was a coffee maker being sent to Starbucks was amusing.
I take the machine home and unpack it. I am immediately dismayed to discover that the automatic coffee grinder is a blade grinder. Blade-ground coffee is disgusting compared to the full-flavored burr-ground coffee.
Once everything was washed and assembled, I realized that this is a gorgeous coffee maker (which is why I am leaving it on the counter). It’s stainless steel and smooth. The carafe is eye-catching. Visually, I cannot tell that this is the most ill-conceived piece of coffee brewing equipment ever stamped out by a Chinese robot.
I set the clock on the unit and set the auto-brew timer for 8:00 am and headed to bed.

Yes, I just compared this coffee maker to Hitler.
I wake up to the sound of a jet flying overhead. A few moments later, when my lucidity arrived, I realized the sound was my coffee maker discretely brewing a pot of coffee in the kitchen. After about a minute, the screechs and whirrs of the grinder ceased and the coffee quietly brewed. I drifted back to sleep because I didn’t need to be awake yet.
I wake up, get ready and pour a cup of coffee. The coffee was palatable. It wasn’t perfect. I’ll be considerate and blame the old coffee beans for this lack of flavor.
I filled up my cup and went to class. I was still late, but again, I cannot blame the coffee maker for that. Actually, I can and I will: the coffee pot’s clock was EIGHT minutes slower than my phone–the same phone I used to set it the night before.

This coffee machine is a bastard.
Once again, I awake to the sound of my coffee maker grinding my sanity coffee to a pulp for brewing. Despite the noise, I anticipate a decent cup of coffee since the beans were fresh. I bought them the day before at Starbucks. Knowing that my coffee maker was on top of things, I drifted back to sleep because I can.
45 minutes later (ten minutes to class), I wake up to a catastrophe. I open my door to see a fresh pot of coffee brewed all over my floor. Not only was my coffee ruined, but I am now forced to wipe a pot of coffee off the floor.
As I began to swab coffee off the floor with my Swiffer WetJet, I began to reconstruct the incident that has permanently condemned my coffee pot to a life of “looking pretty on the counter.”
The night before, I had filled the bean hopper with delicious, new coffee beans (Caffé Verona, if you care). I filled the water tank with cold tap water. I rinsed out all of the components because I wanted my coffee to be phenomenal the next morning. The night before, I had failed to realize that I didn’t assemble the machine in its entirety.
Many coffee pots are built with a little valve that is activated by the top of the carafe. Without something on the top of the carafe, the valve wouldn’t activate and the coffee will not flow through the valve and into the carafe. My coffee maker is equipped with such a luxury.
Since I didn’t put the top back on the brewing carafe the night before, there was nothing to press up and activate the valve and let the coffee flow into the carafe–even though the carafe was in place.
Coffee gurgled out of the top of the machine because it had nowhere else to go–the valve was shut. It filled my counter, pooled up on my floor and made my entire dorm smell like coffee with a hint of Swiffer WetJet mopping solution. Magically, the gurgling coffee pot didn’t land a drop of coffee into the carafe.
I was late for class again. My dorm was a mess. Don’t buy this coffee maker.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
I realize that the title to this announcement is slightly confusing. I’m okay with that. Once you actually read my thoughts, you’ll realize that the title is somewhat pompous.
I have some exciting news for everyone: I have successfully secured a position at the college radio station doing a weekly talk show.
You can consider this the return of Meet Someone New, but with much more content stretched over the course of an hour. The format of the show will be changing a little, but the show itself should simply be an amusing hour involving funny stories, amusing personalities, weather forecasts and more.
That’s about the entirety of my endeavor. I should have the first airing posted for you soon after.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Someone (another Brad Kovach) stole my username on Facebook. I remind him how cool I still am…
Recently, you may have noticed that Facebook has allowed users to pick usernames. Upon learning this news, I immediately thought, “How convenient will this make it for people to find me!? This is fantastic news! Now, I will be able to rapidly expand my internet empire with a eponymously chosen username!”
I was looking forward to June 12 at 10:01 pm when I would finally claim http://www.facebook.com/bradkovach. But I had to work at 5:00 am the next day. So I loaded my ears with foam plugs and went to bed at 9:10. This is now my biggest regret. I, being fully able to conveniently register ‘bradkovach’ as my username at every other site on the entire internet, assumed that I could go to bed, and work my formidable nine-hour shift, come home and register my name.
It might surprise you then, considering my previous luck registering ‘bradkovach’ on EVERY OTHER WEBSITE, that I was unable to register http://www.facebook.com/bradkovach for use in my Internet empire.
Well then, who did?
This guy:
So now, I must write a letter to Brad Kovach. From Brad Kovach.
Dear Brad Kovach,
You might know me from the first four results when you Google your (our) name. I am Brad Kovach. Not only am I Brad Kovach, but I am the most important and most accomplished Brad Kovach on the Internet–until now.
You see, Brad Kovach, you have damaged my ego. I have successfully been building my Internet empire from a very young age. I have been signing up for websites using “bradkovach” as my username successfully for years now. Today, however, you ruined me. You STOLE my username on Facebook. While this is a small victory for you, you will not win this name war. You see, while you have taken a highly coveted username on a very prestigious site, you cannot outdo me. Let’s check the scoreboard.
Brad Kovach (me) Brad Kovach (you)
- LinkedIn?
At least 9… 1… maybe 2? I suppose it’s normal to be a celebrity and have imposters and doppelgangers. I can live with these side-effects of fame.
Sincerely,
(the real) Brad Kovach
So here is the happy ending: I picked an equally awesome username for Facebook. You may now check out my profile at http://www.facebook.com/thebradkovach.
Also, since I am a jerk that WILL kick a horse while they are down, I have redirected all of the bradkovach.com/site urls to their respective site. For example, http://www.bradkovach.com/facebook will take you to my Facebook profile.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
I’m mad at my tongue right now. I examine spicy food and why it hurts so bad…
I just “seasoned” some Schwan’s Overpriced Teriyaki Wingz(tm) with a little puddle I squirted onto my plate from a bottle of “Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.” As I sat writhing in pain I said “I should write an article about this horrible pain experience.” So I am.
When I contemplate things that shouldn’t be adulterated by logical hand of scientific analysis, I think of:
However bizarre as it may be, hot sauce and SPICYNESS in general has been analyzed scientifically. And a scale has been written: the Scoville unit, eponymously named after Wilbur Scoville–a jerk that liked measuring hot things.
Scoville’s test involved taking a sample of the pepper’s extract and diluting it in sugar syrup until there is no detectable taste of heat. We still use Scoville’s scale. But, being a technologically inclined society, someone took all of the fun out of testing a pepper for heat with a robot and its robonose.
Now, a machine takes a sample, examines the chemicals, and a few magical moments later, the computer tells you how hot something is. Personally, I’d much rather prefer the “precision,” “pain,” and “performance” of a human panel blasting their taste buds through rigorous heat examinations.
Very little is known about spiciness. Please note: if Wikipedia doesn’t know, nobody does.
The feeling of spicyness is caused by capsaicin, a chemical that causes burning when in contact with mucous membranes. Spicyness is not a flavor, but it is pain. Your body has an actual endorphin response when in contact with spicy food. Nerves are actually being tortured. It isn’t a flavor, it’s a sensation!
Don’t get me wrong, faithful readers, I love spicy food. But I’m not a thrill seeker when it comes to blasting my tongue with chemical pain. For one, I have Acid Reflux and spicy foods are not good for my esophagus. Two, I don’t think it’s entirely necessary to have the “flavor” in extreme doses. When a little dab will do it, why do you need the whole truckload‽ That’s right… I used an interrobang.
Here! Look at this chart:
| Real World | Spicy Food | ||
|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Sleeping | ![]() |
Bell Pepper (0 SHU) |
![]() |
Gentle handshake | ![]() |
Pepperoncini Peppers (100-500 SHU) |
![]() |
Headlock | ![]() |
Jalapeño Peppers (2000 SHU) |
![]() |
Kick to the crotch | Cayenne Peppers (30,000 SHU) |
|
![]() |
Spinning Back Fist | ![]() |
Red Savina Habanero (300,000 SHU) |
![]() |
Biting the curb | ![]() |
Naga Jolokia (855,000 SHU) |
I hope you have found this chart useful. Please print this page for your handy reference. It SHOULD prove wildly convenient when you need to know how hot something is. Extra credit: memorize the chart.
Please note that my birthday is coming up. Compensate me for my HARD WORK by buying me something you can’t afford!
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Google has made a web browser. I’ll tell you why to try it, and why you might use it every day.
For those of you that don’t already know, Google has thrown its hat into the ring of the browser wars. By “browser wars” I mean “the fight for being the only way that you can access the Internet.”
So far, Google has drawn criticism–mostly on it’s user interface though. It’s blue. I’ll discuss that in a moment.
I’ve been playing with Google Chrome for about two days now. And it’s worth using. Here’s why.
Online scams and phishing (a type of online scam where you are fooled into surrendering precious information by an impostor website) have become increasingly popular topics in the last couple years. The Internet has provided identity thieves an efficient, productive way to steal credit card information, passwords and much more.
Google has seen and has been active in thwarting this problem. They’ve cross-referenced their massive catalog with the Internet with feedback from users and have made a blacklist available to anyone who wants to check for malicious websites in their programs.
As a tremendous benefit of having this information available, they have built in state-of-the-art security features.

First, any malicious website that has been cataloged by Google will not load. Instead a prohibitive screen will warn you and give you an opportunity to leave before things get ugly. This type of feature has been in Internet Explorer (boo!), Mozilla Firefox, and Safari for years now.
But most notably included is address highlighting that easily exposes what website you’re browsing, but also what mode (secure or non-secure) you are browsing in.
Take a look at this screenshot…
![]()
You can easily see that the site I’m visiting is bradkovach.com. Since the “http://” isn’t in green, I know that I’m not communicating over a secure connection.
But take a look at this screenshot…
![]()
You can tell that I’m connecting to Facebook, but I’m connecting to the wrong site. (I should have used https://www.facebook.com instead of https://facebook.com). It uses the color red (which has been programmed into society to signify a problem). And it also puts a slash through the connecting protocol to let you know that something isn’t right. Not pictured is the contents of the actual page, which are prohibitively red with two options: “Proceed anyway,” and “Back to safety.” On this page, clicking “Proceed anyway” lets you continue to the Facebook server you specified, but Facebook does the right thing and forwards you automatically to the secured version of their 100-million-strong web app. This demonstrates the use of
Among passive security systems that will allow users to make their own calls on safety, this is a serious, but simple step toward Grandmother-friendly site identity validation.
There have been a number of benchmarks done by independent 3rd parties that conclusively prove that Google has made the fastest browser… ever. It can evaluate Javascript MUCH faster than any other browser It also uses a super-fast rendering engine (WebKit) to draw the pages on your screen. For websites that use Javascript heavily (Facebook, Gmail) this results in a significant speed boost when performing day-to-day tasks.
Chrome has also made the tab much more usable. When Javascript grinds down one tab, the others remain usable since they are isolated by a cool computing concept called “sandboxing.” This means that one tab could crash completely, and the others would remain independently stable. Very cool.
Also, since Chrome is sandboxed, memory management issues have been eliminated. Traditionally–and users of Firefox know this–browsers have been very sloppy at “garbage collection.” This means that every time you close a tab, load a new page, etc, a fragment of the old tab/page/etc is left behind and cannot be removed from memory. After a day of surfing, browsers can occupy upwards of 200 megabytes of memory–a hideously large amount for a web browser.
First there was IE, and now there’s Google Chrome trying to reshape the browser interface paradigm. Google has taken a new browsing tab, a fairly new browsing tool, and moved it! Instead of appearing as a row below the address bar, they compose the title bar. Not only does this save space, but it’s kinda handy. When a Chrome window is maximized, a flick of the mouse toward the top of your screen will always land you at the row of tabs that you have opened.

And the most major criticism of Google Chrome so far? It’s kinda ugly–on Windows XP. Vista versions of Chrome look great (better than Firefox). For the new features that GChrome brings to the table, the look of the application is a minor inconvenience. A more translucent and space-efficient design would also help things tremendously. But for now, it’s in beta. Give Google some time.
In today’s modern web browser eco-system, page zooming is standard. By page zooming, I mean that the ENTIRE page gets blown up, not just the text sizes. Curiously absent from Google Chrome is a page zoom feature. GChrome only supports text zooming, which is rather useless on many websites.
One of the reasons that I enjoy Firefox more than other browsers is its dynamite extension system. So far, Google hasn’t made a clear path to an extension API–so your useful plugins like AdBlock Plus will not exist. Surprising, consider Google owns the two largest advertising networks on the Internet. At some point, however, Google will hear the cries for easier extendability.
Google has made a browser: Google Chrome. It’s fast, safe, and stable. It has some minor inconveniences, but it’s a few days old. Give it time and Google Chrome will be a serious contender in the browser arena. (Apparently, it already has a 3% market share. WTF!?)
Try Google Chrome: http://www.google.com/chrome/
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Even though it bombed in ratings, I think The Love Guru is still worth 88 minutes and $8.50 of your life.
anagrams, Justin Timberlake, Mike Myers, spoilers, Stephen Colbert, The Love Guru
Yes, the critics have crushed The Love Guru, featuring Mike Myers as The Guru Pitka–an American turned Hindu guru. Even though it bombed in ratings, I think it is still worth 88 minutes and $8.50 of your life.
I’ll give you the list, and you can reveal the spoilers if you want to.

What could be funnier than a French man with a Celine Dion fetish played by Justin Timberlake?
The Guru Pitka has many trademarked anagrams/sayings that help him teach. This is probably a comedic ploy adored by only me and Mike Myers, but flippant intellectual right protection is strangely hilarious.
The trailer showed one anagram: G-U-R-U. But the movie showcases many, many more trademarked anagrams that are worth seeing.

Colbert appears alongside Jim Gaffigan as a sports announcer. He showcases the Colbert sense of humor in a different, refreshing way.

I’ve already said to much. Reveal spoilers–if you want to.
For fans of Myers, a well-placed inside joke is there to reward your years of loyalty.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Your data needs to be safe. Security engineers have been paying a lot of attention to online security lately. Here are some trends in online security that are making the Internet a safer place.
In the new, digital economy, security is becoming more and more important. Online accounts are available everywhere. Your data needs to be safe. Security engineers have been paying a lot of attention to online security lately. Here are some trends in online security that are making the Internet a safer place.

Multi-factor authentication, or a way of using MORE than a username and password to prove your identity, is making serious advances.
Security keys are one popular multi-factor method of securing online accounts. Basically, you’re issued a device that contains a unique code generation algorithm. On the keychain-sized device, a 6-digit code changes every 30 seconds. The algorithm is shared between your device and the server that you’ll be authenticating with, so the server can generate the number, too. When the time comes to login, both ends of the transaction are able to generate THE SAME NUMBER and authenticate.
Currently, eBay/PayPal is mass-marketing these security devices. You can secure (not that it already isn’t) your account for a one-time fee of $5.00 USD. After your account is secured, it needs a username a password AND 6 digits that change every 30 seconds. Unfortunately, this is ONLY available in the United States, Germany, and Australia.

Another advance in the identity-proving arena is key-based authentication. Rather than a username and password, a user has a login key that contains a unique set of information–unique only to the visitor.
The authenticating server is equipped with a public-safe variant of that private key giving the user the digital equivalent of a padlock/key system. When a connection is initiated with a server, your computer encrypts your key in a securely-encrypted tunnel, sends it to the server where it is then decrypted (if you added a password) and matched against the key file (padlock). If successful, you are securely authenticated to the service. Essentially, rather than a short password that you have to type in, you have a long (1024 bits isn’t out-of-the-ordinary) password file that takes the password’s place.
Public implementations of this are still in the works; however, SSH has been using it for a long time now.
Learn more: http://www.laubenheimer.net/ssh-keys.shtml
Secure Shell on Wikipedia

Attempts at central online identity management have been attempted in the past, but many experts say that OpenID is the best, most efficient and most flexible unified sign on system to bless the internet so far.
Logging in with OpenID couldn’t be easier. Rather than a username/password prompt, you’re asked to provide your OpenID identity URL. This URL can be anywhere. AOL, WordPress, and many other websites host your login identities as OpenID identities. In emails I have exchanged with Facebook, I know that they, too, are working to become an OpenID provider.
After entering your OpenID identity URL, you’ll be sent to your OpenID provider (eg: AOL) to verify your identity. It is up to the particular provider to determine the challenges that grant you access to your account. Verisign Labs, who licensed the PayPal Security Key, is providing OpenID solutions WITH your PayPal security key. Most challenge with a simple username and password.
More information here: http://openid.net/
VeriSign PIP: http://pip.verisignlabs.com

When programming an authentication system, care must be taken to not reveal the underpinnings of the system and its structure.
Many websites will reveal the existence of an account to a potentially malicious user by saying “incorrect password.” The problem exists that with that type of verification, a malicious user knows that an account exists under the requested name and can proceed to breaking in with a brute-force or dictionary attack.
Now, many websites are just saying that the username/password is incorrect. Not only does this foil malicious cracker logins, but it causes the user to reassess his or her login credentials.
If you’ve seen good online security practices in the wild, let the world know in the comments area.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Even though Windows sucks, there are still plenty of open-source programs to soften the blow. All of these programs are free as in beer, and free as in speech. Enjoy!
cory doctorow, free software, GPL, launchy, open-source, pidgin, print flush, truecrypt, Windows, winscp
Even though I prefer to use Linux, I use Windows for one big reason. Even though this juggernaut operating system sucks, there are still plenty of open-source programs to soften the blow. All of these programs are free as in beer, and free as in speech. Enjoy!

Launchy is the free and open-source program launcher that takes its cue from Quicksilver for the Mac. Summon Launchy with a configurable keystroke, type enough for Launchy to determine what you’re trying to launch and hit enter! Launchy will open whatever you typed. In the picture, Launchy knows that I want to launch Mozilla Firefox.
License: GPL
launchy.net

If you hate the way that Windows handles print queue management, you need Print Flush! Print Flush takes all of the steps involved in emancipating a stuck printer queue and puts them at a double click. It’s easy enough for your Grandma to use, and I just GPL’d it–loosely. I didn’t include the GPL license because that would have more-than-doubled the size of the download! Print Flush is designed to be lean and mean.
License: GPLv3
bradkovach.com to learn more or download now

I hesitated to put TrueCrypt on the list, but decided to do so because it has one very strong focus: user security. TrueCrypt is the most robust file encryption system in the world. TrueCrypt combines open-source and military-strength in a very beautiful, cross-platform solution. It has support for keyfiles, hidden volumes (which are too cool to explain), and–did I mention that it’s cross-platform?
License: TrueCrypt Collective License
truecrypt.org
Instant messengers rejoice! Pidgin provides open-source instant messaging built on the open-source libpurple. Supports ANY messenger platform you can think of (except Facebook Chat–but I’m sure it’s coming).
License: GPLv2
pidgin.im

WinSCP provides open-source, high-security file transfers using a variety of transfer protocols: SCP, SFTP, and the less-secure FTP. WinSCP is very stable, very robust, and very easy to use. Supports SSH keys for extremely secure authentication.
License: GPL
winscp.net
I’m including these programs because they are good, but their licenses are somewhat restrictive or they’re not appealing to a massive audience.
Apparently, with Mozilla Firefox’s source, you get to pick the license you operate under.
Most of the source code in mozilla, including the firefox bits are tri-licensed under the MPL/GPL/LGPL, meaning you pick which license you want to use the source as. It’s not a smelly ExtJs situation. You want it to be GPL, it’s GPL.
- according to itsnotlupus and eurleif from reddit
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
Is it just me, or are receipts becoming obscenely large?
Buy a F*^king Prius, Buy a Jetta, Eco-Conscious, Global Warming, Save the Trees/Kill the Children
Whenever I go shopping, I ALWAYS get receipts–because I am a conscious shopper. If I become an UNHAPPY consumer, a receipt is always a good way to prove that you bought something.
Lately, however, I would like to KILL everyone that uses receipts that could double as banners! As I shopped guiltlessly for things that I do not need, but totally want, I started drawing a dreadful conclusion: RECEIPTS ARE BECOMING WAY TOO BIG.
A score above 200 is obscenely huge.
A score between 50 and 200 is great.
A score below 50 is commendable.
I bought a PLAYSTATION 3 DUALSHOCK3 Controller. The receipt had a brief survey. They don’t always include a survey.
I bought a meal for myself and a sandwich for a friend.
Bought 5 double cheeseburgers and 2 small drinks for my brother and I.
I bought A SINGLE ROCK BAND GUITAR. This receipt is hideous. It has surveys, contests, thanks, thanks and more thanks, and a little part for what I bought. Hideous.
If you care about the planet, take action and tell a store how hideous their receipts are. I’d like to see some of your FAVORITE receipt scores in the comments.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
What would YOU do to make it to digg/popular? Short of suicide, here’s a list of things that would hopefully get me on the front page of digg.com
desperation, Digg, i'll kill you, mrbabyman, please digg, quitting school, unfair
ONE OF THESE DAYS I will get Dugg. Being Dugg is a word used to describe when your site hits the front page of social-news über-phenomenon digg.com, where “democracy” picks the best content.
I always try to write articles that are Digg-worthy, but I never get promoted. I have submitted stories that were subsequently promoted to the front page, but they were both videos.
I would do anything, short of killing myself. I write awesome content (including Top 10 lists!). I try to make the site fun-to-read and easy-to-navigate.
Brad Kovach is an award-winning web developer from Afton, Wyoming. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming on Rock Band, and playing with this website.
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