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Planet Dave! Thursday, January 27, 2005
Geek Test
If you are talking to a potential geek and want to find out for sure, say the following phrase to the subject: "Did you hear about the programmer who died in the shower? He was following the instructions on the shampoo bottle. Lather, rinse, repeat..."
Responses:
Non Geek - Blank stare, audible blinks.
Quasi Geek - Laughter. Possibly incorporating snorts.
Advanced Geek - Says the punch line before you get a chance.
Alpha Geek - "Wouldn't he just throw an exception when he ran out of shampoo?"
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Hot Lead vs. Cold Steel
Zach showed a video of a bullet fired at the blade of a katana. It's pretty cool. What's even cooler is when they do the same experiment with a 50 caliber machine gun.
Spy on the Wild : Bird Technology
Remember Critter Cam? Here's the same type of thing, but with eagles. (Click "Continue" then "Mini-Cam in Action" for the videos.)
Gov Prepares Shutdown of GPS System
Your president has ordered that the government be ready to deny GPS access for rescue workers. But only in the event of a terrorist attack. Ok, I may be paraphrasing a bit, but that's essentially it.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Weather Monitoring Frequencies Subject to Pollution
From /., "In a case of technology vs. technology, the ICU (the body governing the use of radio frequencies around the globe) has been asked to secure radio frequences used for weather monitoring. In-car radar, mobile phones and other commercial and military applications are now using these same frequencies. However, weather satellites can't simply be re-tuned. There is only one very narrow band that detects water vapor but not liquid water, for example. This frequency has been sold to developers of car radar systems. The more this happens, the less useful weather radar and weather satellites will be. The noise will simply swamp the data, making what is collected useless. The article doesn't give a 'doomsday' timeframe, when we'll have no better ability to forecast the weather than they did in the 1800s, but that is what they are talking about."
Star Wars: A Video Games Saga
Found a really cool article over at UGO that takes a look at the Star Wars video game saga. I have to admit a bit of nostalgia at that pic of X-Wing.
Vintage science fiction radio play MP3s
From Boing Boing, "This site has a great selection of some older radio shows and it includes the classic 'X minus 1' series that ran from 1955 to 1957 on NBC radio. All are considered public domain and are free to listen to. 'X minus 1' was a forerunner of the 'Twilight Zone' and 'Outer Limits' TV series, and featured radio adaptations of stories by Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, etc." I've just listened to the second one. (The first one's a dead link.) I'm going to burn a bunch of them to CD for my next road trip.
T-shirt Humor
I might have to pick up one of these shirts. I'm ashamed to admit it but I bust up laughing every time I see this one.
The Zero Gravity Experience
There's a company based in Fort Lauderdale that will take you on a flight through several parabolic arcs. (Zero-gravity.) Seats are almost four grand a piece, but I notice their next flight is sold out. Check out their gallery.
Dry, deadly quicksand
From Boing Boing, "The NYTimes reported today on Dutch researchers whose research suggests that quicksand may indeed exist *without* water. This 'dry quicksand' is so lethal that dropping a weighted ping pong ball on the surface is enough to make the ball disappear almost instantly. See the video material on this site." (NYTimes logon/password: "planetdave")
Lego Logic Gates
From /., "LEGO Logic Gates - It's like Babbage, but with bricks. All the gates except XOR are here, and he goes on to develop a clocked flip-flop. While practical mechanical computers may be out, even at the nanotechnological scale, nanomechanical memory may be in."
Dave Quote of the Day
I heard an interesting phrase come out of my mouth today. "There's a finite number of dog noses in my crotch that I'm comfortable with. And that number is less than two."
Statistically speaking, today is the most depressing day of the year.
It's true. Got this article from Wil explaining the whole thing. They calculated it "using an elaborate formula expressing the delicate interplay of lousy weather, post-Christmas debt, time elapsed since yuletide indulgence, failed new year resolutions, motivation levels, and the desperate need to have something to look forward to." Have a nice day!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Laptop bag made from cedar
Ok, in my opinion a laptop case (or any kind of case for that matter) is something that gets banged up and damaged so that the thing inside it doesn't. I think I'd need to get a case to put this cedar case in.
Where Is My Gay Apocalypse?
From Jurgo's LiveJournal, a column about the chaos and anarchy that we were promised, but have yet to see.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
New Diet
Got this from Wil. As he said, it's refreshing when people think rationally about things.
CONCERNED ABOUT TOO MANY CARBS IN YOUR DIET? For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
Man Builds 7-foot Grandfather Clock from Lego
From /., "Eric Harshbarger has built a 7-foot-tall grandfather clock exclusively from Lego. It keeps accurate time and needs no electricity; it needs to be weight reset every 13 hours. Other pictures include the gears, numbers, the face, and the pendulum mechanics."
Super Soaker Flamethrower
Got this video from Jamie. I like the birthday candle ignition system. What really amazes me about all this is that they test the thing inside. That sure seems like an outside toy to me.
Depressing Political Stuff.
Ok, I just get mad when I write about politics. So I'm going to just post links today. Draw your own conclusions.
Faith Based National Parks? I got this from Dad.
Dire Warnings from The Economist Got this from Wil.
You've probably heard about the evolution stickers in public school science books. Marty sent me a list of stickers that are all equally relevent.
Sky Cutter and the Mower of Tomorrow
Gene forwarded this video to me a while back. It's, uh, surreal.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Catching up with Jamie
It's been a while since I posting anything from Jamie. Let's see, we've got A Town in Austria, Giant Burger, Need Some Advice, and Cat Emoticons.
Pen Twirling
I've been in some pretty boring classes. But I've never seen this kind of skill. I wonder how many lecture-hours it takes to achieve that kind of mastery.
Radisson SAS Hotel London features 13m tall 'Wine Tower'
More than 40 vertical feet of wine? I wonder how often they drop a bottle.
100 Things Every Guy Must Know
Maxim is a great publication. Great writing, and great... um... photo essays.
KatWALLks Cat Furniture
It's furniture for your cat, that you put on your walls. I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, but I think it's cool. Although it seems a little expensive for what you get.
BrainPort Allows People To Reclaim Damaged Senses
From /., "There is a news article on a new device called a BrainPort, which is special device that is worn like a helmet, with a strip of tape containing an array of 144 microelectrodes hanging off the headset which is placed on the tongue. The BrainPort then sends signals to the tongue which are then picked up by the brain, allowing the user to regain otherwise lost sensory input." I think I've posted on this type of thing before. A nerve center is a nerve center. It can be used to transmit just about any type of information if the brain is trained how to interpret it. The tongue is great for this because it's got a nice high concentration of nerves and you don't need to drill any holes in the patient's head. They've actually got people who've been blind since birth recognizing letters. I can't get over how cool this is. This is the Holy Grail of cybernetics. In a couple decades, the deaf will hear and the blind will see!
World's largest sleeping Buddha
Indeed, that's a big Budda. That's like, on the order of the Crazy Horse out west.
Duck Butts for your Ceiling
Ok, the idea is that you take these plastic duck butts and put them on your ceiling. Then it's like you're looking up at the surface of a pond. No, I'm not making this stuff up. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I find myself strangely intrigued by the idea.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Stupid Blogger
Ok, this is the second time that Blogger.com lost a long post when it tried to publish it. It gave me an error, and when I paged back to the editor, it was blank. Believe me, you're missing a doozy. It was a long rant that explored the cultural implications of the decline of PC gaming in favor of the growing legions of console gamers. Maybe I'll take the time to retype it someday. But now I'm going to bed.
Security Blanket
I don't spend much time on the phone. I think I've got about a 300 minute plan and I've gone over once in the years I've had it. I'll go days without talking on the phone. But I still can't help that sudden wash of panic when I realize I left my cell in my bedroom. Maybe I should drive home and get it...