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Planet Dave! Thursday, December 30, 2004
Where you can donate to tsunami relief.
Marty sent me a list of agencies that are responding to the disaster in the Pacific. And Dad pointed me toward this list on CNN. As of this morning, the death toll is over 100,000. And that number is only going to go up.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Why Marion is the best Indy girl.
Number one, she's got a mean right hook. (And she's the first person we see land a solid hit on Indiana.)
Number two, she can out-drink people twice her size.
Number three, correct me if I'm wrong, but to my knowledge she's the only girl to remove The Hat from Indy's head. In fact, does ANYONE else remove Indy's hat? (Might be someone in Temple of Doom. I'm not terribly familiar with that one.)
Friday, December 24, 2004
Christmas Story Uncut
The Real Live Preacher has re-posted his RLPDV telling of the Christmas story. It's a good read, and it asks a few questions that I'd never thought of before. I really like the RLP's versions of these stories. He's really good at focusing on the human aspects of the stories. I particularly like the one which shows Jesus learning a lesson.
How to Rock
Got this from Jamie. It's a commercial for an electronic keyboard. My favorite quote, "This is rock and roll." Check out the video. The funniest part is that the guy can actually rock.
Musical Prototypes
I love these Photoshop contests. The latest one to catch my attention is Musical Prototypes.
Quote of the Day
Marty sent me this a few weeks ago:
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
- H.L. Mencken
Welcome to the future.
Advice for Directionally Challanged Tank Operators
If you're driving a tank to a parade location and you get lost, don't ask an angry group of war protestors for directions. The rumors'll get crazy. When the battle vehicles showed up at the protest, people went nuts about "the police state flexing its muscles." Then one of the protestors saw the same guys at a parade the next morning.
From the conversation,
I asked him if he was "rolling around Westwood" Tuesday night. He said, "Yeah, and we drove past that anti-war demonstration. We was lost. We're not from L.A. We didn't know where this place (WLA VA) was. We were trying to find it." "Did you drive around the block twice?" I asked. "Yeah, we did. We stopped to ask them (the protestors) directions, but they weren't very nice."
Fuck the South
This quaint little editorial was posted right after the election. The gist of it is pretty much summed up in the title.
Critter Cam
If I ever start watching TV again (Doubtful. It cuts into my video game time.) I'll have to watch Critter Cam. Boy, I'm not ever sure we get the National Geographic Channel. Anyway, the premise of the show is that they put small portable cameras on, well, critters. And we get to see a few hours of a day from their perspective. The preview clips are cool. Go check 'em out.
Instant Hologram Kit
This kit looks pretty neat. A couple things I'd want to know before dropping that kind of money, are they white-reflecting holograms? (Holograms that can be viewed with a white light. Some solograms need to be illuminated with a laser of the same frequency that it was made with in order to be seen.) How do they get a clear picture without vibration isolation? I took a holography art class in college, and the two biggest pains were the vibration isolation table and the film developing. Other than the lack of details on the web site, it looks pretty cool. I might have to pick one of those up.
2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes
I realize this is a bit late, but no less disturbing. Not for the faint of heart.
Hamsters in Hats
And if you were worried that some of your hobbies might be a little strange, take a look at this and worry no more.
Rat Hammocks
This is simultaneously ridiculous in its pointlessness and cool in its demonstration of how anyone can reach the most obscure set of customers through the internet.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Bush's Record on Honesty
An insightful article entitled, Election 2004: Lie and You Thrive. A choice quote: "Perhaps never before has a president sought a second term by endlessly hyping the catastrophic failures of his first four years in office." It was posted before the election, and now serves more as a warning than anything else.
I hate shopping.
And in today's lesson, Dave learns that if he's going to do Christmas shopping online, he needs to do it about a week earlier if he doesn't want to get bent over a barrel with shipping. Delivery in a week and a half? Free! Delivery in 5 days? Two limbs and a newborn!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon
I have in my hand (the one I'm not typing with) the super-duper-extendo edition of Return of the King. 50 extra minutes of movie. My collection is now complete! Who's up for a movie marathon? Such a feat hasn't been attempted since the Godfather Fest of 1990.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Never Again
In today's lesson, Dave learns that if he absent mindedly leaves the house wearing boxers, any plans to go running should probably be scrapped.
What do you want for Christmas?
Ok, I've done my part. I've got a well maintained list of many cool things that I would be more than happy to receive for Christmas or Tartan Day. Now it's time for you, as my readers, to take some responsibility. What do YOU want?
Cruel Nicknames for Overweight Vampires.
I got this amusing list from Melanie in my SciFi book group. I almost hurt something laughing at "Cholesteratu."
The New Yorker Sums up Dubbya
I couldn't finish this article. Gives me a horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can't believe we've got another four years with this guy. Everybody pray for America.
Boing Boing: Gramophone DIY kit
From Boing Boing, "This £16.95 kit was developed at Middlesex University -- it's a collection of materials and DIY instructions for building a mechanical gramaphone. It even comes bundled with a pair of old 78 RPM discs to test it with."
The Hacker Attitude
From /., "Paul Graham has posted a new essay titled 'Good Bad Attitude' talking about the hacker attitude toward rules and government regulation of Intellectual Property."
Frame Dragging by Earth Reconfirmed
From /., "After 11 years of watching the movements of two Earth-orbiting satellites, researchers found each is dragged by about 6 feet (2 meters) every year because the very fabric of space is twisted by our whirling world. The results, announced today, are much more precise than preliminary findings published by the same group in the late 1990s. The researchers say their result is 99 percent of the predicted drag, with an error of up to 10 percent. The details are reported in the Oct. 21 issue of the journal Nature."
Neal Stephenson Interviewed on /.
This interview with Neal Stephenson is very amusing reading. May I draw your attention to his answer to question 4, "In a fight between you and William Gibson, who would win?"
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Child's Play
One of the numerous bad things about being a sick kid is the intense crushing boredom. Some chemo treatments don't allow you to even leave your room let alone go outside and play. The folks over at Penny Arcade are trying to do something about that. Follow that link, and you can donate a video game or game system (as well as a number of other toys) to a children's hospital. (Please stick to the wish lists. Apparently even something as innocuous as a stuffed animal can't be given to a cancer patient because of the infection risks.) This is a really great charity. And you don't have to take my word for that.
How to Get a Head Without Hunting
Imagine this. Stalking through a Toys-R-Us, steathily entering the stuffed animals section, gunning down a teddy bear, and mounting its head on your wall. You can actually get quite a few different animal head trophies at this site. I dig the moose.
Schoolhouse Rock that tells it like it is
From Boing Boing, "Pirates and Emporers is a pitch-perfect send-up of the "Schoolhouse Rock" musical civics cartoons of the 1970s -- easily the most-compelling educational materials aired on US TV -- in which the dark history of US international policy (funding terrorists, arming atrocity-mongers) is set to jaunty music and simple animation." Any fans of Shoolhouse Rock need to watch this!
This or That
Found this Lessig's blog. It's a mix-up of the presidential debates. (For the record, Lessig posted it before the election. I'm the one running late.) I fear for the future of this country.
The Crusade Against Evolution
I weep for the education of America's youth. Found this depressing article over at Wired. Do these people really have that tenuous a grasp on the concepts of science? Or are they purposely undermining kids' understanding of science in order to push a religious agenda? What really gets me is the all-or-nothing treatment of religion. The sentiment that if there's one verse in the Bible that isn't literal truth, the whole thing must be worthless. People are so used to multiple choice tests that they're beginning to apply it to their lives. So many people seem to pick between "atheist scientist" or "religious zealot" without even considering the possibility of middle ground. It all makes so much more sense when you accept the underlying truth that people are stupid.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Independent Games Festival
From Boing Boing, "The 2005 Independent Games Festival is here, and the full list of entries includes some pretty well designed and innovative titles. My favourite so far is Gish, a physics-based 2D side-scroller from the guys who brought you Bridge It and Pontifex. Link to the awesome Gish trailer." Chronic Logic is a great game company. If you haven't seen Gish, you should take a look.
Three Proofs of Jesus
Proof that Jesus was a black, jewish, Italian/Irish woman from California. No, seriously.
Transparent map over satellite photos of London
From Boing Boing, "This overlays a streetmap on an aerial photo of the Tower of London (and, presumably, with other cities as well). Move the mouse around to see the overlay move. Very cool hack."
MirrorMask
A movie involving Neil Gaiman AND the Jim Henson Company? I'm there. Check out the preview. If anyone finds out when this is going to hit the theaters, let me know. (All I can find online is "TBA".)
Monday, December 06, 2004
Imminent Flare-up of Dave's Computer Game Habit
I've never gotten into the whole MMORPG thing. (Massively multi-player online role playing games.) Everquest, Ultima Online, even Star Wars Galaxies. I never played STAR WARS GALAXIES. (For those who don't know me personally, that's saying a lot.) But I may have reached my breaking point. I just found out Thursday that in World of Warcraft, I can play a troll axe thrower. Quite possibly the coolest character in the Warcraft games! Sigh.
What if Bush had run against Jesus?
Dad sent me this political ad for just such an event. It's funny because it's believable.
Flip Flop Hypocrisy
Jamie sent me this great flip flop catalog. For the record, he sent it to be before the election. I'm the one who's running late.
My Cat Hates You
Got this from Wil. It's basically a web site full of pics of evil looking kittens. The combination of cute and evil is just irresistible! Wil went on to add, "Consider this; when a mafia boss leaves a dead fish on your doorstep with a knife through its guts- we enter witness protection. When a cat brings a dead bird to our door- we think it 'loves' us."
Our Solar System's Magnetic Shield
Most of my readers have probably heard of the Earth's magnetic field. It's the solar wind colliding with Earth's magnetic field that created that lightshow we saw last month. What you may not know is that the sun also has a magnetic field.
Making Tracks on Mars
From /., "In a remarkable series of orbital pictures, the Mars Global Surveyor's cameras have imaged the tracks of the Spirit rover on the surface. Individual debris pieces including the backshell and lander are visible with remarkable clarity using an innovative roll of the satellite."
