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Planet Dave! Thursday, May 27, 2004
More Extreme Fullscreen QTVR
I think I've posted this site before. But last time it didn't have the inside of someone's mouth!
Prankster Puts Toy Dinosaur in Front of Volcano-Cam
From Boing Boing, "Scientists have set up a webcam overlooking an active volcano crater in New Zealand. Someone has put a little toy Dino (from the Flintstones) in front of the camera."
Recursive Documentary
From Boing Boing, "'The Making Of: The Documentary With This Tagline' is a recursive documentary -- a documentary about the making of itself. The trailer is a scream."
More RocketCam Footage
I've posted this page before, but there's new footage on the RocketCam page than last time. If you haven't seen this, check it out. It's footage from external cameras on rocket launches.
Catching up with Jamie
Latest from Jamie starts with Virtual Devils Curse Internet Church. Then there's Hassle the Hoff which you just gotta read to believe. He also sent me something about Monkey Fizz. (I notice there's quite a bit more where that came from.) There are also two things about a biped dog. And last but not least, a stickup gone bad.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Troy in Fifteen Minutes
Ok, I've heard a few bad things about the new movie Troy. I'm currently reading the Iliad, but I just found out that I can save a truckload of time by reading the fifteen minute version! Hey, some movies are just better abridged. No, really.
U.S. To Fight Terror With Terror
Living up to it's tag line as America's Finest News Source, the Onion brings us this development. Well, I guess it was only a matter of time.
How Leap Days Work
Lemme see if I've got this straight. A year has 365 days in it. Unless it's divisible by 4, then it's got a leap day. Unless it's also divisible by 100, then it doesn't. Unless it's also divisible by 400, then it does. I think I got it.
How to Lie With Statistics
I haven't gotten around to reading the book yet, but that hasn't diminished my appreciation for this critique of Fox News.
Can Star Wars Episode III Be Saved?
From /., "MSNBC is running a commentary asking: 'Can "Star Wars: Episode III" be saved?' It proposes changes such as ripping off Akira Kurosawa, getting the otherwise good actors to emote, and even firing Lucas. It is one year away, but is it too late to save Episode III?" One of my favorite quotes, in the section about recasting most of it, "While you’re at it get rid of Natalie Portman, who as Queen Amidala has all the regal presence of a mallrat shopping at her local Fashion Bug. Keep Samuel Jackson, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, and Ian McDiarmid, and thank your lucky stars that you’ve got Christopher Lee, who’s been showcasing his considerable talent in Z-grade horror flicks for decades and knows better than perhaps any living actor how to pull a terrific performance out of truly awful material. Tell Ewan Macgregor, who’s proven elsewhere he’s a fine actor, that it’s safe to come out and emote now. Fire everyone else."
I Want One of Those!
Ok, I'm going to add this entire web site to my wish list. I mean, not that I'd ever have any use for emergency cufflinks, but they're so cool! I want to get one of these just to see how many people actually think to sit on it without being told.
What's Wrong with the Music Industry in One Long Sentence (annotated)
Ok, this run-on sentence is just too cool to miss.
Nanobacteria Discovered?
From /., "The BBC is reporting that a new form of life has been discovered, nanobacteria, which was previously only theorized by Finnish researchers Kajander and Ciftcioglu. A team lead by Dr John Lieske of the Mayo Clinic claims they have found irrefutable evidence of the existence of nanobacteria, which is likely responsible for a plethora of illnesses." One of the problems is that the particles they're talking about range in size from 30 to 100nm. It's currently thought that in order to have functioning DNA, a cell needs to be at least 140nm in diameter. Wouldn't it be cool if they found something that self replicates without DNA? Man, how would that work?
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Chandra Provides Support For Dark Energy
From /., "The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has provided new evidence supporting the existence of dark energy, the force causing the acceleration of universal expansion. The new findings support the theory that the universe will expand forever, provided there is enough dark matter. CNN and Newsday are running the story, originally reported by NASA. Chandra's site has some good images and information on the three galaxies clusters studied (Abell 2029, MS2137.3-2353, and MS1137.5+6625)." This also hit Nature.
Impossible Creatures
Ok, this Photoshop contest really isn't that good. But I did get a kick out of the Chipmunk-Bat-Ram and the Basselopes. Ok, the Feathered Boa is kinda cool, too.
I like Colin Powell
This is pretty cool. In a recent episode of Meet the Press, Colin Powell is answering some hard questions about the Iraq. Just after he talked about the torture issue, as the interviewer is asking about the false accusations of weapons of mass destruction, Powell's press aide tries to end the interview. I guess she figured if it works with the president, it should work with Colin Powell. She was wrong. On Powell's insistence, the interview continued. Boy, it kinda says something about the administration when I find myself impressed that a government official continued an interview. Sigh.
Amateur Rocket Reaches Space
From /., "An amateur rocket carrying a ham radio avionics package reached the edge of space May 17. Launched from Nevada's Black Rock Desert, the 21-foot Civilian Space Xploration Team (CSXT) GoFast rocket quickly attained the 100 km altitude to make Amateur Radio and amateur rocketry history. Two earlier CSXT attempts to reach space--the last almost two years ago--were unsuccessful. A jubilant Avionics Team Leader Eric Knight, KB1EHE, called the successful launch 'a phenomenal experience.' The full ARRL article can be read here." This also hit NewScientist.com.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Flying Car More Economical Than SUV
From /., "The M400 needs 35 clear feet to take off but thanks to its 770 hp engine can whiz to 365 mph - cruise control kicks in at 326 mph - and climb at 6,400 feet per minute. You may hear it before you see it: it emits a rather noisy 65 dba at 500 feet. Interestingly, with a fuel consumption of 20 miles to the gallon on the road, it's rather more economical than a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and looks positively eco-friendly compared to a Hummer." Something else to add to my list of possible next vehicles.
Using a 747 to Fight Wildfires
From /., "It's fire season again. And the government just grounded 33 aging air tankers on Monday due to safety issues. Looking for a modern solution, Evergreen Aviation has come up with a 747 supertanker with 24,000 gallons of tank space onboard, which allows it to cover seven times the area of today's largest existing airtanker. In addition to fighting fires, it will be able to contain oil spills and 'perform challenging homeland security missions' like neutralizing chemical or biological attacks. And think of how many John Goodmans you could cover with fire retardant. Be sure to watch the videos."
Read this and understand the P2P wars
Boing Boing has a really good summary of a paper that sheds light on all the Copyright battles that've been going on lately. If you're interested, here's the paper he's talking about. I love the quotes about how the VCR was going to destroy the film industry.
PATRIOT in bite-sized chunks
(From Boing Boing) I've heard too many people argue against due process because "terrorists don't deserve Constitutional rights." What these morons fail to recognize is that those rights are not there for the criminals. Those rights are there to protect innocent people who get sucked into the system. They also protect the common man from abuse of power. (I know, I know, that only happens in other countries.) Well, under the Patriot Act, the justice system got a little more dangerous to innocent people. The EFF is posting concise analyses of the 13 provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire in December of 2005. Take a look.
Social Engineering in the Workplace
From /., "Could a total stranger walk out of your business with thousands of dollars in merchandise without your knowing? Even worse, could they manipulate you into helping them each step along the way?"
Marriage Advice
I think this bit of marriage wisdom was actually written in response to the legalization of gay marriages. But I couldn't find anything in there that wouldn't apply to a mixed gender marriage.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Unearthing T. Rex in Real Time
Ever wanted to see a T. Rex dig? Well, if you can't get out to Montana, at least you can see the day by day developments here. Don't miss the daily journal.
Shirt Origami
Ok, I keep my T-shits in a bin, so I have no right knowing how to do this. (Depending on your browser, you may have to right-click and "Save Target As") Although it's so cool, I might have to start folding my T-shirts.
Future Weapons of War in the Works
From /., "Who needs explosive missiles when you can just launch a 3 foot long chunk of metal at near Mach 7 speeds and get the same result? Popular Science looks at weapons the military is developing for future wars including electromagnetic railguns, space darts, superfast torpedos, laser cannons, and a gun that fires a million rounds per minute."
New Evidence About 'The Great Dying' 250 Million Years Ago
From /., "The Guardian is reporting that scientists have found the first direct evidence that the killoff of 80% of land species and 95% of marine species 2 billion years ago was due to a meteor. ... The project web site has more info, maps, etc."
Mastercard Spoof Advert
Ok, this is kind of on the border line of things I'm willing to post on PlanetDave. (Mom, skip this one.) If you're at all offended by discussion of sexual activities, you don't need to see this. If you thought the "37!?!" argument in Clerks was funny, you'll get a kick out of this Mastercard spoof.
Comic Strip o'th Day
I remember actually conducting experiments like this in college. The only thing we could stump our guinea pig with was Jello. A gooey concoction of a half dozen different drinks and left overs he was fine with. But not Jello.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Library of Alexandria discovered?
Found this interesting article over at the BBC web site. They think they might have found the ruins of the Library of Alexandria. I don't dare hope that they're right, I'll jinx it. Of course, as cool as it would be to find the site, I don't imagine any of the literature would've survived the fire. Bummer.
Baconizing Made Easy
Have you ever played the Kevin Bacon game? Were you any good at it? Yeah, me neither. But that's ok, because now there's help. Try it out. (It's a little spooky how well it works.)
PlanetDave HowTo: Build Your Own Monowheel
From /., "Just when you thought it was safe to buy a Segway, Popular Sci has an article on the Monster Monowheel, an 1,100 pound single wheel 'scooter'. From the article: '...works on the hamster-in-a-wheel principle: Move a wheel's center of gravity forward and the wheel turns.' It has an 80cc four-stroke Honda scooter engine and 80 pounds of lead for ballast. Scary part: the driver's seat is in the very front, and the seat scrapes the ground when braking really hard. ... The builder's website is theriotwheel.com" Yeah, I've pretty much decided that my next vehicle will have less than two wheels.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Latest from Jamie
Checking the mail bag for Jamie sightings, we've got an oddly disturbing Commodore Exectutive, a Nick Berg Conspiracy Theory, a Word of Caution to Fuel Thieves, Prepare for the Cicadas!, and a little perspective on your current job.
Political Humor
Got this from Kelly.
A lobbyist, on his way home from work in Washington, D.C., came to a dead halt in traffic and thought to himself, "wow, this traffic seems worse than usual."
He noticed a police officer walking between the lines of stopped cars, so he rolled down his window and asked "Officer, what's the hold-up?" The officer relied, "The President is depressed, so he stopped his motorcade and is threatening to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.
He says no one believes his stories about why we went to war in Iraq, or the worsening deficit and economy, or that his tax cuts will help everyone except his wealthy friends. So we're taking up a collection for him."
The lobbyist asks, "How much have you got so far?"
The officer replied, "About four gallons, but a lot of folks are still siphoning."
The Shining in 30 seconds with bunnies.
I got this from Kirk. It's a rendition of The Shining in 30 seconds with bunnies. If you like that, then check out The Exorcist in 30 seconds with bunnies.
The Truth About Snow
You have to read how the Preacher told his daughter The Truth About Snow. Personally, I always feel a sense of futility when people discuss their beliefs in the existence or non-existence of God. Asking someone whether they believe in the existence of God is not nearly the same thing as asking them whether they believe in the existence of the chair they're sitting on. When you say "God", you're really the only person who knows exactly what you mean. (Heck, you might even be a bit fuzzy on what you mean.) I hear these conversations from time to time, sometimes from within one. Usually, half the time is spent realizing that we're talking about different things, or the same thing with different names. Don't get me wrong, I think these are worthwhile conversations to have. They push the limits of our understanding, of our ideals, of English. It's just that they can get a little frustrating.
Lord Of The Furniture
Ok, you can't really call yourself a fan of Lord of the Rings unless you've got the furniture to back up such a claim. (Man, that dining table is hardcore.) Yeah, I'd get some of that, but I'm not sure it would go with the cinder block and plank entertainment center I've got in mind.
Daily Show On Torture Of Iraqi Prisoners By U.S. Military
Living up to my label of "Best News Show on Television", the Daily Show Covers the Iraqi Prisoner Scandal. What a mess.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Edouard Martinet Sculptures
Ok, even if you're not a fan of sculpture as an art form, you've got to check this stuff out. I love the combination of a very mechanical, robotic style with very organic subject matter. (Birds, bugs, frogs, etc.)
Boing Boing: Music Plasma -- visual music search is pretty amazing
From Boing Boing, "This visual music search engine lets you type in the name of an artist and it displays related artists. I thought I'd stump it by entering 'Robert Crumb' (the cartoonist, who used to play tenor banjo in one of my favorite bands, The Cheap Suit Serenaders). I'll be damned if Music Plasma didn't display my very favorite musicians right next to his name."
PlanetDave HowTo: Build a Speaker out of Hard Drive Parts
Got a dead hard drive? Don't throw it away! Build a speaker out of it! This is a great example of the use of an electromagnet, for any of you tinkerers out there. I imagine it would also be a great school assignment for a science class.
Free Books Online!
Read Print is one of the coolest web sites in existance. It's got truckloads of books that are Public Domain, free for the downloading! Hmmm... At what point does use of the company printer become abuse of company recourses?
When Did Architects Stop Creating in Favor of Copying?
Here's a little blog post that sums up one of the reasons why I never want to live in a subdivision.
Take Back the Airwaves!
From /., "Wired has this story about Steven Dunifer and his four-day Radio Summer Camps sponsored by Free Radio Berkeley that offers how-tos for building transmitters and antennas, along with advice on handling any FCC agents that might come knocking. Imagine this: A thousand little stations send radio programming across cities and towns from senior centers, dorm rooms and attics. The understaffed FCC would be powerless to shut them down. Audiences would have substantive content choices. No one would tune into Top-40 radio. And the media moguls would slink back into their caves. The FCC and Big Radio are obviously paying attention to the microbroadcasters -- it was pressure from independent broadcasters that forced the FCC to grant a limited number of low-power, or LPFM, radio licenses to community organizations, a decision that the NAB resisted. Are these Pirates or Patriots?"
Star Trek flat for $10^6
(Got this from Boing Boing.) A UK interior decorator (and apparently a Star Trek fan) re-did his flat in a Star Trek motif. If you'd like to live in Hinckley, Leicestershire, you could buy the place for a million bucks. (US)
Thursday, May 13, 2004
FAA hired a chimpanzee to manage quality-assurance
From Boing Boing, "A New York Times article reports that a tape recording made on 9/11/01 containing statements from 'at least six air traffic controllers who dealt with two of the hijacked airliners .. was destroyed by a supervisor without anyone making a transcript or even listening to it.'" [Logon/Password: "planetdave"]
"The quality-assurance manager was said to have 'crushed the cassette in his hand,' before disposing of it.
I just tried to crush a cassette in my hand. I couldn't do it. I know my upper body strength isn't what it ought to be, but I don't see how any normal human could crush a cassette in his or her bare hand.
I therefore conclude that the manager is not human. He is probably a very smart, shaved, and clothed chimp. Supporting evidence: In 1924, the Bronx Zoo tested the grip strength of people and chimpanzees using a dynamometer. A 160-pound male human had a grip strength of 210 pounds. But a 135-pound female chimp had a grip strength of 1260 pounds. Anybody have a pet chimp so we can test this out? I'll pay for the cassette."
Emotional Bonding with Space Probes
From /., "Space.com has a story on the scientists and technicians working on the Mars rovers, Spirit and Oppotunity--and how they will react when the rovers finally break down, go silent, or otherwise die. Of course, humans becoming emotionally involved with hardware is high on the list of overused science fiction cliches (see I.14), and humans were naming (and anthropomorphizing) their cars long before they started doing it to their computers. Some argue that anthropomorphic design can ease end-user acceptance [PDF], with some interesting results among toys for children. On the other hand, when software manufacturers try to give our computers some 'personality', we tend to vehemently react against it--witness Microsoft's attempts with the much-loathed Bob and Clippy. And when our personal computers are aged or ailing or simply misbehaving, we usually are more than happy to put them out of our misery. So in the case of Spirit and Opportunity, the issue may be the large investment of time, money, and professional credibility in having two semi-autonomous rovers 100 million miles away function correctly. Best quote from the Space.com story: when Spirit, early into its mission, shut down for reasons then unknown, the Spirit mission manager happened to get a phone call from her husband. He asked her how her day had been, and she said, 'Well…I think I’m personally responsible for the loss of a $400 million national asset.' Doncha hate it when that happens?"
Blessed Britney
From Boing Boing, "According to The Mirror, dear Britney Spears has demonstrated her devotion to Kabbalah (the newage Madonna variety, of course) by getting a Hebrew tattoo on the back of her neck. Too bad the letters don't mean a damn thing. Further adding to the irony (and idiocy) of the situation is the fact that the Torah forbids tattoos."
Amateur Rocket to Carry Ham Radio Payload to Space
From /., "An amateur rocket team this month will attempt to send a 21-foot-tall rocket carrying a ham radio avionics package into the fringes of space. The launch by the Civilian Space Xploration Team (CSXT) could occur as early as Monday, May 17. Some 20 months ago, the last CSXT try to reach space ended some three seconds after launch when the rocket's engine exploded. Avionics Team Leader Eric Knight, KB1EHE, says CSXT has since rebounded from that devastating blow with a newer, bigger vehicle. In terms of Amateur Radio, the GoFast rocket will transmit telemetry on the 33-cm amateur band and Amateur TV at 2.4 GHz using a high-quality color camera. The avionics also incorporate multiple global positioning system (GPS) systems to record the vehicle's precise location and flight path, redundant data acquisition and storage systems, and a variety of data sensors. Plans call for the solid-fuel rocket to zip upward from the desert floor and reach a speed of more than 4000 MPH in about 9 seconds. The suborbital vehicle will attain an altitude of 100 km or 62 statute miles--high enough to be considered 'space'--linger there for a couple of minutes then arc back to Earth some 26 miles down range. The whole thing will take somewhat less than a half-hour. If successful it would mark the first amateur rocket launch into space."
PlanetDave HowTo: Make your own WWII victory shoes
From Boing Boing, "'Scrap materials, the end of an ordinary box, scraps of leather or canvas, are all you need to manufacture a pair of comfortable, serviceable play shoes.' So says the introduction to this Sunset article from 1943 on how to make your own "Caterpillars." I'd rather have these than those embarrassingly smug Adbusters sneakers." Those look like they'd feel pretty funky. Hmmm. If I come across a few feet of 1" board, I may have to try that out. There's also this link to home made Tevas from old tires. Looks like they'd take quite a beating.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Latest from Jamie
Jamie's been in rare form lately. He's sent me NES Buckle, Death By..., MP3 Players Don't Kill People..., The Bottle Rocket Was Where?, and last but not least, the Bunnysutra.
They Fight Crime!
I got this from Ron. It's a very amusing random phrase generator that fills in "He's a ___ She's a ___ They Fight Crime!"
Stupid Head
Got this from Wil. It's an article about how our brain censors what it feels is irrelivant. If you actively focus your attention on something, you're more likely to miss an obvious change. A funny example they use is having a researcher ask a mark- I mean ask a subject for directions. Half way through the conversation, the researcher leaves and is replaced by someone else. (The switch is all slight of hand, hidden from the test subject by a couple people carrying a door between the two talking people.) Half of the people tested failed to notice the change. At the end of the article is a link to some videos demonstrating these effects. Seems like this is the same part of the brain that catches continuity errors in movies. (I'm not very good at that.)
Kinetic Sculpture Race 2004
From /., "Tom Jones again has coverage and eye-candy of the 2004 Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race where engineers and artists come together, with tongues firmly in cheeks, to create land-riding, mud-crawling, sea-slogging, human-powered works of art. Amongst the winners were the Cirque de Sore Legs and La Kafkaracha."
Missing Matter... Still Missing
From /., "Nature.com, PhysicsWeb, and the BBC all report on the latest results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search. 'The most powerful search yet for the Universe's missing matter has come up empty handed, contradicting an earlier study that claimed to have seen new particles.' 'A favoured theory is that the dark matter consists of Wimps (weakly interacting massive particles) about a thousand times more massive than a proton, one of the particles found in an atom's nucleus... on the rare occasions a Wimp strikes an ordinary atom, the effect should be noticeable.' 'Writing in the Physical Review Letters, the team says that while a detection has yet to occur, there is now a better idea of how much dark matter must exist.' They 'hope to improve the sensitivity of the experiment by another factor of 20 over the next few years.' What's 20 times 0? And don't tell me zero!" Ok, I've lost count of the number of experiments that have failed to detect this missing matter. It sounds like it's almost time to throw out a much loved theory. Now, this is really easy for me to say, it's not my theory. Heck, it took Kepler something like 60 years to give up on his "nested geometric solids" theory of planetary motion. But when he did, he came up with the Keplerian Laws. (NASA still uses these today for interplanetary navigation.) Unfortunately, the real advances in science come from hard earned lessons that we were wrong about something.
Tribes 1 And Tribes 2 Free Downloads Available
From /., "Starsiege: TRIBES (typically known as "Tribes 1") and Tribes 2 for the PC have been released for free download via FilePlanet by Vivendi Universal Games [also try the Tribes 2 BitTorrent link]. The two games stand as pioneers of the outdoor combat sub-genre of first person shooters and of all multiplayer games, influencing Halo and UT2004 among other games. Tribes 1 was the first multiplayer-only shooter, whereas Tribes 2 extended the core unique elements of its predecessor to a greater scale and depth. With this [previously mentioned on Slashdot] free release, VUG is stirring up anticipation for the release of the third Tribes game, Tribes: Vengeance. ... You'll need to enter a form to get a CD key to play Tribes 2 online." As though I wasn't already behind in my video gaming.
ASL Browser
ASL is a very cool language. It's especially useful in a bar too loud to hear yourself think. (Provided you know the appropriate signs.) Well now you can learn it online. Cool. (FYI, internet protocol is that you always start with the rude phrases and insults. But I couldn't find the rude gestures that I already know. I'll have to email them about this oversight.)
Ghostbusters Proton Pack for sale on eBay
Ok, you kinda have to see this to believe it. You also have to check out the build diary, and the Quicktime clip showing the pack in action. (It's got sound effects and a soundtrack! I want that power-up sound for my Windows start-up sound!) For some people I guess this is a hobby. For others, it's a way of life.
PlanetDave HowTo: Throwing Playing Cards
I remember watching martial arts flicks in Dave Chen's room when I lived in MoJo. (None of them in English, of course. In fact, some of them didn't even have English subtitles.) One of these involved a guy who threw ordinary playing cards. Who could watch that and not have to try it? As I recall quite a brawl broke out in the hall. Cards flying everywhere. Boy, in retrospect, I'm kind of amazed no one caught one in the eye. Now, if we'd had instruction on this, maybe we could've done more damage.
What is the cost of security? Is it worth it?
With all the talk about National Security, you rarely hear Dubbya talk about the cost. That fact is that this "security" is bought and paid for with American tax dollars, American lives, and American liberties. C|net has a pretty good column on this issue.
Understanding the Common Cold
Colds are probably something that most people don't like to think about if they don't have to. But the details of how colds work is acutally pretty interesting.
Building A Modern Stonehenge In New Zealand
From /., "Wired News is reporting that a group of astronomy enthusiasts in New Zealand is building its own version of Stonehenge in a little more than a year. Why? "We came up with the idea of Stonehenge because it doesn't matter who you are -- everyone looks at the Pyramids and Stonehenge and structures like that (and asks) who built them, why did they build them?" says Richard Hall, president of the Phoenix Astronomical Society. Yet another reason to book a ticket!"
Saturday, May 08, 2004
United States IBB Fights Web Censorship By... Censoring the Web
The US International Broadcasting Bureau decided that people in Iran, China, and other opressive countries should have the right to see the internet unfiltered by their government. Sounds like a good idea. Right up until the IBB puts up a porn filter that inadvertently bans legitimate sites. Cause our government can do a better job of filtering than their government, right?
More From the Hubble Space Telescope
If you've got the bandwidth, check out these shots from Hubble. There's background information on those pictures on the AstroFiles page. This one's my favorite.
A Camaro That Leaves A Wake
From /., "I came across this entirely at random, but it seems like someone with too much time on his hands has taken an old idea and improved on it... and come up with something truly unique and cool: a car based on a 2002 Camaro body with a Subaru WRX Turbo engine (300 horsepower) capable of going over 125MPH that doubles as a boat capable of going over 40MPH." Doesn't appear to be in production. It'd be pretty cool to be able to consider that when my current steed needs replacing. (I'm going to pretent that it'd be in my price range.)
Growing Teeth with Stem Cell Technology
From /., "Lost a tooth lately? Well, a natural cure may be at hand. The BBC is reporting on a grant awarded to researchers at King's College, London, which they say will allow them to develop a technique for growing natural replacement teeth. Using recently developed techniques, stem cells can be programmed to develop into teeth, and then inserted into the gap in a patient's jaw. According to the BBC, the research has already been successfully performed on mice, and clinical trials on humans should begin within two years."
BBC Introduces TV on Demand
I don't watch much TV anymore. The little bit I do watch is typically on DVD, like Firefly. (Which I can continue when I get disk 3 back, Jason.) Even when I do find out some thing interesting is going to be on, I seem to have this inability to actually schedule my time around the TV. Well, the BBC is piloting a project that might get me to watch more TV. If it ever got past the testing stages, it would allow people to buy and download TV shows for a week or two after the show was aired. And it sounds like they're not going to have any stupid limitations on what you can do with th show you buy. Watch it on your PC, burn it to a DVD, watch it on a PDA, whatever. Man, I kinda hope this doesn't make TV practical. The last thing I need is another time sink.
PlanetDave HowTo: Make a Stun Gun out of a Disposable Camera
Ah, the things you can learn on the Internet!
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Dramatic Mario Brothers
I know that several of my readers have played Super Mario Brothers as some point in their lives. Yeah, you've played it. But have you seen it with a proper musical score? With epic battle scenes? Maybe it's time you did. That's part one, here's part two, part three, and part four. Part five will be the dramatic conclusion. I can't wait!
Make A Photo Book
From the J-Walk Blog, "This is a great idea: MyPublisher. Send them your digital photos, and they'll print them in a book. Prices start at $9.95 for a 20-page book with up to 80 photos." Boy, that might even be cost effective. How much do photo albums and prints of your digital pix cost?
The Men Commandments
This list is more for women than for men. (Anyone with a Y chromosome should know these rules without having to read them.)
The Friends of the Parasol
From BoingBoing, "California's UFO-shaped Parasol diner, which is kept in pristine 1967 original condition by its owner, is scheduled to be torn down by a shopping mall developer in May. This site has more Parasol pictures, articles, and a link to an online petition." Yeah, if there's anything this country needs, it's less distinctive architecture, and more strip malls.
Low Class Tee Shirts
Not sure if there's anything worth buying at Busted Tees, but I got a kick out of this one.
Patriot Act Protects Itself by Preventing Public Challenges.
From BoingBoing, "Great headline from the Washington Post: "Patriot Act Suppresses News Of Challenge to Patriot Act." It has to do with the ACLU filing a lawsuit challenging something in the Patriot Act, but a different provision in the Patriot Act made it illegal for the ACLU to reveal the lawsuit. Neat!"
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
More From Jamie
First up, Cicada Apocalypse Leads to Better Eating? Also, Banana Badgers. (No, it's probably not going to make any more sense if you see the original.) I sent it to Jurgo and he told me to open several windows for a musical round experience. I opened three, and it actually made my extremities sweat. I'm pretty sure my frontal lobe would've fused had I given it another minute. And to go along with yesterday's "Arithetic" post, Jamie also sent me this guy.
Whitespace
I've been considering teaching myself another programming language. You think I should learn Java or Whitespace? In Whitespace, it's almost impossible to confuse a comment with code. If you can see it, it's a comment.
Bovine Stickers for your Fridge
Wow. I'm honestly not sure what to say about this ... different product.
Attack of the Giant Snails
Sounds like a horror movie. But it isn't. Hmmm. I imagine the chase scenes would suck.
The Bugatti Veyron
From /., "How do you fit 1,000 horsepower into a compact engine? How do you keep a passenger car on the road at 250+ MPH? The article links to a set of videos on the Veyron engine that are also very good. Are there any cars out there better than this? ... There's also a story by Popular Science " Huh. Reminds me of the Tomahawk.
Make Your Own National Geographic Maps
National Geographic has the best maps. Well now, you can make your own with their online MapMachine. The satellite maps are really cool! Hmmm. I may have to order a print of one of these.
Disproving Darwin
From the J-Walk Blog, "Here's an odd Quicktime video: The Human Target. Some guy puts on a target t-shirt, and others shoot fireworks at him. It's not clear what the actual purpose is. Unfortunately for the human gene pool, he survives." Sounds like similar experiments in survival of stupidity that were conducted in China. From BoingBoing, "Chiseen -- Cantonese for "crazy" -- is a Chinese sport in which kids in giant woks toboggan down angled moving sidewalks at night."
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Picture of the Day
I really wish people like this were rare. Seems like the less someone knows, the more outspoken they are.
A Bit of Politics
Well, I was pretty optimistic about Dubbya losing the next election until I read this poll that Wil sent me. Man, people are dumb. He also forwarded this little tidbit: "The GOP National Committee announced today that it is changing the Republican emblem from an elephant to a condom because it more clearly reflects the party's political stance: A condom stands up to inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks and gives one a sense of security while screwing others." He also sent me a link to something almost as pointless as hampster dance. Turn your speakers down a bit and check out the hammy. Getting back to politics, if you haven't read The Mighty Pen, go check it out.
Car Stacking?
I think I posted something like this car stacker before, but the company site has better pictures.
More Fun With Photo Manipulation
If I had more time today, I'd save and post the PlanetDave.net advertising I created here. But I guess you'll just have to use your imagination.
Spider Feet Are Cool
The ubiquitous "They" have discovered that spiders stick to things the same way geckos do. A tuft of hairs on the feet use van der Waals forces to electricaly cling to stuff. This is the same force that makes water stick to stuff. It's not a very strong force, but when 600,000 of these hairs are all in contact with something, they can hold 170 times the spider's weight! The people who discovered this same functionality on gecko feet talked about creating gecko tape. That's all fine and dandy, but where the hell are my gecko gloves and socks!?! I was promised gecko gloves!
Liquid Body Armor
From /., "Military.com has an article about a new liquid body armor the U.S. Army Research Laboratory has developed. According to Dr. Eric Wetzel, the project coordinator: 'The key component of liquid armor is a shear thickening fluid. STF is composed of hard particles suspended in a liquid. The liquid, polyethylene glycol, is non-toxic, and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Hard, nano-particles of silica are the other components of STF. This combination of flowable and hard components results in a material with unusual properties'." For the record, the first time I played with a non-Newtonion fluid (like corn starch in water) I thought it would make great body armor. (If you've never seen it, mix 1.5 cups of corn starch with about 1/2 cup of water. (Give or take.) It's a liquid until you apply pressure, then it acts like a solid.)
Monday, May 03, 2004
Physics From Hollywood
From /., "What do films like Independence Day, Armageddon and X-Men have in common? The answer is that apart from costing millions of dollars to make, they all feature in a new course called Physics in Films that is being taught to students at the University of Central Florida, according to PhysicsWeb. Costas Efthimiou, the mathematical physicist who teaches the course, believes that non-science students learn more about the fundamentals of physics by studying films and science fiction than they do from more traditional approaches." Among the topics discussed is "the conservation of momentum in Tango and Cash." If I ever teach physics, I'm definitely going to try this.
526 Years On, Da Vinci's Clockwork Car Constructed
From /., "The Guardian (and several other news outlets) report on the attempt by Professor Paulo Galluci and his team to build a working model of Leonard Da Vinci's clockwork powered car, designed in 1478. Previous attempts have been made to create the vehicle, but they failed to work properly. This is thought to be due to a misunderstanding of the original design, which is corrected in the new model. Apart from the 1/3 scale replica, the team have also made a full size model but have not dared to test it. Professor Galluzzi explained "It is a very powerful machine. It could run into something and do serious damage.""
Synthetic Life In The Lab
From /., "Scientific American is carrying a story about sythetic life - genetic engineered "machines" made from DNA building blocks called "BioBricks". The goal is to produce a library of building blocks that can be assembled to give predictable results. Reminds me of the technology behind Blade Runner's replicants."
Doggie Brothel
Got this from Jamie today. At the end of last week, he sent me Remote Controls in Class. (logon/password: planetdave)
Our Man In Black
From /., "A recent Slate article covers the onerous responsibilites of the Planetary Protection Officer. He is tasked with preventing contamination of earth by alien organisms, and 'forward contamination' (contamination of other planets with earth germs). There is also a published protocol (PDF link) for avoiding Martian bugs." Man, how do you apply for a job like that?
Machinima - Spielbergs with a Joystick
If you haven't checked out Rev vs Blue, give it a look. It's a collection of funny shorts, but rather than using traditional animation, the voice actors "act" with in-game avatars in a networked game of Halo. From /., "The Toronto Star's Murray Whyte writes about the growing popularity of machinima as the birth of a new type of filmmaking and artform. The article largely focuses on Red vs. Blue but also discusses Jim Munroe's My Trip To Liberty City, in which 'Munroe adopts the genteel perspective of a Canadian tourist while meandering the seamy, violent streets of the game Grand Theft Auto.' The most interesting comment comes from the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences' Paul Marino who compares machinima to garage bands."