February 23, 2007

The Death Star runs MacOS

I kind of balked a little bit at this week's Geekend. The topic is which OS would be used by various SF characters such as Darth Vader, Mr. Spock, and Dr. Who, and I was a little miffed ad the choices -- until I read the analysis. Right on! A little geeky, but hilarious.

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February 17, 2007

Tesla coils -- how cool is this?

OK, I'm a geek. I get it. But check this out: Tesla Downunder. I like the Eye of Sauron, but I think my favorite is the Tesla Coil car theft protection. Hehehehehehe.

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January 29, 2007

Scratch: programming for kids and other non-programmers

Now that I have my laptop and it's clear that I'm not going to be switching back and forth between it and the laptop, the lowest-ranking computer has been granted to the kids, but since it's in the bedroom, there will be no internet connection. But I still want them to do more than just play video games, so it was nice to find Scratch, a programming environment that lets kids build interactive games, art, etc.I haven't actually built anything yet, but from that I see, it seems pretty much like natural language programming. I may use it myself. :)

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January 19, 2007

Creating glassy looking buttons

OK, I have no artisitic talent, I admit that. But every once in a while I need something that looks nice for a project, and I've always been in awe of those glassy looking buttons. Especially now, with the new Vista interfaces, I knew I was going to have to figure out how to do that, or really regret it. Fortunately, I just found a tutorial on making those glassy looking buttons.

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January 11, 2007

A little science humor

Centrifugal Force

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January 08, 2007

Steam Trek

OK, you know the genre of science fiction that's pretty much epitomized by Jules Verne? Advanced technology powered by steam? Picture Star Trek like that. Kind of a cool idea, actually. Steam Trek - Voyages of the HMAS Dauntless goes ahead and does it, combining the story with a play by email game, so if you've got the time, it should be interesting. Looks fun, anyway.

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January 06, 2007

God, Inc.

Sean sent me over to YouTube to find something specific, but I can never do that without getting sucked in. Some winners today:

God, Inc. -- Episode 1 and
God, Inc. -- Episode 2, which is like "The Office" but, well you get the idea. Very funny.

And I am just plain... disturbed... by Patrick Stewart on Extras. In case you haven't seen it, it's the new show from Ricky Gervais -- the guy who created and starred as the boss in the original British version of "The Office", by coincidence. But considering this and his "Erotic Bakery" sketch on Saturday Night Live, I am beginning to wonder if Patrick Stewart has a great sense of humor or a real need for choosing his projects a little more carefully. Once is very funny. Very, very funny. But too many times... Well, I'd just be careful if I were him.

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January 01, 2007

These people will decorate anything

The kids didn't believe Sarah when she said that if it stands still long enough, Clevelanders will decorate it for Christmas. But a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History proved her right:

Dinosaur with Santa hat

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December 21, 2006

Now everyone can add "and 2006 Time's Person Of The Year" to their bio

It may sound a little silly, but that's what Time did for 2006, in choosing it's Person of the Year. The premise is that:

It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

...

And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.

A very nice sentiment. But for those of you worried about Time being proved wrong, they go on to say:

Web 2.0 is a massive social experiment, and like any experiment worth trying, it could fail.

They also hedged their journalistic bets, giving us People Who Mattered.

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December 16, 2006

Silence is golden -- but is Christmas music really "torture"?

So apparently with the ever-expanding Christmas season, there is beginning to be an issue with employees who have to listen to the same Christmas CDs over and over again. I can definitely sympathise. They should come to MY house. At least Sarah has hundreds, maybe thousands, of CDs to choose from.
(via open...)

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December 08, 2006

Serious creativity

Here's an interesting notion: can you be more creative by being more structured? Check out this essay on Serious Creativity.


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December 06, 2006

A word about parenting

Another gem circulating in email:

Whenever your child is out of control, take comfort from the thought
that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children, Adam
and Eve.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the
first thing he said was "DON'T!"

"Don't what?" Adam replied.

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.

"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve... we have
forbidden fruit!"

"No Way!"

"Yes way!"

"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.

"Why?" asked Adam.

"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why
He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.

A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and
He was ticked. "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.

"Uh huh," Adam replied.

"Then why did you?" said the Father.

"I don't know," said Eve.

"She started it!" Adam said.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam
and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set
and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY! If you have persistently and
lovingly given your children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't
be too hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it should
be a piece of cake for you?

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October 11, 2006

Fun writer tools

My installation of Microsoft Word decided to take a dive, and i didn't have time to deal with it. Fortunately, there are really only two tools I use in Word that I can't get from WordPad: styles and the word count. For a lark, I tried out Writely, and online word processor. it's pretty slick, actually. At least at broadband speeds, it feels like an actual desktop application, but since it doesn't have styles (or word count for that matter) probably the most useful aspect of using it is that it backs up your file to an offsite servier every so often. (I'm not sure how frequently, but for some reason I want to say every 10 seconds.) also, because it's online, you can then access your files from anywhere, as well as charing editing duties with someone else. But it still doesn't have a word count, so i was able to find a Word Count tool at Writertopia. Writertopia isn't out of beta yet, but the did release two cool tools. One is the simple Word Count page, and the other is a progress meter, complete with silly graphics.

Now if only I could get Writely to automatically do a word count and update the reference to a progress meter on my site, that would be interesting.

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June 08, 2006

Florida hurricane preparations

Well, June is here, and that means hurricane season. It also means it's time for this handy list of hints that makes its way through the e-mail rounds each year. As always, if this is yours and you want me to take it down, just let me know.

****************************

We're about to enter the hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points:

1. There is no need to panic.

2. We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one.''

Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

1. Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

2. Put these supplies into your car.

3. Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this
sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay in Florida. We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. .. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:

1. It is reasonably well-built, and

2. It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area
that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place.

So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.

Since Hurricane Andrew, I have had an estimated 27 different
home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the
windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets.

There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them
yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once
you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all
up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to
use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is
that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

"Hurricane-proof'' windows: These are the newest wrinkle in
hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can
withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the
salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.

"Hurricane Proofing Your Property: As the hurricane approaches,
check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters,
patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc.; you should, as a precaution,
throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route p lanned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Florida" you live in a low-lying area.)

The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you
wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM.

In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

1. 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out,
when the power goes out, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

2. Bleach. ( No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for. But it's traditional, so GET some!)

3. A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

4. A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless
in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

5. A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask
anybody who went through Andrew; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

6. $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes,
you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck and remember: It's great living in paradise!

Those of you who aren't here yet you should come. Really!

Posted by roadnick at 10:34 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

May 29, 2006

Interactive tables

Picture this: you're in Vegas. You just lost a lot of money. You had a few drinks. And a few more drinks. Then you lost some more money and had a few more drinks. So you decide to go to the lounge to sit it out for a little while. You get the lounge, you put your hand on the table, and it bursts into flames. Or at least, it looks like it bursts into flames, right where your hand is. Move your hand, the flame moves.

Now, I don't know about you, but I would not stick around to see how that worked. I would run, not walk, to the nearest alcohol rehab center.

But seeing as how I am not in Vegas, didn't lose a lot of money, and am completely sober, I find these Human Locator interactive tables absolutely fascinating. Apparently they shine a projector down from the ceiling for effects similar to those videogames you wave at at Walmart. Only way more trippy.

Just be advised that some of these videos will crash Firefox if you let them get to the end.

Posted by roadnick at 10:26 AM | Comments () | TrackBack

May 27, 2006

A bad day in the Empire

I'd hate to be Darth Vader calling home to explain that the Death Star's been blown up by ... well, just watch it:


And kudos to Techrepublic for managing to tie this into a discussion on Disaster Recovery and meeting ettiquette.

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May 23, 2006

Current TV

This could be a dangerous new addiction. I just discovered Current TV, an online and satellite network that airs viewer created content, as voted on by viewers. (Actually, right now about one third of the schedule is viewer content, but I can see that changing pretty quick.) The schedule is broken down into small chunks of just a few minutes, and from what I can see, those chunks look pretty interesting. Check out Firestorm, a time lapse view of 28 hours of the Simi Valley fire:


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May 17, 2006

Revisionist Compromise

Oh, for the days when all we had to worry about were shoebox dioramas of great moments in history.

Hehehe.

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May 12, 2006

Squidoo makes some money, and Sarah breaks the Top 100!

I had been getting just the tiniest bit discouraged with Squidoo, but that's over now. The monthly reports came out, and it turns out that only the royalties from clickthroughs such as Amazon show up on the reports. Sarah and I both made a little bit (and I mean a little bit) of money off the general royalties! (OK, it was a very, very little bit.) But it's important because it means that there is money to be made here, even for topics that don't necessarily lend themselves to cross-marketing.

Plus, Sarah's Quick and Easy Cooking lens is now #46! Her Off the grid and Frugal Gardening lenses are doing well, but I'd like to see her Geneaology lens do a little better. Ditto for my JSON lens, which is starting to drop again, but is still doing pretty well.

All in all, a good day.

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Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings

I actually found the several days ago, but the server was so overloaded it was eventually taken down. So here it is again, this time from its original source. I'm not really quite sure what to say about this particular piece. I'll just tell you it's pretty funny, and that somebody has way too much time on their hands. (And I've never considered the idea of Han Solo disco dancing.) Download Starlords, or I found a streaming version.

I do have to say that I am amused by the idea that they have taken clips that are normally seen in their entirety and sampled them, then set them to music that is normally heard sampled but is here played in its entirety. Just the kind of convoluted thinking I like.

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April 30, 2006

Quote of the day

"Some people are like Slinkies. They're really good for nothing; however, they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs."

'Nuff said.

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Demotivators

I used to have a great poster of a single lit match poking out about an inch from about a hundred other matches. It was a parody of those motivational posters, and it said something to the effect of "Burnout: attitudes are contagious. Mine can kill you." in my former days, I kept it on my wall. Now despair.com has put out a whole series of new Demotivators

Fun stuff.

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April 16, 2006

Squidoo update

Well, Sarah and I have been fooling around with Squidoo, as you know, and we've got a few lenses up and running. Sarah's very proud of her Home Grown -- Frugal Gardening for Fun lens, and her beginner's guide to genealogy is fantastic. I didn't know there was that much to know about genealogy, much less that she knew it! She also put up an Easter crafts lens, and her Quick and easy cooking lens has a bunch of the really fast, really delicious recipes she makes around here.

Meanwhile, my Natalie Portman lens has been doing well, so I'm assuming V for Vendetta hasn't flopped, and my JSON lens also seems to have taken off.

I'll let you know how it goes...

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April 09, 2006

Galaxy-chasing nebula caught on camera

Ever lay on the ground in the summer and watch the clouds go by? The temptation is always to make shapes out of them. Apparently that temptation doesn't go away when you grow up and become an astronomer. Check out this awesome photo of a nebula that looks like it's about to devour an entire galaxy.

That, or lice.

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April 04, 2006

A complete list of Batman sound effects

Like Adam Finney, I grew up on the old Batman television series, so this complete list of "KAPOW"s and "OOOOFF"s just amuses the heck out of me.

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April 03, 2006

Briscoe County Jr. on DVD!

I am officially very excited to announce that Bruce Campbell's Briscoe County Jr. is coming to DVD on July 18, 2006. If you've never seen the show, it's a tongue-in-cheek western with science-fiction elements. It's also hilarious, and just plain fun.

Posted by roadnick at 06:16 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

April 02, 2006

Breaking down animated shorts

Here's an interesting concept. Animated shorts, like animated movies, are written and drawn by teams of people. And each individual typically has his or her own style, even though the idea is for it all to look consistent. TV Squad has a link to a great blog by a teenager who has broken down individual animated shorts by artist showing what each contributes to the sequence. Very cool.

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April 01, 2006

It's April Fools' Day

Figures that the first have time to actually sit down and look for news is April Fools' Day, where most of the information I find is simply, well, untrue. Funny, but untrue.

One site publisher I know actually said that rant (although I say that did a nice way) about it, complaining that April fool's stories should not be posted in the form that normally contains real news, even if they are clearly labeled as such. He is right that these things tend to perpetuate for a long time, and they are read long after April 1, when people aren't thinking to check the date when they read something like China buys Google, or U.S. bill to adopt Shire Reckoning calendar. he also pointed out that April Fools' Day is not celebrated everywhere in the world, which could cause problems for some international readers. But still, I'd be getting a good laugh out of a lot of the stories I've been reading today. Here are some examples:

The Truth with Jokes (which I have to admit I particularly enjoy due to the contacts I've had with the Apache Software Foundation recently)
FORGET DRAGONS! TIME FOR PONIES!!!1! (about a new My Pretty Pony role-playing game)
SQL on Rails Launched
Microsoft Buys OpenOffice.org
New Plans From Lucasfilm ("Now that the cycle of films is done, we can finally broaden the Star Wars franchise into marketing niches we'd heretofore avoided, and adult entertainment is at the top of our list." and "George Lucas has announced that Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox will offer free 'replacement DVDs' to anyone who mails in pre-Special Edition VHS and Laserdisc copies of Star Wars episodes IV, V, and VI by April 30th.")
Here There Be Dragons
Email Harvester Launches, Turns Down $750 Million Offer
Emo Programming: Beyond agile and pragmatic

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March 29, 2006

The "Translate that dictation" contest

Because I can't type much anymore, I use a dictation system, and sometimes it can lead to some pretty funny stuff, especially when I'm working and somebody strikes up a conversation with me. But even with the microphone on, it usually doesn't pick up anything recognizable unless I'm actually wearing the headset. But I just got off the phone from a rather heated conversation, and when I came back, I found the microphone had decided that I had said the following:

To go and he you where I seen you in on ay he lied in now he so you don't have a reworking that let you know a known as because he is so you he youe yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah he he he wanted to and from a law he he he yeah I like to I. I. unrefined type and yeah yeah yeah yeah so you see him in runs at a theater in I reeling from a zoo in Hong Kong thinking and version should not be I know I have and he's very little is is the yeah yeah yeah okay well I see him in line now you as an on the yeah actually yeah yeah yeah yeah okay for him in the who is in Italy in a & l

So here's the contest: you decide what it was I actually said, or the very least the subject of the conversation, and drop it in a comment to this post. one month from today, on April 29, I will pick the answer that is either closest, or most humorous/interesting, and that person will get a prize. I'm not quite sure what it will be yet; probably something like a $10 gift certificate from Amazon, unless anybody has any other suggestions.

Go to!

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March 21, 2006

Star Wars is coming to TV

Yes, yes, I know they've been talking about this since, what, before Revenge of the Sith? But today I found an article in which Rick McCallum says it'll be about Luke's childhood, and that they plan to make at least 100 episodes of it.

You know, they say a goal is just a dream until you write it down and tell somebody about it. So I'm going to say this out loud now.

I want to write at least one episode of that TV show.

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March 14, 2006

Area codes in 1947

OK, I recognize that finding this interesting is completely geeky, but I stumbled across LincMad's 1947 Area Code Map this afternoon, and I think it's really cool. Particularly the fact that originally, states with only one area code had a "0" as the middle digit, and those iwth more than one had "1"'s as middle digits, as well as the fact that area codes with a "9" as the middle digit are "are reserved for expansion to longer telephone numbers, some time in the 21st Century."

People actually get paid to think about how best to format phone numbers 20, 30, 50 years from now. I find that fascinating.

So mock me. I don't care. :)

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March 10, 2006

The king of hoaxes

I've often considered starting a really bizarre rumor just to see how far it would get. I imagine when it finally comes back to me in an email two years later and I tell the person who sent it to me, "I can tell you for sure that this is a hoax; I started it!"

Then I consider the hundreds of times after that that it comes back to me and people still believe it, and it doesn't seem so funny anymore.

But consider Alan Abel, who could be considered a professional hoax-ster. His latest was hoax that convinced a diner full of people and wiithin 15 minutes, a passel of reporters, that Bob Pagani, who participates in many of his hoaxes, was a trucker who'd won all of the $365 million Powerball jackpot. 'It's performance art," Pagani said. "You don't exactly know what you're going to accomplish."

Abel is the one who, in the 1950's, came up with "the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA), a fake campaign to clothe creatures with the slogan, 'A nude horse is a rude horse.'"

Posted by roadnick at 06:58 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

March 06, 2006

The future of media

I've been doing a lot of musing lately about the future of the Internet and the future of media and how the two of them may come together, so Hollywood's evolution via 12 key solutions, which tracks Hollywood from its very beginnings -- 1 minute silent shorts that were essentially proof of concepts for motion pictures -- to today, a world in which George Lucas actually said out loud that he thinks the days of the blockbuster are over. I do think there will be a convergence, and in fact that we're already seeing it. Witness the preponderance of sites like Squidoo, which count on people to provide content that will hopefully attract "viewers" so that they can sell advertising. Doesn't that sound like television to you?

Well, almost. Squidoo has a very nice revenue-sharing model in place, so if the site does well, those who provide content will do well as well. I've got a few "lenses" up there myself, some on technology (JSON) and others on entertainment related topics. I'm still working on my Star Wars lens, but my Harrison Ford lens -- still not entirely finished -- seems to be doing surprisingly well. I'll update you as a get these things in place, and let you know how that goes.

Posted by roadnick at 10:10 AM | Comments () | TrackBack

March 02, 2006

Donald Duck in trouble again

Apparently the folks down in the Monroe County, Florida Sheriff's office have too much time on their hands.... Disney Star Runs Afoul Of Law - February 24, 2006

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February 28, 2006

Are video games better SF vehicles than movies?

I've been wondering about this for a while. I'm not really a gamer, but that's only because of lack of time. (And I'm still waiting for Star Wars: Galaxies to finish downloading updates. I installed it on Sunday night, and it says it'll be done Wednesday afternoon. Damn dial-up.) But there's something about good science fiction and fantasy that's immersive, or that feels like it should be. So are video games a better forum for SF than films?

Posted by roadnick at 07:52 AM | Comments () | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

Star Wars Galaxies, here I come!

I'm so excited! Yesterday Sarah got me the Star Wars Galaxies Starter Kit. I've been dying to play this game for ages, and now I can. Well, when I can carve out some time. Which I will. Soon.

The only question is whether I can play it on my excruciatingly slow connection. Until I can get satellite, I'm still stuck with a dial-up connection that, on a good day, gets up to 33K. Anybody ever tried to play on a connection that slow? Is it even possible?

Posted by roadnick at 06:34 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

February 18, 2006

The top 10 sci-fi movies never made

Well, things are finally starting to settle down, thank goodness. Enough for me to catch my breath a little, at least. Here's a bit of fun: The 10 Best Sci-Fi Films that Never Existed. I'd put Firefly on that list, but I'm not over Serenity yet.

Posted by roadnick at 04:14 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

January 19, 2006

When algorithms go bad

Chris Pirillo points out a funny little quirk in Google's Adsense results. Interestingly, if you Google "miserable failure", they have enough sense to make their first Adsense ad Why these results?. So at least they're not oblivious. :)

Posted by roadnick at 07:21 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

January 16, 2006

Leap Second Lovers Are Traitors Says Bill O'Reilly

I love Steve Martin. He is so straight, sometimes you forget that he's making comedy. Check out his version of Bill O'Reilly.

Posted by roadnick at 09:55 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

January 15, 2006

Pretty impressed with FeedBurner, actually

well, I'm actually pretty impressed. First of all, the FeedBurner version of my feed looks very nice, and includes things like the ability to e-mail individual post to people, add it to del.icio.us, and so on. Very nice. But what impresses me, perhaps even more, is the fact that in just a couple of hours, it's already got three subscribers, only one of which is me. Interesting.

Posted by roadnick at 08:57 AM | Comments () | TrackBack

January 14, 2006

My Feedburner feed

OK, I've gone ahead and signed up with FeedBurner, so you can now subscribe to my FeedBurner feed. They purport to offer good publicity and easy fo use, as well as statistics. I'll let you know what happens.

Posted by roadnick at 09:08 PM | Comments () | TrackBack

December 04, 2005

Nerdier than I thought



I am nerdier than 87% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!

I have always known that I'm somewhat of a nerd, but thanks to Curt, I now know just how much of a nerd I really am. Turns out that in the 87th percentile, I'm a High Nerd, a bit nerdier than I thought, but not as nerdy as I hoped. (Don't ask me why that seems like an accomplishment.)


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Welcome to the Lars Homestead

Somebody submitted this anonymously to the Vanguard Science Fiction Report: The Force Is Strong In Tunisia. I knew in the back of my head that George Lucas had chosen a Tunisian hotel as the Lars Homestead, for some reason it never occurred to me that you could actually stay there.

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December 03, 2005

Spot the fake smile

Via 100 Bloggers -- email me if you want to participate -- check out Spot The Fake Smile, a psychology experiment that lets you decide which of 20 smiles are genuine or fake. The rationale is interesting. I won't give it away, but apparently they're controlled by different areas of the brain and different muscles.

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November 30, 2005

At the click, the time will be ...

I have a goodly number of clocks in my house, so you'd think I always know what time it is. Not so. I have several clocks, but they all have different times on them. What's more, my wife and I can't seem to agree on which clock is actually correct. Now I've found the official U.S. time, a government web site that's actually kind of cool. Not only does it give you the "official time", but you can see where it's daylight, so you can avoid calling people in other places in the middle of the night.

What's neat about it to me is that it's a way to coordinate meetings and such with people who may be geographically dispersed.

Oh, and it turns out my wife is right. As always.

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November 18, 2005

Name this punchline

OK, I'm trying to place the joke that goes with this punchline:

"Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!"

(or, alternately, "Wrecked 'em? Damn near killed 'em!")

The closest I got was a reply to a blog posting that mentions the joke, saying "that's not a joke, it's a punchline that needs no joke."

ARG!

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November 14, 2005

Your remote control and your computer

Here's something fun, or at least interesting. The USB-UIRT is an infrared reciever and transmitter that hooks up to your computer. So you can not only program your computer to do various things when you press a button on your remote control, you can also control your tv, TiVo, stereo, and so on from your computer. Nice.


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November 08, 2005

Panexa, the wonder drug

The person who sent this to me said it was "too good to keep," and he's right. Make sure you read this to the end.

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November 01, 2005

Do-it-yourself Lava Lamps

I love Lava Lamps. (Please forgive me, oh Lava Lamp gods, for I know you are a trademark, but do not know the proper way to cite you. [UPDATE: The proper citation is "LAVA LITE lamp", but that's just too awkward to say, I'm sorry.]) I am also incurably meddlesome. Translation: I love to shake it up and watch the little tiny bubbles of wax re-coalesce. Unfortunately, when you do that to Lava Lamp and [or to a LAVA LITE lamp, for that matter] , you get more than just little bubbles of wax. You get very, very cloudy solution. Especially if, like me, you have a tiny little fake lava lamp-type thing, which is constantly toppling to the floor. So in my search to find out how to clear the water, I found the Oozing Goo Lava Line and its thread on fixing a cloudy LAVA LITE lamp. The cool part, however, is about halfway down the page, where someone explains how to replace the water in one of these things. Very cool, especially since it means you can make your own colors with a little food coloring.

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October 30, 2005

Sci-Fi TV schedule

Back when I was really serious about The Vanguard Science Fiction Report (which, by the way, I have once again began to update) I always wanted to do a listing of all of the television shows now airing, even in repeats and syndication. Now About.com has done it.

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October 27, 2005

Dilbert behind the scenes

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has started a blog. Now, I'm one of those people who loves to see what's going on behind the scenes. I watch all of the "making of" documentary site and get my hands on, even if I haven't seen whatever it is they're showing the making of. So it was with extreme pleasure that I read Dangerous Doughnuts, the first post in the category Dilbert Stuff That Got Me in Trouble. A cop, a gun, a doughnut, and an editorial board. Gotta love it.

[Update: This one is even funnier.]

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October 22, 2005

Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack

From the Onion, via Bruce Schneier: Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack, including this quote from the mayor:

If zombies were to arrive in the city tomorrow, we'd all be roaming the earth in search of human brains by Friday.

On a related note, should I be concerned that the book most often purchased under my Amazon Associates account (after XML Primer Plus) is the e-book version of The Zombie Survival Guide?

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