Villains in Refrigerators

From Occasional Superheroine. Not all superhero girlfriends are easy victims to supervillains. [Link] (Warning: Gets a little graphic near the end)

Well done.

Travel Day Eight

Back home. Lots of packing. More suitcases than we came with.
Small bit of excitement. When we landed, we weren't allowed to get up at first. We had to wait for the cops to come on and remove some belligerents. We didn't see or hear anything during the flight, but it looks like there was a fight between two women seated at the back of the plane. There was clapping from the back when the officers removed the women.
And a big thanks to Kurt and Amanda for watching the kitties for us. Thanks!

Wil finds Who

Wil Wheaton has just discovered Doctor Who. [Link]

So even though I was sitting on the couch watching Genesis of the Daleks for the entire afternoon, I felt like I was being productive.

I am aware that it's a gaping hole in my geek cred, and I'm ashamed to admit that I've never watched much Dr. Who. I mean, I'd seen a little bit here and there, but certainly not enough to tell you which Doctor I liked the most, or why the Timelords are cool -- in fact, I still can't -- but when I got about halfway through this DVD, I said, out loud, "Where have you been all my life?"

While I don't think I would have liked Dr. Who as much as I liked The Prisoner when I was a teen (the time I was most likely to have discovered it, because my friend Guy had a knack for introducing me to awesome British television) I'm thrilled that I chose to seriously begin my travels with the Doctor at this time and in this way. Once I get these writing deadlines behind me, I think I'll go back to Robot, which is the first appearance of Tom Baker as the Doctor, and make my way forward a bit.

Who is a Skrull?

An update on who is or supected to be a Skrull in preparation for Secret Invasion. [Link]

Waaaay back in July, the Best Shots crew took a look at possible Skrulls living in the Marvel Universe. 5 months have passed, and some major revelations have come along. Turns out, so far, we were completely wrong. Not reading every Marvel book? Want to catch up on the Skrulltastic Voyage? You’re in luck! Here’s a comprehensive list of the Skrull-velations, and where they made their first confirmed Skrull-pearance, along with some new Skrull-spicions. And no, we won’t ever stop adding Skrull to the front of words. Thought Clor was bad? Marvel really Skrulled up by giving us this Skrull-portunity.

Travel Day Seven

The city. Ira and I went in to the city to the New York Hall of Science and then the UN. We thought there was a scale modle of New York City at the museum, but we were mistaken. Oops. From there, we caught a subway from Queens into Manhattan into Grand Central Station and then walked to the UN, stopping for lunch on the way.

The Grand Central Station Main Terminal is very impressive, with a restored ceiling mural of the night sky.

The UN looked shabby. It is beginning to look it's age. It needs to be renovated. The tours were disorganized, sort of the UN in miniature, groups of well meaning people working at cross purposes unitentionally.

Travel Day Six

Went out for Chinese for lunch. Very good. Planning to go into the city tomorrow with my father in law. Should be fun.

Travel Day Five

Lots of food. Grandparents go back to New Jersey.

New Dune film coming

I always liked the look and actors of the David Lynch one, but the story from the Sci-Fi miniseries. Maybe this will be a blend. [Link]

MTV.com reported that director Peter Berg will helm a new
version of Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune. Berg told the site that the
project is "a done deal" and that "if it weren't for the writers' strike, we'd
be in it right now."

Bad tattoo on leg with accessories

Guy gets a tattoo of a large breasted woman on his leg. Then he gets breast implants for his tattoo. For. His. Tattoo. Here. [Link]

And quite aside from the crazy idiocy of a man giving silicone implants to
his tattoo of a lady, that's an incredibly badly-drawn tattoo. For a while,
I
was looking at it and wondering why the artist made the woman so fat, and
then I
realized that was her right arm. And look at the left hand. It's
anatomically
all wrong. Well, what's the point in nit-picking, really, when
you're dealing
with an aesthetic blunder of this dimension? And I don't even
want to talk about
the effect of the man's leg hair on the woman's
groin.

Wow.

Travel Day Four

Lots of food. Pies, pork roasts, chicken cutlets, rice crispy treats, cookies, candies, and lasagna. I am stuffed.

Still remarkably little conflict, but the inevitable cracks are beginning to show.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Venture Brothers Christmas

Doctor Girlfriend and The Monarch sing Fairytale of New York. mp3

Travel Day Three

Christmas Eve.

The Schwartz family opens gifts on Christmas Eve. Countless gifts later after a grueling, six hour Bataan death march of unwrapping and eating, we are all exhausted.

Tempers have only risen sporadically. I have resisted eating an entire container of Rugalah which I have realized is my favorite holiday food/cookie.

It has been a good Christmas so far.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTRON!

Christmas goodness from the ISB. [Link]

So here’s the rundown: It’s the Avengers’ annual Christmas party, and
seeing as it takes place between the start of New Avengers and the beginning of
Civil War, everybody who’s anybody (plus the eternal hanger-on that is Wonder
Man) is in the house. Specifically, it’s Dr. Strange’s house, and despite the
fact that everyone and their manservant are being total jerks to Greg “Gravity”
Willis…

Torchwood Season Two Trailer

Very Cool. [Link] More on Jack's past, Martha Jones, and James Marsters. Looks like fun.

Christmas Lights

Merry Christmas to all! (Happy Holidays to everyone else)
















Two houses, one song.

Who will be the next Captain America?

My guess is Bucky, the Winter Soldier, but the Red Skull would be a surprise. Hawkeye has aready turned it down, No way on Tony Stark (no mustache), USAgent (already done and it didn't turn out well) and Union Jack is too British.

Jing Kal-El

Very cool. Santa's Secret Origin [Link]

Travel Day Two

Not as cold. Still gray. Now raining and windy.

Sarah and Deb spent hours wrapping gifts. Curse you TSA!

There are piles of food and lists of what food still needs to be made for each day.

Still having fun.

Travel

New York is cold and gray. That is all.

Audio Interview with George R. R. Martin

Looks interesting. Discussing Fantasy and Law among other things. [Link]

Keeping the Hot side Hot and the Cool side Cool

A bed that follows the path set by the McDLT. Warming or cooling a mattress in zones (very important). [Link]

Enter ChiliPad, which, contrary to its name, actually does provide cooling or warming benefits while you snooze. Reportedly, the mattress topper uses water rather than air to generate temperature adjustments, and the company even compares it to a water-cooled computer -- talk about understanding your market, eh? If Chili is to be believed, this thing can be set to cool things down to 65°F or warm 'em up to 100°F, and yes, it does come in single- and dual-zone versions. So, for those who just can't seem to get the thermostat set correctly, you can pick one of these up now for around $479 to $999, depending on size.

I think Sarah would like this as she is almost always cold.

Real Life X-Ray Vision

Cool. I want one. [Link]

The Handheld “Lobster-Eye” X-ray Inspection Device (LEXID) provides through - the - wall focusing and acquisition of backscattering photons from a hidden object irradiated by a cone beam from a low power X-ray generator. The X-ray optic focusing, combined with the X-ray detector significantly lowers the exposure dose, greatly enhancing image resolution. At the emitter side, the collimating optics increases flow of X-rays for deeper penetration through objects of interest, with the same X-ray tube.

a) Contraband hidden behind wall.
b) LEXID with wide cone, miniature X-ray generator and lobster-eye (LE) sensor

Asteroid to maybe hit Mars

Something to watch for. [Link]

A newly discovered hunk of space rock has a 1 in 75 chance of slamming into the Red Planet on Jan. 30, scientists said Thursday.

"These odds are extremely unusual. We frequently work with really long odds when we track ... threatening asteroids," said Steve Chesley, an astronomer with the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November and is similar in size to an object that hit remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb and wiping out 60 million trees.

Scientists tracking the asteroid, currently halfway between Earth and Mars, initially put the odds of impact at 1 in 350 but increased the chances this week. Scientists expect the odds to diminish again early next month after getting new observations of the asteroid's orbit, Chesley said.

Car Stereos in Space

I thought they just brought iPods or other portable media players with them. [Link]

It looks like Clarion is about to get some considerable new bragging rights (shared only by the likes of Tang), as some of its automotive A/V gear has recently been approved by NASA and is now awaiting deployment into space. That includes the company's RX935VD in-dash multimedia center and VCZ625 6-disc DVD changer, each of which have been fitted into a specially designed unit and will soon be used to entertain crew members on the International Space Station. As Clarion points out, that makes those the first car A/V components to be installed in the ISS, with their reliance 12 volt automotive systems (the same voltage as the space station) working largely in their favor.

Aptera Electric Car

Cool video showing the All electric and soon to be hybrid car. [Link]

Three hundred miles per gallon and a Jetsons-style look are enough to get anyone excited. But ever since the word got out on it last month, Aptera’s innovative Typ-1 three-wheeler has been the target of relentless theorizing and conjecture across the Web. Is it real? Does it have what it takes to be a practical vehicle for daily transport? Is it stable enough to drive? Does it even actually drive? Well we wondered some of those things, too, so we scouted out if a drivable prototype really exists.

It does.

This week we visited Aptera’s headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., and became the very first outside of the company to hit the street in the Typ-1 e. And, as you can see from the video of our 20-mile test drive above, we’re impressed.

Aptera has two innovative models that are almost production-ready at $30,000 and below: for next year, the all-electric, 120-mile-range Typ-1 e that we drove; and, by 2009, the range-extended series gasoline Typ-1 h, which Aptera says will hit 300 mpg. A more conventional third model, called “Project X” or perhaps Typ-2, is now in the design phase, with plans for a four-wheeled chassis and seating up for to five passengers.

It has a very futuristic look and the interior is quite large and roomy.

Day trip to abandoned missile silo

Cool. I think it would be cool to go see one in person. You don't get deep holes in Florida, not unless you want sub launched missiles. [Link]

Yesterday tillyjane, the_child and I went missile silo hunting. I’d pulled some map references to the old silo complexes at the long-abandoned Larson Air Force Base in Adams County, WA, near the town of Moses Lake. These are Titan I silos from the early days of ballistic deterrence, long since decommisioned, and now on private land.

The first site we wanted to check out was just north of Bruce, WA, right at the line between Adams County and Grant County. We made a pretty direct drive there, four and half hours to go up the Gorge, through the Tri-Cities, across the Pasco Basin and onto the Palouse. (For those of you who don’t spend time in the Pacific Northwest, that’s quite a stunning trip, with views of heavily forested hills, catastrophically flood carved cliffs, several major volcanoes, arid high desert, and loess hills.) The leaves were in, where leaves could be in, and the weather was gorgeous. We stopped for a Chinese lunch in Othello, WA, then headed up toward the site, guided by Christian, our South African-accented Nokia GPS.

Nearing the site, we did get briefly distracted by a Pullman car. After that, Christian announced, “We are here. Your cell phone hopes you had a good trip,” and delivered us to an empty stretch of gravel road.

Lots of pictures at the link.

Justice League: The New Frontier Trailer

Pretty.

I love the original graphic novel. The look and feel of the early sixties, meeting the characters in the order they first appeared in comics. I'm looking forward to this.

Heroes Volume Three Trailer

Looks interesting. [Link]

Detecting Earth sized planets

Neat. [Link]

Even with a telescope with many times the power of the Hubble Space Telescope, an Earth-sized world would appear as a single pixel in a vast empty space. You wouldn't get any kind of detailed resolution.

Can a single pixel tell you anything about that world? Researchers say, "yes". In a new paper published in the online edition of the Astrophysical Journal, they say that observers looking at the Earth from afar would be able to judge our rotation rate, the probability of oceans, weather, and even if the planet has life.

If distant astronomers were watching Earth, they'd see the brightness change over time as clouds rotated in and out of view. If they could also measure its rotation period, they'd know whether a certain part of the planet was in view, and start to deduce if there are oceans or land masses pointed towards them.

The researchers have created a computer model for the brightness of Earth over time, showing that the global cloud cover is surprisingly constant. There are usually clouds over the rain forests, and arid regions are clear.

We'll see likely planets with life on them long before we try to go there.

Star Trek: New Frontier Comic

Cool. I love New Frontier, Peter David's personal corner of the Star Trek universe. Mackenzie Calhoun is a captain as cool as Kirk. David also draws upon many of the supporting characters that have shown up in other Star Trek media and makes them his own.
Now it will apear in comics as well. [Link]

Just to confirm what's been announced elsewhere, yes, I will be writing a five issue New Frontier series for IDW next year. It will be completely in continuity and will pick up exactly where the previous NF book left off. There will also be another New Frontier short story set in the Mirror Universe as part of another collection.

I do not have a pub date on the next novel. When I do I'll let you know.

PAD

Santaman!

Weird. Cool, but weird. [Link]

Soviet Space Themed Christmas Cards

Neat. [Link]

Hellboy II The Golden Army trailer

Looks cool. And the have Johann!

You got a problem with that?

Doctor Who Voyage of the Damned trailer

4400 Cancelled

This sucks. [Link]

Scott Peters, creator of USA Network's The 4400, announced on the show's official forum that the series has been canceled.

Sarah and I really liked that show. 4400 people plucked from time over the past 50 years, all showing up together in a flash of light. They have to deal with having a power that may make people fear them along with being displaced from the time they knew.

It will be missed.

Tunguska from smaller asteroid?

A new simulation says that Tunguska was from a smaller asteroid impact than previously thought. [Link]

The simulation suggests that the devastation could have been caused by a far smaller explosion than previously thought--3 to 5 megatons, instead of 10 to 20. And since there are many more asteroids in that smaller size range, the risks of a devastating impact may be greater than previously thought.

Beatles cover group covers Stairway

Works surprisingly well.

Superpowered Li-ion batteries coming

Silicon nanotubes. [Link]

Stanford claims its latest advances in silicon nanowires have it building batteries with 10 times the capacity of existing Li-ion cells. Apparently people have been trying to stuff silicon -- which has a much higher capacity than existing materials -- into a battery for decades, but since it swells when charged with positively charged lithium and shrinks during use, the silicon has a tendency to "pulverize."

They are talking about commercializing it.

Lack of powerful batteries has been holding us back. Almost all other power generation technologies has advanced (I'm looking at you, Fusion), but not batteries. Maybe it's time for that to change?

Freedom of Information Act expanded

Good news. It penalizes the government for dragging it's heels in requests. [Link]

The bill would encourage faster compliance with FOIA requests. By law, agencies must respond within 20 days, but in practice the process can take months or years. Delays lengthened in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as agencies began to favor nondisclosure in the name of national security.

Under the measure, requests would be assigned public tracking numbers. Agencies that exceed the 20-day deadline for responses would be denied the right to charge requesters for research or copying costs.

The bill would strengthen the ability of people who sue over their FOIA requests to collect attorneys' fees and would establish an office at the National Archives to accept citizen complaints about unfulfilled FOIA requests, issue opinions and foster best practices.

Kaballah Tree of Life as Subway Map

Strange, but cool. [Link]

Sephiroth (Hebrew for ‘Enumerations’) is the name for the ten attributes of God in the Kabbalah (a form of jewish esotericism). Ten in itself is of course also a significant number, as it is divinely perfect. The attributes are:

* The Crown (’Keter’ in Hebrew): the Creator Himself.

* Wisdom (’Hokhmah’): Divine reality/revelation; the power of Wisdom.

* Understanding (’Binah’): repentance/reason; the power of Love.

* Mercy (’Hesed’): grace/intention to emulate God; the power of Vision.

* Strength (’Gevurah’): judgment/determination; the power of Intention.

* Beauty (’Tif’eret’): symmetry/compassion; the power of Creativity.

* Victory (’Netzah’): contemplation/initiative/persistence; the power of the Eternal Now.

* Splendour (’Hod’): surrender/sincerity/steadfastness; the power of Observation.

* Yesod (’Foundation’): remembering/knowing; the power of Manifesting.

* Kingdom (’Malkuth’): physical presence/vision and illusion; the power of Healing.

As befits esoteric systems, the aforementioned terms are anything but elucidating, and furthermore they’re only one of many interpretations of the 10 sephiroth (rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero’s, to be precise).

It would fit right in with the GUPRS Cabal setting, where the Tree of Life really does map out reality.

Harry Potter by way of South Park

Cool. [Link]

Deviant Art, a website devoted to the “art and skin community” (i.e. tattoos and other cool stuff) has a post today that combines two of 2007’s most popular fictional locations.

See the picture.

A connection between Solar Cosmic Rays and Cancer Rates?

Interesting. This is not a proven connection yet, but look interesting. [Link]

The study looked at available cancer death data from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand for the past 100-140 years. These data were compared with the amount of cosmic rays coming from the Sun during the same period, taken from analysis of ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica.

Dr. Juckett showed that as the amount of cosmic ray activity increased, the number of people who died from cancer was also higher. There are two peaks in cosmic ray activity during this point, around 1800 and 1900, and a low point around 1860. The total deaths due to cancer were highest, though, around 1830 and 1930, and lowest in the 1890's.

There is a 28-year lag between the increased presence of cosmic rays and the increase in cancer deaths. It's not so simple as a person being exposed to cosmic rays and then developing cancer immediately afterwards. What is called the "grandmother effect" comes into play; the cosmic rays actually damage the germ cells of one's parent while that parent is still in the grandmother's womb.

"The grandmother would have to be exposed to radiation - which she is all the time - while she is pregnant with the mother of the affected individual. What this is basically implying is that, during a sensitive time in pregnancy, the constant background radiation may cause a chemical change in just the right cell and DNA stretch to lead to future cancer. The background radiation is causing very low level damage all the time to random cells in the body, but anything significant happening to germ cells would lead to a whole organism eventually carrying that damage (or predisposition)." said Dr. Juckett.

So, the parent is exposed to cosmic rays while still developing as a fetus, and this damage then emerges as cancer in the parent's children, but is not passed down further.

Saddam's Yacht

For the nautical Bond Villain. Saddam Hussein's former yacht. [Link]

[T]he boat has bulletproof glass, closed-circuit television, storage space for a large cache of weapons, including heavy machine guns and surface-to-air missiles, and a secret passage that runs the length of the boat for easy access to a fast patrol boat and a mini-submarine pod for emergency exits.

Tracking Solar Flares...On Another Star!

Very cool. [Link]

Spotting flares on the surface of the Sun is easy. It's right there, blazing in our skies. But watching flares erupt on the surface of a distant star, located 150 light-years away… now that's a challenge. And yet, a team of European astronomers announce just such a discovery this week.

Problems with new Lunar Lander design

Right now, it will only carry two thirds the cargo required. [Link]

NASA’s Altair Lunar Lander project office has started its Lunar Design Analysis Cycle (LDAC)-1 “delta” process to improve payload capability after it concluded its LDAC-1 Lander would deliver less than two-thirds of the cargo required.

The US space agency’s Lunar Architecture Team (LAT) concluded that it required 6,000kg (13,200lb) of cargo be delivered to the Moon. But the LDAC-1 Lander provided less than 4,000kg, excluding the four astronauts it would take to the surface.

The project office had conducted LDAC-1 from 28 April to 1 July this year and LDAC-2 was to have started by now but since the end of November the project office has been working on LDAC-1-delta for the cargo optimised lander.

Google Chart API Tutorial

Very cool and simple. [Link]

But with the power of Google Chart API in your hands all you need to know is to insert an image in your web page and watch your chart come to life. But if you are thinking that what could be the use of using a static image for showing a chart then you are wrong. The Google Chart API is so simple yet so powerful that can give you some amazing features:

• Create charts simply by using URL with some parameters
• Inserting the chart is as simple as you would be inserting an image
• The chart is created on the fly dynamically
• No need of server side coding
• No need of JavaScript to code or view your chart
• Any resolution of the chart with only a change in URL parameters
• Manipulating the parameters of the URL would change the chart
• A variety of styles to choose as per your tastes.

Doesn’t this sound pretty much magical.

Here's one I threw together.



http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=s&chd=t:10.0,20.0,30.0,40.0,25.0,30.0,55.0,80.0|10.0,20.0,40.0,80.0,76.0,60.0,55,0,30.0|20.0,40.0,60.0,80.0,100.0,30.0,50.0,30.0&chs=400x400&chtt=Google+Chart+API|Test&chxt=x,y&chf=c,lg,90,AF1616,0.5,Afafaf,0|bg,s,AFAFAF

Pretty cool.

Gold Key Star Trek Comics

Dave hates them, but has some nostalgia for them. [Link]

Gold Key's Star Trek comics seemed like they were produced by bored hacks who had very little interest in the actual source material. They were sort of generic science fiction stories that just happened to be called Star Trek. Sometimes you wondered if the guys writing and drawing these things had actually seen the show, or if they were just working off a couple of dog-eared publicity photos for reference. Even Young Dave could tell these comics bore only a passing resemblance to the Star Trek TV show.

I have one where the Enterprise is at a Starbase and the ship is balanced precariously on the secondary hull belly, with the hangar bay doors open and a ramp leading down as the main gangway. I don't remember the story, but that image has stuck with me.

Searches Google Images...Found it. I don't know if I still have it. Probably not.

Two films for The Hobbit

Peter Jackson to Executive Produce The Hobbit and a sequel. [Link]

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

A sequel to The Hobbit? Or is it splitting the book in two pieces? The book isn't that long. Wasn't Tolkien planning a direct sequel to The Hobbit but did Lord of the Rings instead?

UPDATE Film details

Jackson and Walsh envision the first film covering the events of The Hobbit and the second bridging the 80-year gap between that novel and the first book of the trilogy.

Much of the plot for the second film would be gleaned from footnotes in The Hobbit that address that gap, Kamins said.

I'm not sure I like that, but I'll keep an open mind.

UPDATE Timeline details

The timeline of the third age between the Hobbit and LOTR

July, 2941 - Bilbo Baggins obtains the One Ring; the White Council drives Sauron out of Dol Guldur
2941 - Esgaroth is attacked by the dragon Smaug, who is consequentially killed by Bard the Bowman; Battle of Five Armies
June 22, 2942 - Bilbo Baggins returns to Bag End
2951 - Estel, later known as Aragorn, comes of age and is told about his heritage; the Corsairs of Umbar officially ally themselves with Mordor and destroy great monument commemorating Ar-Pharazôn's victory over Sauron
2953 - Last meeting of the White Council. Fengel, 15th king of Rohan, dies. His son Thengel returns to Rohan to succeed him.
2956 - Aragorn first meets Gandalf the Grey
2957-2980 - Aragorn as Thorongil serves in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan, and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor
September 22, 2968 - Frodo Baggins is born
2978 - Boromir is born
2980 - Arwen pledges her hand in marriage to Aragorn; Frodo Baggins loses both of his parents in a boating accident; Aragorn, in the service of the Steward of Gondor Ecthelion II leads a taskforce south and kills the Captain of the Haven, ruler of Umbar; Samwise Gamgee born;[14] Théoden, son of Thengel, becomes 17th king of Rohan after the death of his father. Théoden is the last king of the second line.
2982 - Birth of Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry)
2983 - Birth of Faramir
2989 - Frodo Baggins comes under the guardianship of Bilbo Baggins; a company of Dwarves, led by Balin, try to recolonize Moria
2990 - Birth of Peregrin Took (Pippin)
2991 - Birth of Éomer
2994 - Balin is killed; the dwarf-colony in Moria is destroyed
2995 - Birth of Éowyn
3001 - Bilbo Baggins turns 111, passes the One Ring on to Frodo Baggins, and leaves the Shire. From now on Aragorn and Gandalf intermittently hunt Gollum

There's definitely story potential there.

For the Serious Whisky Drinker

On the rocks, really means, 'on the rocks'. [Link]

These highly polished granite cubes are simply placed in your freezer and then are used to cool your drink. We are not trying to replace ice, simply allowing the Scotch drinker a chance to enjoy a different aspect of their favorite drink. Even the most demanding conniseur will appreciate putting a little bit of Scotland back into their Scotch!

The end of incandescent light bulbs

It's coming. they will be phased out over the next few years. We've already started replacing them. [Link]

A little-noticed provision of the energy bill, which is expected to become law, phases out the 125-year-old bulb over the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient lights that will cost consumers more but return their investment in a few months.

The new devices include current products like compact-fluorescents and halogens as well as emerging products such as light emitting diodes and energy-saving incandescent bulbs.

"This will get us in line with the rest of the advanced industrial world in moving toward more efficient lighting," says Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy committee and author of the Senate measure requiring the tougher standards.

The energy bill passed the Senate last week and is expected to clear the House this week. President Bush has said he will sign it.

Under the measure, all light bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less energy than today's products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70 percent more efficient.

Caterpillar working on Moon Truck

To build that Lunar base, we're going to need construction equipment. [Link]

Caterpillar Inc., a company known for their heavy earth moving machines and the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, is looking to tackle that issue. They’ve partnered with NASA to create technology that could benefit construction and mine workers everywhere in the future, whether they grab a hard-hat or a space helmet on their way to work.

They are working on tele-operated and autonomous vehicles, usable here on Earth as well as on the Moon.

Hancock

Will Smith as a "Superhero". In quotes because he looks like a superhuman, but not a superhero. More Authority than Justice League.

Looks like it might be funny.

It's not the bloddy PHP programmers, I think.

Looking at a SQL error can be daunting, particularly with no formatting. I always find it easier to format the statement for readability. It should be written that way, but it may be formatted in the code, but not when submitted, or the error message may have stripped line feeds.

I don't know PostgreSQL, but in general, SQL is the same, in broad strokes across implementations.

The error message:

Query failed:  ERROR: syntax error at or near "contact_name_owner"

The beginning of the statement:

(SELECT
  meetings.id ,
  meetings.name,
  meetings.status,
  ' ' AS contact_name ,
  ' ' AS contact_id ,
  ' ' contact_name_owner ,
  ' ' contact_name_mod ,
  meetings.date_modified ,
  jt1.user_name AS assigned_user_name ,
  jt1.created_by AS assigned_user_name_owner ,
  'Users' AS assigned_user_name_mod,
  ' ' filename ,
  meetings.assigned_user_id ,
  'meetings' AS panel_name
FROM meetings LEFT JOIN users AS jt1 ON jt1.id= meetings.assigned_user_id
                                    AND jt1.deleted=0
                                    AND jt1.deleted=0
where
  (
      meetings.parent_id= 'd3e15dc6-9525-d1b8-63fb-474f614635fa' AND
      meetings.parent_type='Leads' AND
      meetings.deleted=0 AND
      (
          meetings.status='Held' OR meetings.status='Not Held'
      )
  )
  AND meetings.deleted=0
) UNION ALL
...

I think the problem is a missing AS in the column alias.

  ' ' contact_name_owner

It should be

  ' ' AS contact_name_owner

It appears to be missing it in a few places.

Hey, at least you got an error. Sometimes you don't even get an error, it just doesn't work.

Commodore 64 25th Anniversary Celebration

Computer history. (Start watching at 14 minutes.)



Commodore 64

I never had one of these. We had one at school along with a bunch of Commodore Business Machines. I had an Apple ][ clone my dad built from a kit.

A Physics Engine, boredom, and 3000 red barrels

Fun. Watch the video. [Link]

More than you ever wanted to know about the Botfly

Eww, gross. [Link]

Bot flies (Order Diptera, Family Cuterebridae) are large, stout bodied, hairy flies that resemble bumblebees. The botfly egg is deposited by a mosquito or sometimes by another insect. The larva grows in the host's body until it is fairly large. The botfly larva can easily be killed by taking away its air supply -- by putting vaseline or similar on the skin where the lump is, but then you still have to extract the larva. Adult botflies have nonfunctional mouthparts and do not feed. Larvae of this species parasitize wild and domestic rabbits. Females deposit their eggs in or near the entrance of their host's burrow. Bot fly larvae penetrate their host through the skin or natural body openings after hatching. The larvae form a tumor (called a warble) in the subdermal zones of their host and remain at this location until larval development is complete. Larval development varies among species, ranging from 20 to 60 days. Before pupating, the larvae leave the host's skin and drop to the soil.

Lots of testimonials from victims.

The Benefits of Upgrading From Vista To XP

Ouch. [Link]

Conclusion

To be honest there is only one conclusion to be made; Microsoft have really outdone themselves in delivering a brand new operating system that really excels in all the areas where Vista was sub-optimal. From my testing, discussions with friends and colleagues, and a review of the material out there on the web there seems to be no doubt whatsoever that that upgrade to XP is well worth the money. Microsoft can really pat themselves on the back for a job well done, delivering an operating system which is much faster and far more reliable than its predecessor. Anyone who thinks there are problems in the Microsoft Windows team need only point to this fantastic release and scoff loudly.

Well done Microsoft!

Escaping a Bond Villain's Mountaintop Lair

You've just ruined the Bond Villain's plans and need to leave his mountaintop lair quickly. Put this coat on and start skiing. [Link]

The GPS equipped jacket from O'Neill is the result of a partnership with MyGuide. The Gore-Tex jacket features integrated audio in the hood and a display in the sleeve which shows your speed, updated weather forecasts, and time and distance to après-ski. A "friend finder" function helps track your new "friends" long after the slobbering begins.

Cloverfield preview

Pretty cool. Longer clip than before. [Link]

Possibly 2 planets in habitable zone of Gliese 581

Cool. [Link]

Astronomers found an Earth-massed planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star. This would mean that liquid water could be on its surface - and maybe life. Now there's even more evidence that Gliese 581 is living up to the speculation. Astronomers have published two independent studies this week, claiming that there are least 2 Earthlike planets orbiting the star within the habitability zone.

Minor nomenclature differences

The differences of how to abbreviate Captain in the different services. Lots in the comments. [Link]

A reader writes,

When abbreviating U.S. Navy ranks, be sure they are in all caps with no period. e.g.: CAPT Mariner.

There is a whole system of "rank grammar" surrounding this. For each service no less! Without saying what the ranks are, U.S. Army and Navy abbreviated ranks are in all capital letters. U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps abbreviated ranks are in mixed case, with a period following if used in correspondence.

I always respect foreign languages, especially when they come with massive amounts of firepower. But wonderful as Militarese may be for its speakers, I don't see why I should abandon standard English abbreviations for Militarese abbreviations, any more than I should abandon standard English spellings of foreign place names and instead use the foreign original.

The more minor the differences, the more people are annoyed by it. Capt., CAPT or CPT?

Baxter Building Cutaway Drawings

I love stuff like this. Cutaway drawings of the Baxter Building. [Link]

One of the great things about the Fantastic Four comics was all the super-nutty Kirby gizmos and gadgets.
Crazy stuff --like James Bond gear on steroids and acid!
And talk about high maintenance... the team needed enough space for a Fantasti-car, a Pogo Plane, a Fantasti-Copter, a Private Passenger ICBM, an Observatory, an entrance to the negative zone, a computer room, a chemical lab, a photo analysis lab, a projection room, a gymnasium, trophy room and living quarters (just to name a few). Naturally, a Super-team with this much baggage needed an exceptional uh... "secret" base of operations. Where better, than the middle of Manhattan Island in NYC? (...yeah --good luck with that telescope, Stretcho.) Specifically floors 34 through 39 on the top of the Baxter Building.

Dark Knight Before Christmas

GEOFF JOHNS ON GREEN LANTERN #25

Cool interview about Green Lanterns and the other emotional colors and the end of the Sinestro Corps War and hints about the Darkest Night coming in 2009. [Link]

NRAMA: Well, since we’re talking what’s planned, is the Blackest Night that Ganthet revealed to the Green Lanterns of Earth just a prophecy, or is it something that's in stone and is going to happen no matter what?

GJ: Yes, it’s a prophecy. That’s all I can say. But look at the tag line on the last page. “Across the universe, the dead will rise.” That will happen.

Zombie Lanterns. The only way that could be better would be if they were gorillas.
Or ninjas.
Or pirates.

Power for Florida

Cool. Free, clean power. Just need to keep it from being hit by ships or damaged by storms. [Link]

Florida Atlantic University's Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology hopes to harness these underwater currents by placing 100-foot-in-diameter 20 kilowatt turbines that are anchored to the ocean floor along the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic. The system would be hooked up to floating generators and monitored by solar powered control buoys and small naval vessels.

The team at Florida Atlantic University will first test the waters with smaller prototype turbines to be deployed in February 2008. How much renewable energy the system will be able to generate is still up in the air, but the team hopes it will provide a significant amount to the state of Florida.

Long term Glow in the Dark paint

It's only a little radioactive. Really. [Link]

MPK Co., a company that makes glow paint, is working on a technology called Litrospheres that allows objects to glow for more than twelve years without access to any light source. How do you make something that glows for twelve years? Chances are you have to use radioactive ingredients, in this case Tritium, which is far less dangerous than radium, but can still be toxic in large doses.
The company developing Litrospheres claims that they are non-toxic, inexpensive, and nearly indestructible.

Time for a new Tron costume.

Directional Sound in Outdoor Ads

Cool, but annoying. [Link]

A new billboard on Prince Street in Soho—that's in Manhattan—uses a directional sound system from Holosonic to broadcast a message directly into your head for only you to hear. It's being used, of course, for advertising.

It's an ad for "Paranormal State," a ghost-themed series premiering on A&E this week. The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an "audio spotlight" from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium. The technology, ideal for museums and libraries or environments that require a quiet atmosphere for isolated audio slideshows, has rarely been used on such a scale before.

Professional Athletes on Steroids! Shocking.

I'm not shocked. Because of the competitive nature of professional sports and that it all comes down to money, I'm not at all surprised that so many players try to get an edge. [Link]

Mr. Mitchell said “baseball’s steroids era” started roughly in 1988. It took 15 more years for baseball to start random testing, Mr. Mitchell said, noting that testing has reduced steroid usage, but players have switched to human-growth hormone, which cannot be detected in urine tests, which baseball’s program administers.

“Everybody in baseball — commissioners, club officials, the players’ association, players — shares responsibility,” Mr. Mitchell said.

The report revealed that baseball secretly suspended drug testing for part of the 2004 season, for fear of criminal prosecution after federal authorities seized the 2003 drug results as part of the Balco case. The suspension, of unclear length, was kept secret by agreement of the commissioner’s office and the players’ association.

Mr. McNamee spoke to Mr. Mitchell’s investigators under pressure from federal prosecutors investigating the use of steroids in baseball. Mr. McNamee, who was linked with Mr. Radomski, provided evidence against Mr. Clemens, Mr. Pettitte and first baseman David Segui. Mr. McNamee agreed to cooperate with the United States Attorney’s Office under the terms that he would not be charged with a crime if he told Mr. Mitchell and investigators the truth.

Mr. McNamee, who was employed as a trainer with the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, described in detail how, in a number of instances, he injected Mr. Clemens with steroids. Mr. Clemens had previously been suspected of steroid usage, but denied it.

Left no longer always right

Generations of D&D players will be surprised to find out that "left is always right", used when exploring dungeons is not the case, at least for UPS. [Link]

It seems that sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money. Not a ton of gas and money if we’re talking about just you and your Windstar, say, but immensely wasteful if we’re talking about more than 95,000 big square brown trucks delivering packages every day. And this realization — that when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, tiny improvements in the efficiency of each one will translate to huge savings overall — is what led U.P.S. to limit further the number of left-hand turns its drivers make.

Bond Villain Sea Bases

You call it an underwater hotel, I call it a cover story for a secret base. [Link]

Dubai gets all the cool stuff. If it isn't the world's tallest hotel, or a building inspired by an iPod, it's a hotel that is underwater. The Hydropolis Undersea Resort will open its doors this month, offering guests 220 rooms of scenic underwater views. Located in the Arabian Gulf, the hotel sits approximately 60 feet underwater, and has a roof that can open for special events.

Blaming the Victim; seven year old "asked for it"

That is just sick. A seven year old girl in Australia is gang raped by 6 juveniles/3 adults, all of whom were put on probation. What. The. Hell. [Link]

In Australia, nine Aborigines raped a ten-year-old girl. Six of them were juveniles, and one of the adults had a prior offense on his record -- the rape of another ten-year-old girl. But thanks to Judge Sarah Bradley, these men won't be going to jail, because the victim, now twelve, "probably agreed" to be raped (emphasis mine):

Nine males who pleaded guilty last month to gang-raping a 10-year-old girl at the Aurukun Aboriginal community on Cape York have escaped a prison term, with the sentencing judge saying the child victim "probably agreed" to have sex with them.

Cairns-based District Court judge Sarah Bradley ordered that the six teenage juveniles not even have a conviction recorded for the 2005 offence, and that they be placed on a 12-month probation order.

One of the adult rapists, Raymond Frederick Woolla, 26, is on the Australian National Child Offence Register following a conviction on March 29 last year for unlawful carnal knowledge of a female child - an offence committed after he was charged with the rape of the 10-year-old girl.

Judge Bradley said Woolla was the oldest and should have known a lot better.

I am boggled.

Gadgets no longer only a guy thing

Women are buying more gadgets and electronics than men now. [Link]

[M]ost of the women were buying gadgets such as digital radios, iPods and digital photo frames. “The appeal of technology to women is cross-generational, from young women who have grown up with technology, to women who have been exposed to technology at work and older, motivated self-learners who are all embracing new products which help them capture memories, stay organised and keep in touch,” she said.

John Lewis said that electrical gadgets were more fun for women than ever before and no longer had a male, geeky image.

Who knew? Software does age

The return of Max Headroom. [Link]

BBC Channel 4 is bringing back Max Headroom for a series of TV ads to raise awareness of their switchover to digital, and yes, that's Matt Frewer, the actor who played the original Max Headroom

That's just wrong. I remember watching the show while I was in high school. I thought it was great. Looking back, we seem to have quite a bit of what was sci-fi on the show as reality for us now.

What kind of scientist would Santa be?

I don't think he'd be a scientist. [Link]

So the premise is that Santa is at least several hundred years old, and you've got to assume that somewhere along the line, he spent some time in academia and probably got a degree or two. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that he is a man of science, but I guess the question to ask is in what way specifically?

I'm thinking Linux guy, Jon "maddog" Hall

Mind Controlled Toys

Cool. That man-machine interface is coming nicely along. [Link]

Details are still light on this one, but Sega Toys (makers of freaky robots) and the brain-reading folks at NeuroSky have announced that they've teamed up in an effort to develop what they're only describing as "mind-controlled tech toys," which they say will "take 'play' to the next level." Those unspecified toys will apparently make use of NeuroSky's ThinkGear bio-sensor technology which, according to the company, uses "dry active sensors" that eliminate the need for contact gels while also maintaining a small form factor.

When can I get my neural interface?

New A-Team Movie

It's an all new, updated grimmer A-Team. [Link]

The new "A-Team" will be updated from the Vietnam era and reflect contemporary issues and politics. Tone of the film will be less cartoony and more serious, in the vein of "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon."

Show creator Stephen J. Cannell says that "not to denigrate the TV show, but nobody ever died," Cannell said. "We drove cars off cliffs and people got out and walked away. We're not going to do that (in the movie). In this the tone is more dangerous -- you can really die. It's very tense and exciting."

The Nineties called. They want their grim & grittiness back.

SFWA Detailed Account

From Jerry Pournelle. [Link]

5. In exasperation Committee Chairman Burt said "Ok this is a takedown order". Of course it was not. It wasn't a legal order at all. It wasn't in any legal format and scribd had no more obligation to pay attention to that than they had to all previous requests to be reasonable. If I send you a list and say take these down, you have no obligation to do it. I have to send them in proper format, and certify that I am either the copyright owner or have authorization to act for the copyright owner before you have to pay attention to me. This wasn't in that form, and could have been ignored. They knew that. They had been telling us that in the past. There were no legal ramifications. You may think of Burt's exclamation as an aggressive bargaining statement if you like. Ignoring it would have had no legal consequences, and scribd knew that.

(The official response of scribd to Burt's letter was from their lawyers who made it very clear that this did not meet the requirements of a DMCA takedown order, and put them under no obligations.)

6 Nevertheless they did pull them and notified Doctorow and others they had done so, expecting I suspect that there would be a storm. About 90% of the documents on the list were blatant cases of piracy. Some were trivial. Some number, from a dozen to about fifty, were legitimately posted, some under the Creative Commons license, and should not have been removed. The removals were done by scribd. When complaints came to SFWA both the Committee Chairman and the President sent notices to both scribd and the document authors removing those from the list and apologizing to the authors.

7. scribd had EFF send a bullying letter to SFWA (A scribd official says defensively that letter was generated at the request of Cory Doctorow. I have no reason to doubt this, but the letter to the SFWA President says that it is on behalf of EFF's client, scribd.com.)

8. The resulting storm wasn't to scribd liking. Several VC's decided not to talk to them. (A scribd official says these persons are mythical. I can only say that I may have sources scribd does not have.) EFF got more hostile mail than it had expected. While there was a lot of obloquy poured onto SFWA, scribd came in for their share -- after all, they did have about 10,000 pirated documents up on their site, and anyone could go see that. Many people did, and were appalled.

9 For whatever reason, scribd got nervous and pulled thousands of documents including hundreds by Doctorow and others posted under Creative Commons, this time purely on their own initiative. They discovered that sorting the illegal from the legal documents took time and resources they did not have (and they have far more resources than SFWA or any individual author) so they went to mass action by pulling all the documents put up by particular individuals, whether legally there or not.

I think this has tarnished EFF more than SFWA.

With music, you can wink and nudge and say musicians make money on tours and t-shirts and hey, the music companies screw the musicians out of money anyways, so lets screw the music companies. Its harder to do that with writers or their families.

Metropolis being remade

I'm not sure I llke the idea of remaking Metropolis. It is a classic. [Link]

Producer Thomas Schuehly (Alexander) has acquired the remake rights to Fritz Lang's classic SF movie Metropolis and is partnering with Mario Kassar on an updated version of the 1927 movie, Variety reported.

The Munich-based Schuehly and Kassar are currently in negotiations with a number of top directors to helm the movie, with a final decision expected in the next few months.

Schuehly obtained the rights to the film from Vienna-based publishing group Sessler Verlag.

Metropolis is one of the most groundbreaking films in cinematic history; its influence informed classic works throughout the 20th century, including James Whale's Frankenstein, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Gattaca and The Matrix, the trade paper reported.

It is such an iconic work, that has had so many elements and themes lifted from it, that I think any remake will look cliched and derivative to modern eyes who have not seen the original.

Code Monkey Meeting of Memes

From WFMU's Beware of the Blog [Link]

No doubt you've seen by now the "Code Monkey" dance, a rather popular YouTube video of a young lady named Emily doing a little dance to Jonathan Coulton's song "Code Monkey". This little video, posted three months ago, has been linked to by NPR and the New York Times, and made the song very popular -- so much so, that when Jonathan was playing Chicago last night (with opening act and occasional background singers Paul and Storm), he asked if the Evanston actress was in the crowd. Of course she was, and of course she was invited to join the band onstage for a live recreation of the dance. And of course that performance was taped and posted onto YouTube, where we can all marvel at the meta-ness of it all.

The original video



The meeting

Are you going to tell him that those pants look ridiculous?

I'm not. Go there to see the pants. [Link]

Eldridge Cleaver, a Black Panther who became born-again Republican, designed and marketed a line of men’s clothing in the 1980s, including pants with a codpiece which he called the Cleaver sleeve.

At least you would know if he was happy to see you.

This is why you shouldn't do drugs

Stories like this. [Link]

Angel's Trumpet is a flower that contains scopolamine and other alkaloids. It's known as a "biogenic drug" and presumed by naive recreational drug users to be harmless because it's a plant. However, it can cause psychosis, delirium, visual hallucinations, agitation, incoherence, aggressive behaviour, memory problems and "convulsive sobbing" as well as somatic symptoms and well, things like this incident.

A case study describes an 18-year-old male with no history of mental disorders who consumed Angel's Trumpet and snipped off his penis and his tongue with garden pruning shears. He was rushed to hospital but the amputated parts could not be re-attached. He later had complete amnesia for the event. "... illustrating that consuming this beautiful flower with the name of an angel and the poison of the devil can be very dangerous."

Ow. And he doesn't remember any of it.

Indy 4 Details

Set in 1957 in Central and South America. [Link]

[T]he fourth installment in the hit franchise deals with a quest for South American relics with supernatural powers.

Meanwhile, Indy has settled into a quiet life as a professor, the newspaper reported. But once the archaeologist is thrust back into danger, the adventure will take him to New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City and the jungles of Peru.

Indy will face off against operatives from the Soviet Union, including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the seductive Agent Spalko.

Ray Winstone (Beowulf) co-stars as an unethical rival archaeologist. Shia LaBeouf sports greaser hair and rides a motorcycle as the hero's sidekick.

Crystal Skull will also revisit bits from other films, including Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood character from 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Marshall added that the artifact of the title is inspired by real quartz sculptures of disputed origins that are carved in a way that defies the natural structure of the crystal. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens May 22, 2008.

Throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip!

Deleted Scenes from 1965’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

Go read now. [Link]

Linus’s “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men” quote from Luke 2:8—14 segues into “and I shall strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger” quote from Ezekial 25:17.

Human Evolution Accelerating

Very interesting. [Link]

Time was, teachers used to tell their students that accelerating cultural evolution – the alphabet, the wheel, movable type, the steam engine, the computer, whatever – meant human biological evolution wasn’t important any more. It was too slow.

A blockbuster paper published online today by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences turns that old story on its head.

Cultural evolution diversifies the physical environments where humans live, creating a multitude of places where useful mutations can thrive. And greatly increased population density means ever more bodies where mutations may be selected for usefulness.

The result, says Greg Cochran, one of the authors, is that human biological evolution has accelerated, to perhaps 100 times as fast as in prehistory. (And that’s before we had the genetic tools to modify it on purpose.)

Lactose tolerance is only 8000 years old. Evolution in action.

Space Travel Increases Risk of Infection

Astronauts have reduced immune systems while some bacteria become more virulent in microgravity. [Link]

"The question of immunity is a potentially big problem for astronauts on long trips and those who may be living on the moon in the future," said Millie Hughes-Fulford, a former astronaut who is researching the effects of "microgravity" on immunity. Her NASA-supported research has led her to conclude that weightlessness itself is a major cause of the problem.

"Human beings evolved in gravity, and it makes perfect sense that some systems -- especially the immune and skeletal systems -- might not do well without it," she said.

Duane Pierson, senior microbiologist at NASA's Johnson Space Center, said he also fears immunity problems in the future, although they have been contained so far.

Ash as a Japanese schoolgirl, turned to 11

Wow, go watch the trailer. [Link]



I love the Japanese. So subtle.

Mythbusters Polygraph

The polygraph expert has a fake Ph.D. [Link]

I can reveal that in August of this year, I was contacted by two of Mythbusters' producers. They had seen my appearance on a 2003 British television program, and after a lengthy and pleasant telephone conversation, they were interested in having me either come to San Francisco to appear on the show or be interviewed via webcam.

One of the topics I was asked about in the course of our phone conversation was a polygraph examiner who might be suitable to appear on the show. They were initially interested in Bruce Burgess, who appeared in the same British show as I previously had. In a follow-up e-mail sent on 31 August 2007, I specifically warned them, in the event they chose to seek a polygraph examiner closer to home, against three prominent polygraph operators whom AntiPolygraph.org has identified as phony Ph.D.s: Ed Gelb, James Allan Matte, and Michael Martin. And I included the same hyperlinks you see here. The producers did not reply to my e-mail and did not contact me again.

Mythbusters cannot say they were not warned about Michael Martin's credentials. I think they owe the public an explanation of why they knowingly chose a fraud to appear on the show and allowed him to be presented as "Dr." Martin.

That's not good news for the Mythbusters, if true.

Naive Algorithms

Fascinating article about things that sound easy, but aren't. they are easy to implement wrong. Shuffling cards is one of those things. [Link]

In my previous post on shuffling, I glossed over something very important. The very first thing that came to mind for a shuffle algorithm is this:

for (int i = 0; i < cards.Length; i++)
{
   int n = rand.Next(cards.Length);
   Swap(ref cards[i], ref cards[n]);
}

It's a nice, simple solution to the shuffling problem:

1. Loop through each card in the deck.
2. Swap the current card with another randomly chosen card.

At first blush, this seems like a perfectly reasonable way to shuffle. It's simple, it's straightforward, and the output looks correct. It's the very definition of a naïve algorithm:

A naïve algorithm is a very simple solution to a problem. It is meant to describe a suboptimal algorithm compared to a "clever" (but less simple) algorithm. Naïve algorithms usually consume larger amounts of resources (time, space, memory accesses, ...), but are simple to devise and implement.

An example of a naïve algorithm is bubble sort, which is only a few lines long and easy to understand, but has a O(n²) time complexity. A more "clever" algorithm is quicksort, which, although being considerably more complicated than bubble sort, has a O(n log n) average complexity.

But there's a deep, dark problem with this naïve shuffling algorithm, a problem that most programmers won't see. Do you see it? Heck, I had the problem explained to me and I still didn't see it.

Testing it is the only way to see the problem.

This made me think of a program I wrote a few years ago, a dice roller for the RPG Godlike. The way dice were rolled was fairly unique, so I spent a few hours making a program that handled it. 10 sided dice were rolled, never more than 10 at a time, and matches were collected. Any 1s, 2s, 3s, etc. I made a die class that I could roll using the random function. I wanted to make sure the die was balanced, so I made 10 buckets and had the die rolled about 100,000 times, incrementing a bucket for each number. I could then see that the random number generator was balanced, so my dice were balanced.
I also displayed the likelihood of a roll being successful. This could be complicated as you could require 2, 3, 4 or more matches per success as well as ignoring matches of any value less than a specified number. I made a thread that continually rolled the dice with the options and calculated successes compared to the number of total rolls. That was a sub-optimal solution, I should have researched the math to calculate the success, but making the thread was easier, plus I wanted to practice multi threading a program.
All in all, it was a learning experience.

Speed Racer Trailer

I like the look. It feels like a cartoon with everything in focus. Looks fun.

Islamic Justice

Where are the Islamic moderates? [Link]

Islamic justice is a proud institution, one to which more than a billion people subscribe, at least in theory, and in the heart of the Islamic world it is the law of the land. But take a look at the verse above: more compelling even than the order to flog adulterers is the command that the believer show no compassion. It is this order to choose Allah above his sense of conscience and compassion that imprisons the Muslim in a mindset that is archaic and extreme.

If moderate Muslims believe there should be no compassion shown to the girl from Qatif, then what exactly makes them so moderate?

When a “moderate” Muslim’s sense of compassion and conscience collides with matters prescribed by Allah, he should choose compassion. Unless that happens much more widely, a moderate Islam will remain wishful thinking.

Until Islam has it's own Reformation, I think this will continue.

LOLSheviks

Soviet Propaganda Posters + LOL = Fun. [Link] [LOLSheviks]

Go. Speed Racer, Go!

Pictures from the new movie. [Link]

Racer, says producer Joel Silver, has a trump card — or two, actually — in Andy and Larry Wachowski, the gadget-happy siblings who were huge fans of the TV series, one of the first Japanese cartoons to make it to the USA.

"The effects are beyond belief. We called it 'car fu,' because it was like kung fu with the cars," Silver says. "We couldn't have made this movie until right now."

But effects, he says, take a back seat to the Wachowskis' true love of the old series: the cars, costumes and message.

"It obviously has a present-day aesthetic to it," Silver says. "But it's still a great yarn about family and not selling out. That's an important message to the (Wachowskis) and why we all connected to the show."

The Mach 5 looks right.

More on Multiverses

DC's 52 worlds and Elseworlds. [Link]

One of the things I liked best about the Silver Age Multiverse was the relationship between the Huntress of Earth-2 (daughter of the Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman) and her “Uncle Bruce” on Earth-1. It gave her a chance to catch at least a glimpse of what her father was like in his prime, before age and heartbreak took their toll. Similarly, it showed the Earth-1 Batman another possible legacy, perhaps one he hadn’t considered — and perhaps one which could someday allow him to retire in peace, knowing that his crusade would be in good hands.

"I don't think anything predated Christians"?

Oh. My. God. [Link] Wow.



And is the world flat?



How do you even respond to that?

I understand many people do not think about science on a daily basis, but wow.

Balancing Humanoid Robot

Eerily human like in movement. [Link]

If robots are going to work alongside humans, then they will need to stand up to accidental bumps and shoves, not to mention the occasional deliberate kick.

That is why researchers in Japan have developed software that allows a life-size humanoid robot to stay on its feet no matter where on its body it is pushed. Theirs is the first full-size humanoid to show such steadiness – others of similar size inevitably topple over when nudged in the right spot.

This video shows a series of experiments (.mov format) where the robot is subjected to repeated pushes. Another shows the same strategy being tested by a virtual robot receiving harder pushes (.mp4 format) (Videos courtesy ATR Computational Neuroscience Lab and IEEE).

The Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time

Very Funny and seasonal. [Link]

Ayn Rand's A Selfish Christmas (1951)

In this hour-long radio drama, Santa struggles with the increasing demands of providing gifts for millions of spoiled, ungrateful brats across the world, until a single elf, in the engineering department of his workshop, convinces Santa to go on strike.

Fans Supporting Writers

From ComicMix [Link]

On Fan Day at the Universal Studio pickets, people came from as far away as Houston to walk the lines in solidarity with the writers of Battlestar Galactica. We think that's worth celebrating, and that it shows who the momentum really is with in the battle of writers vs. studios.

Here's a video of the day's events, with appearances from writer/executive producer Ron Moore, writer/professional Blanche DuBois impersonator Harlan Ellison, and the Tick:

Pretty cool.

Ultimate Weapons

The 50 greatest fictional weapons of all time. [Link] Some cool stuff there.

D&D 4th Best and Worst

Top 10 reasons D&D4E will be the best RPG ever

Top 10 reasons D&D4E will be the worst RPG ever

I think it will be better than 3rd. (I never bought 3.5)