Saturday, July 18, 2009

What's a helmet without a camera?


What's a helmet without a camera?

After 20 Years, Mac IIci Finally Dies


After 20 Years, Maryland Man’s Mac IIci Finally Dies, article.
Some people just won't give up on what works for them. In a way I admire that.
Lucky guy though, hadn't made a single backup in 20 years, and he still has all his data. All 2.2MB of it!

Alarm – A Short Animated Film

Alarm – A Short Animated Film From South Korea.
I dunno, it's either brilliant or lame.

Dom DeLuise and Johnny Carson

Dom DeLuise and Johnny Carson egg trick.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Google Chrome OS (updated)


Google Chrome OS, dominating the world in 8 easy steps, article.
It seems it will primarily be aimed at netbooks.

Update: TidBITS article.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Bron Janulis art

One of my readers, Bron Janulis, is selling some interesting furniture, art frames, etc.

VIW 4








(More Apollo 11 pictures.) (40 years anniversary, July 16!)

Kim Wilde: Bladerunner

The song was not in the film, but connoisseurs will spot samplings from the film, like "Mother? Let me tell you about my mother," and the police drones saying "move on... move on... move on..."




There's a version here with clips from the film, but sadly the sound is not so great.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Price of Being Small and Taking Risks

The Price of Being Small and Taking Risks, article.
Touches on some things I've talked about myself, like why the Leica M8 takes pictures of about the quality of an entry level DSLR, but costs eight times as much.

Japanese computer says "smile more"

Workers have daily smile scans, article.
"More than 500 staff at Keihin Electric Express Railway are expected to be subjected to daily face scans by "smile police" bosses."

Just when you think you've seen all the insanity the world has to offer...

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Got gun?

Best Gunfighter

There was a young cowboy who wanted more than anything to be the greatest gunfighter in the West. He practiced every minute of his spare time, but he knew that he wasn't yet first-rate and that he would need some more advice and practice.

Sitting in a saloon one Saturday night, he recognized an old man standing at the bar who, in his day, had the reputation of being the fastest gun in the West.

The young cowboy took a place next to the old-timer, bought him a drink and told him the story of his great ambition.

"Do you think you could give me some tips?" he asked.

The old man looked him up and down and said, "Well, for one thing, you're wearing your gun too high. Tie the holster a little lower down on your leg."

"Will that make me a better gunfighter?" asked the young man.

"Sure will," replied the old-timer.

The young man did as he was told, stood up, whipped out his .44 and shot the bow tie off the piano player.

"That's terrific!" said the hot shot. "Got any more tips for me?"

"Yep," said the old man. "Cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it. That'll give you a smoother draw."

"Will that make me a better gunfighter?" asked the younger man.

"You bet it will," said the old-timer.

The young man took out his knife, cut the notch, stood up, drew his gun and shot a cuff-link off the piano player.

"Wow!" exclaimed the cowboy. "I'm learnin' somethin' here! Got any more tips?"

"Sure do," the old timer said. He turned to the bartender and said, "Bring me a bucket of that cookin' oil from the kitchen, if you will, please." The bartender brought out the cooking oil.

"Now dip your gun in the oil," the old-timer said.

The young man dipped the barrel of his gun in the oil.

"No," said the old-timer, "I mean dunk the gun all the way in, handle and all."

"Will that make me a better gunfighter?" asked the young man.

"No," said the old-timer, "but when Wyatt Earp gets done playing the piano, he's gonna shove that gun where the sun don't shine, and it won't hurt as much if it's oiled up first."

Monday, July 13, 2009

Datamancer's keyboard

I'd like to congratulate Datamancer, who made one of my keyboards, for having the same keyboard featured in a new SF show, Warehouse 13.

"United Breaks Guitars"

You may already have heard of United Airlines' PR nightmare via a song on youtube. It's good fun, and a good example of how the Internet gives "the little man" a voice he never had before.

What I don't get is how employees can be so stupid that they grossly mishandle luggage right in view of passengers. One of my friends was sitting on a plane being loaded, and he saw a loader-guy deliberately drive a forklift several times hard into a bunch of loaded luggage, including my friend's. Fortunately at least he got prompt compensation when he complained.

Monday: DOMAI is down (updated)

For anybody who visits DOMAI and also reads this blog, I can inform you that DOMAI probably will be missing for hours today, July 13.
The server has basically never been down in the twelve years I've been hosted at cavecreek.net, an impressive performance. But today a disk had to be changed, and we are using the opportunity to upgrade the whole Operating System from top to bottom, to the newest and sleekest, so all in all it'll take a while.
Get out in the meantime, get in some twitching. (That's English slang for bird-watching. And "bird" is English slang for girl.)

Update: 15.30 GMT (10.30am NY time): the server is now up again, but some of the work remains, so it might be slow and have hickups for a little while yet.

Update a couple of hours later: everything should work normally now. Thanks for your patience. If you are a subscriber to the Domai newsletter emails, there'll be a special bonus page for you next time (only for those getting the emails).

House on the rock

[Thanks to Kirk]
Imagine trying to build this place! There's no place for trucks or cranes or materials!
And it's not small either. Three stories, twenty-three rooms.




Must be a cool place to have, but I don't know how practical it would be for living. You need the boat every time you want your mail or fresh milk.

Bron said:
Interesting that William Trost Richards was involved in the design. One of the greats of Luminist painting.
-

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Dreams from 3rd Rock from the Sun

I always liked the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, and near the end of the second season, each major character had a dream. These were produced in very stylized fashion, and I think they are outstanding. I couldn't find them on Utoob, so I clipped and sent them for ya pleasure.


(Below is Dick's dream, but if you want to see it larger, use the link above.)