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Planet Dave! Monday, September 25, 2006
It's all about the showmanship.
Got this NSFW video from Ron. Just goes to show, it doesn't matter if you've only got one trick. It's all about presentation.
State and Federal governments Butt Heads Over Phone Snooping
Saw this article over at /. Now, the executive summary. It's no secret that Big Bro- I mean Uncle Sam has been looking at our phone records. Well, some Verizon customers in Maine are complaining that Verizon violated state privacy laws in turning over data to the NSA. Get this, the Justice Department threatened to sue the State of Maine if they investigate this. Man, where does it stop?
Stuff you need to check out
Siggraph 2006 recap
HowToons! - Check it out: Ice Cream!
Only traitors try to make us afraid of terrorists - Glad I'm not the only one getting tired of my government trying to terrorize me.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Has anyone seen my brown wool cloak?
People who were at the film shoot on Monday the 11th, do any of you know what happened to my cloak? Last I saw it, it was on the ground under the big tree near where Tina and I were doing fire stuff. When I packed up and left (this was after our sweep) I neglected to pick it up. That was that Monday night. I sent some emails Tuesday morning, and when it became apparent that no one (to my knowledge) had looked for it by Friday, I trespassed on the film shoot location (no one was home) and it wasn't there. That was the 15th. Anyone got any ideas? I'm about to become a home owner, so I can't drop $300 on a new one.
Update: It's back! I don't have it yet, but Russ tracked it down. Yay! I was really starting to miss that thing. It's the warmest thing I own for curling up and napping in, and Half-moon doesn't offer that color any more. (I don't know why. It's really cool in a sort of Ben Kenobi way.) Continue to Rock, Russ. I owe that man a beer. Actually, it could be argued that I owe him about 60. Meh. I'll start with one. 8^)
Fan Death
Fan death is a belief that originated in South Korea. The idea is that if you leave a fan running in your room while you sleep, it can kill you. I am not making this up. To quote, "The explanation of fan death is accepted by many Korean medical professionals. In summer, mainstream Korean news sources regularly report on cases of fan death, even if more likely causes (e.g. heart attack, gunshot, alcohol poisoning) are evident." Gunshot? Gunshot? Yeah, he's got a bullet wound, but the fan was on. That's probably what killed him. WTF?
Flugtag
This is fantastic. I must get involved in this. Brad described it to me as having the pretext of building a machine that flies the farthest. But the other two criteria of the judging are creativity and showmanship. So it ends up being a contest of how creativly you can throw yourself into the sea. Check out the videos. They're flarkin' hilarious. Who wants to form a team?
Stuff you should check out.
Sweden EATEN by Larvae - Those pictures are going to give me nightmares.
How to make the simplest electric motor
The Art of Shoplifting - Required reading for shoplifters and shop owners.
Transponder Antitheft System: Makes it a little harder to steal the car, makes it impossible to get insurance money for the theft. (Glad I don't have one.)
Biomimetic Building Uses Termite Mound As Model
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Fade to Black
My latest snake whip. Just finished it yesterday. What makes this one distinctive is that rather than dropping strands to taper the whip, I replace them with thinner strands. Also note that the thick and thin strands are different colors, "fading" the whip from brown to black. I think it looks great! This is the first time I've tried that little knot at the big end. It's a bit messy, but I think it's an acceptable first try. This is also the first time I've spliced strands into a full size whip. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up. It moves pretty well, too. The timing feels a tad sluggish, but I think that's just because it's almost a foot longer than my shot-loaded whip. It's made with two layers of braided cow leather, and three layers of braided kangaroo leather. About 250' of lacing all together, about $100 of raw materials. This was kind of "commissioned" by Jacob, so he's got first option to buy it if he wants. If he doesn't, I might hang onto this one. (I've got the first three whips I've made. All the rest have made their way out of my possession.) This one moves well enough that I could perform with it. Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Dave the Home Owner
The inspection was today. No deal breakers. Looks like I'm going to buy a place! Closing is currently scheduled for October 6th. Oi. My head hurts.
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre presents Tom Jones
That's Tom Jones, not Tom Jones. It's being put on by Ann Arbor Civic, and it goes up Thursday November 9th through Sunday Novermber 12th at the Towsley Auditorium. I will be playing the part of the Highwayman! I would've liked a title role, but in the audition I really couldn't get into any of the readings for Tom Jones. The Highwayman, on the other hand, is a really fun part, and I couldn't help but throw myself into the scene. The Highwayman is only in one scene, so I may get to retain some of my free time. (Usually I lose all of that when I'm in an A2CT show.) I also heard something about a fight. I'll be offering my services to the director for that, too. Maybe I'll get to do some fight choreography!
Stuff you should check out.
Possible Hole in Black Holes
Has Orwell's '1984' Come 22 Years Later?
DIY wallet that looks like playing cards - While you're there, check out the rest of The Fitful Flog. Cool, cool stuff.
Yarn Wig! - If only I could knit! (And had the balls to wear one of these in public!) That's a winter hat if I've ever seen one.
Best cover of Pachelbel's Canon, ever.
Decorative Marijuana Plants - I particularly like the Medicinal Marijuana.
Meat Ice Cream? - I frequently complain about how difficult it is to find plain chocolate chip ice cream, but I must admit I've never seen meat ice cream anywhere.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit: Free to a good home.
My coworker Devvon aquired the Lord of the Rings edition of Trivial Pursuit. (Come to think of it, he never told me how he aquired something like that.) Anyway, he doesn't see himself ever actually playing it. If anyone would like it, post here or tell me, and I'll pass that along.
Some general advice...
If you're out in your front yard or on the street calling for a dog or a kid, don't hide from the jogger. I understand that it's an embarrassing situation to be in, but the jogger is making a point of covering a large distance on foot. Honestly, you couldn't HIRE better help than that. And if you don't want to impose on the runner and ask them for help, at least give them the option of stopping and offering to help.
Bob Ross videos on YouTube
Wow! I remember watching this guy on PBS when I was a kid! YouTube has several complete episodes and a whole bunch of clips. I like this guy's comment, "Sweet Fancy Moses, what a 'fro. It's something to which all great artists should aspire, I think." Ok, so this is the "happy little trees" guy. Who was the "mighty brush" guy with the accent?
Stuff you should check out.
Titan's Lakes of Methane and Ethane
Celebrating Puzzles
LED knitting needles and crochet hooks - So, would this help someone with bad vision, or just make things worse?
More drawing exercises. - I need to find more time to draw. I currently suck at it, and that's never going to change if I don't practice more!
Photoshop contest: Games that never got made.
Friday, September 15, 2006
In today's physics lesson, we learned about state change!
On Monday some of us did a film shoot. It was a lot of fun, it was a battle scene with humans vs. demons. Since it involved demons, we got to use fire! I got to show off my fire whip, and Tina did some fire poi. A quick note about the fuel we use: it has a high evaporation point. One of the things that means to us is that you can dunk something in it even when it's on fire. (I dare you to try that with gasoline. Kaboom!) Tina did that a few times, dipping burning poi into the can we used as a fuel reservoir. This went fine until she then immediately put the lid on the can and sealed it. As she was turning away, the can started to emit crackles, pops, and the screams of twisted and tortured metal. The can just imploded. And not all at once, either. It happened dramatically, over the course of 5 or 10 seconds. It was like the Witch King's death scene in Return of the King. The picture on the left is what it looked like afterwards. It was about half that size before I pried the lid off. You can recreate this event with water vapor. But it's a whole lot freakier when you're not expecting it!Stuff you should check out.
Homemade Tornado Machine
Interview tips from an experienced recruiter
National Gay Marriage Threat Level Raised to "Flamboyant"
Cursor Kite - Don't miss the gallery.
Rodent Powered Nightlight
Cheap Solar Power From Recycled Auto Parts
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Dave the Home Owner
We agreed on a price. The inspection is Wednesday. Provided the financing goes through, I'm buying a place. Man, my head is spinning.
Suicide Girls
So who wants to join me for a burlesque show in Detroit on Monday Oct. 2nd? Tix are only $16.25
Comic Strip of the Day
I've never actually done this. But I've frequently wanted to try. (And I love how his wife calls it. She's a keeper.)
Stuff you should check out
Human Echolocation
Optigami Folding Glasses
Best Music Video EVER that uses treadmill dance
18 Tricks to Teach Your Body
2006 Biomedical Image Awards
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Dave the Home Owner?
Well, it might actually happen. I may actually grow up and get a place of my own. Tomorrow I'm going to meet with a buyer's agent and make an offer on a place. It's not a house, it's a condo. Well, co-op actually. But it's in Ann Arbor, I can afford it, and the area doesn't make me feel claustrophobic. This is something I've been wanting to do for years, I've just been held back by a combination of not finding a place in my price range that I could really get excited about, really enjoying where I'm living, and general cowardice. I'll keep everybody posted.
Comic of the day
When spouting off movie references, it's important to know when you're going right over someone's head.
Silent Bob explains his involvement with the Superman movie.
Devvon sent me this great clip of an interview with Kevin Smith. Now, if you've ever listened to the comentary on any of his movies or any interviews with him, you'll know that this guy (who plays Silent Bob) just won't shut up. So it shouldn't be suprising that he takes 20 minutes to answer this question that could've been summed up in about 20 seconds. But he is a great story teller, and this is a great story.
Stuff you should check out
HOW TO - Create a shower spa for a few bucks - This one I've got to try. (Like I haven't said that before.)
Electrizooka - That's electric kazoo. Yes, as in wired for an amp.
Rocket Explodes Shortly After Takeoff - And that is why they don't let spectators anywhere near the launch pad.
Atomic Zombie, Extreme Machines - Next time I buy a bicycle, it'll be one of these.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
What you probably didn't know about Mah Nà Mah Nà
Everyone's heard the song. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, turn to the person next to you, say "phenomenon" and listen to what they sing. Or you could look at the Muppets' version. What you may not know about this song is that it was originally made for a soundtrack. More specifically, the soundtrack for a Swedish sex documentary. This played over the lesbian BDSM scene. (I read about it on Wikipedia, so it MUST be true!) It was made in 1968, and it's called Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Hell and Heaven) So far, I've been unable to obtain a copy. But if we ever have the movie night devoted to strange and not necessarily arousing pornos, this is a must. We can watch it right before The Operation.
Stuff you should check out
The size of our world - A little dose of perspective.
Steambots - Very Victorian steampunk.
I.V. Plant Pot - One of the coolest self-watering pots I've ever seen.
Thread Knots
Black Bar Sunglasses - I wish I went to parties where I'd need these.
Cutlass-handled Pirates fireplace set - As much as I'd love this, it would be a recipe for disaster to have these in my place.
How to move 5 tons by yourself
Make your own fortune cookies - I imagine the temptation to load them with smart-assed fortunes would be overpowering.
Heat activated color changing paint - I'm old enough to remember T-shirts like this.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Comic of the Day
So, I've been playing World of warcraft for about a year and a half now. And I STILL don't have a 60. My name is Dave, and I'm a casual gamer.
Stuff you should check out
Civil Liberties in War time
Implanting a magnet in your fingertip adds a sixth sense
Social Engineering with a USB drive
Castle Optical Illusion (This is really cool!)
Lunar Impact caught on video
Dudes In Coats I really liked the bit with the rabbit.
Network Neutrality Explained