Water changes "color" according to temperature

"Remove the top of a spigot, create a small-scale canyon, add backlighting and you've got ambient water fittings. That's what Germany's Hansa is doing with Hansacanyon, by adding LEDs that change color as a function of water temperature so you can see when it's hot or cold. Also included; precise temperature control, for sinks, baths and showers."

This is one of those kick-yourself-in-the-shin ideas. Why the heck didn't someone think of this sooner? Absolutely brilliant.

hansa.de

Catholic Principal bans blogging

"When students post their faces, personal diaries and gossip on Web sites like Myspace.com and Xanga.com, it is not simply harmless teen fun, according to one Sussex County Catholic school principal.

It's an open invitation to predators and an activity that Pope John XIII Regional High School in Sparta will no longer tolerate, the Rev. Kieran McHugh told a packed assembly of 900 high school students two weeks ago.

Effective immediately, and over student complaints, the teens were told to dismantle their Myspace.com accounts or similar sites with personal profiles and blogs. Defy the order and face suspension, students were told."

Wait a second; explain to me how the school would know if you were blogging or not from your own home? It's one thing to block access from a school's network (they can do what they want, really) but another thing entirely to be governing what sites you visit in the comfort of your own chair?

What's next? "I'm sorry to inform the student body that from now on you will be forced to sleep fully clothed."??!

*smacks forehead*

The Mazda Sassou

"Designed for "net-savvy youngsters", the new concept hatchback, Mazda Sassou, ditches the traditional cylinder lock key system in favor of USB flash drives. In addition to starting the engine, the flash drives can be used to transfer driving directions for long trips along with the latest songs for the day to the Sassou's internal hard drive."

Not only is the platform nice looking but the design ideas are well implemented, too. Do yourself a favor and check out the video.

Nano owners sue Apple

"Lawsuit alleges music player’s screen scratches easily, rendering it unreadable.
October 20, 2005

Consumers angry about what they say is the iPod nano screen’s tendency to scratch easily have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple Computer, saying they want their money back plus a share of the company’s profits on the music player’s sales."

Alright. What the hell is wrong with people? Why is this country so sue happy, hm? Just like that whack-job woman who sued McDonald's for 2.7 million dollars because she was adding cream and sugar to her coffee in the drive thru while holding the cup between her legs.

WHAT?!?!

And what about that stupid woman that tried to sue Wendy's because she claimed she found a severed finger in her chili? Get a job instead of trying to weasel money out of big businesses.

About the Nano article - where do these people get off wanting a "share of the company's profits on the music player's sales"? So, can I sue my truck manufacturer because I scratched it? Oh, and since I scratched it because I'm an idiot, please give me a fully loaded Tahoe.

Dolts.

CBS to distribute shows via iTunes

"CBS will distribute its free podcasts, from "60 Minutes" to the long-running soap "Guiding Light," on Apple's iTunes Music Store, CBS Digital President Larry Kramer said Monday. The extensive suite of CBS podcasts includes news, entertainment, and sports programming on television, radio, and CBS Digital media sites including CBS.com, CBSNews.com, UPN.com and CBS SportsLine.com. The content can now be accessed from the iTunes Podcast Directory, as well as CBS Digital media sites, and will be highlighted in customized iTunes pages promoting the full offering of CBS podcasts for each respective CBS Digital Media property."

You don't have iTunes you say?! Blasphemy. Get it here.

The World's smallest Linux computer

GEEK time!! Yes folks, it's the smallest Linux computer on this planet called Earth. Thoughtfully named the Picotux 100, it's just barely larger than the size of an RJ-45 jack. Like most motorist's brains, it is indeed miniscule.



Here are this bad boy's specs:

Technical Specs

Processor: 32-bit ARM 7 Netsilicon NS7520
Processor Clock: 55 MHz
Flash Memory: 2 MB
RAM: 8 MB SDRAM
Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit, HD and FD, auto sensing
Serial (TTL): Up to 230.400 bps
General Input/Output Pins(TTL): 5, can be used as Handshake
LED for Ethernet: 2; green (programmable) and yellow (Carrier)

Supply Voltage: 3,3 Volt +- 5%
Supply Current: 250 mA

Operating System: uClinux 2.4.27 Big Endian (native)
Shell: Busybox 1.0 and others
File Systems: CRAMFS, JFFS2, NFS
Applications: Webserver, Telnet
Size of the Linux Systems in Flash: 720 KB and more
Protected Bootloader for Update over Network: 64 KB Code

Development System: GNU Tool chain
Compiler GCC 3.4.4 for C/C++ and Fortran
Binutils 2.15
Library: uClibc 0.9.26

Dimensions:
Height: 19 mm
Width: 19 mm
Deep: 36 mm
Package: Shielded by metal
Weight: ca.18 g
Ambient Temperature: -40°C to 85°C

Sure, you won't be playing games on it, but it's very impressive nonetheless. Ok, I'm off my geek box now. You may go back to your regularly scheduled programming.

The new iPod

Yes, I am a couple of days late. I almost didn't want to post about them simply because there is a sea of other places to get that information. But, the geek in me simply cannot at least post a tidbit on the newest iPod in Apple's lineup.

For the same price ($299 US) as last year's 20GB offering, you get:

• a smaller form factor
  
• more storage; now at 30GB
  
• and top that off with video playback
  

Amazing price for such features. If i had bought last year's iPod, I wouldn't be a happy camper right about now. Here are a couple of pics to drool over. Oh, and did I mention you can get it in black now?





You can check out a short video review of it here. It will give you some reference as to how small this new iPod really is.

Jared from Subway

How long is Subway going to hang on to this guy? I mean, it's great that he lost a gazillion pounds and can finally fit through a door frame, but he sure is milking Subway for what it's worth. I can't stand the guy. I'm not too sure if I can put a finger on it, but I'd say that when he gets that smirk on his face when he's trying to hide his teeth - ugh, I just want to throw fried chicken at him.



"The last time I had sex? With another person?"





"I'm telling you...it's baby spinach - look again"

Come on Subway, dump the dead weight (Ed:do you see what I did there?). Even Snuggle fabric softener's pink Teddy Bear mascot gives Jared a run for the money.

Microsoft and Yahoo to link Instant Message networks

By Nate Mook, BetaNews
October 11, 2005, 8:07 PM

"Microsoft and Yahoo are set to announce on Wednesday a blockbuster interoperability deal that will reshape the landscape of the fragmented instant messaging market. The companies will connect their IM networks so users on each can communicate with one another using text and voice chat free of charge."

A million years late but better than never, right? Wrong. Those of you that don't know about the convenience of Trillian or Gaim need to take a look at both of those great instant messenger alternatives.

Both support your MSN, Yahoo, AOL, and even ICQ accounts - all in ONE application. Trillian has more features than Gaim, but "weighs in" more; not as much as the bloated offerings of MSN or Yahoo though (not sure how much of a monstrosity the AOL messenger is). Here are a couple of screenshots of both applications:

Trillian



Gaim




Try both of these if you haven't yet. Both are free, but Trillian has a Pro version that REALLY adds some nice extra features if you're so inclined.

Until next time: lol, roflmao, bbiab, ttyl, kthx.

$100 Laptop!?

"A research project at the MIT Media Lab has a plan for getting $100 laptops in the hands of millions of people around the world. One notable feature is a hand crank for providing power in places where electricity is undependable or unavailable."

Some of the cool features:

• Will run an undetermined (at the time of this article) Linux operating system
  
• Built-in WiFi
  
• Four usb ports
  
• 12" screen that can be switched from full color to black and white for easy reading in direct sunlight
  
• 500MHz processor with 1GB of RAM
  

Created for children in developing countries? I want one!

"While the initial goal of the project is to work with governments, Negroponte said MIT is considering licensing the design or giving it to a third-party company to build commercial versions of the PC. "Those might be available for $200, and $20 or $30 will come back to us to make the kids' laptops. We're still working on that," he said."

I'd certainly buy one for $200. You can read the entire article here.

Man-made diamonds challenging Debeer's monopoly

"BOSTON - In the back room of an unmarked brown building in a run-down strip mall, eight machines, each the size of a bass drum, are making diamonds.

That's right -— making diamonds. Real ones, all but indistinguishable from the stones formed by a billion or so years' worth of intense pressure, later to be sold at Tiffany's."



Very interesting read. I ran across an article two years ago in Wired magazine that spoke of another company called Gemesis that also is in the business of making home-grown diamonds. That article, which is a great read, is here.

Now, don't go all nutty saying "OMGAH! you like diamonds??!!?". Well, yeah, but not for aesthetic reasons. It's the hardest substance known to man therefore allowing it to withstand tremendous amounts of heat without damage to it - technically it can handle extremely high thermal conductivity.

What this means is that today's silicon based microprocessors could one day be replaced with a diamond "core" allowing for some truly insane speeds that today's microchips would literally liquify under the same conditions. For comparison, today's microchips can run as much as around 93.3C/200F. Diamond based chips could handle MUCH more than that while providing speeds that we can only dream of at this point.

Move over ladies; diamonds will soon become a geek's best friend.

Google and Sun Microsystems taking on Microsoft?

"MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Sun Microsystems and Google announced a multiyear partnership Tuesday to help spread and develop each other's software, a deal that includes OpenOffice.org, Java and OpenSolaris from Sun, and Google's Toolbar.

The software the companies are working on all directly compete with Microsoft--for example, Java provides an alternative programming foundation to Windows and Microsoft's .Net, and OpenOffice competes directly with Microsoft Office. The Google Toolbar, meanwhile, leads to Google's services and not those Microsoft is trying to promote through MSN."

Alrighty then. I'm all for this collaboration, but perhaps the vision of handling word-processing, email, and other applications solely online doesn't sit well with me. I'm not concerned with the privacy factor of it because, really, if you want to get down to it, NOTHING is private over the internet. Perhaps that's for a later discussion, but for now we'll stay....on....topic.

Right then - handling most of your applications online is a little shaky. If you think about it, you would be depending on their servers to NOT crash in the middle of a, for example, online version of Power Point. Some might argue that "hey, you're doing this anyway from your own PC - who says that it wouldn't crash in the middle of a presentation?". From a corporate standpoint, your local IT guy can just replace the PC in question in a matter of minutes. "Hah, but the Power Point presentation is on the local drive! I got you!!!!!!111", you say. If the only copy you had was on the local drive and not on a network drive, then you're a retard and shouldn't be presenting anything other than a boxen of donuts every morning.


On the other hand, I just like the fact that this can be good competition for Microsoft since Sun's Open Office is completely free and a great alternative to Microsoft Office at home or a small business.

Since Google's been gearing to roll out an ad supported but free Wifi in select cities, they are really taking on a whole new look other than the usual "yeah, just google it".

So there seems that this is mostly a good move, although the outcome of this announcement was a let down because of no mention of an operating system.

All hail Google! (or not)

The return of a Classic (no, not me, smart@ss)

" Some sobering news for anyone who has recently crested 40: Everything you grew up with is now officially retro. Clothes, music, hair styles — even video games.

Long before Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there was Pong, a simple video game from Nolan Bushnell and the folks at the original Atari Inc. Two paddles, one ball and no Hot Coffee mod to unlock hidden sex scenes. THAT was gaming. "

I'm not quite forty yet, but man, does this thing bring back memories. My brother and I used to go nuts over Combat. It was the most fun and doubly frustrating game in existence. Here's a screenshot of what this game looked like:




(LOL. That's just nuts how old school that is.)

Anyway, it was fun to blast your opponent across the map, but frustrating as hell when you see his "shell" coming, but your tank is so damn slow you can only sit there and watch getting smacked across the screen. But, that's the funniest bit, so you didn't care after it happened because you were too busy wiping the tears from your eyes.

Of course this console doesn't support HD resolutions, component, or even S-video. Just LOOK at that screenshot. Why would you WANT higher resolution blocks? Answer: you don't.

GG Atari.

OH NOOOOOESS!!!11

Quick update: My motherboard decided to go belly up this weekend, so I had to order a replacement and bought some other new components in the process. Some of the articles that I had saved to the hard drive for posting will have to be rescued before re-installing Windows.

Right now i'm posting from a pc that only has a motherboard, power supply, a stick of RAM, and a cd-rom drive that's currently holding a cd of a Debian based Linux operating system with the Enlightenment desktop environment. It's a great backup tool since you have the ability to surf, check email, chat, or even watch dvd's (on a separate dvd-rom drive of course), all without installing a single thing to your hard drive. A operating system strictly running from a cd; nuts I say. Here is a link to a screenshot so you have an idea of what I'm using right now.

In case you're interested in other Linux live cd's, here is a list consisting of a plethora of live linux distros. (heh, plethora).

I'll be back in a couple of days. Ciao.

Gas prices skyrocketing because of Rita??

It sure looks like it.

Pimping the Podcasts

Yes, this is old news for some, and is definitely for me, but just in case you've not heard of Podcasts, this blog is for you. If you're Podcast savvy, then move along; if you're not, or have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, read on.

Podcasts are a method of publishing audio programs via the internet. The client, you in this case, would subscribe to a feed, and as soon as the latest audio program was uploaded by the creator, your podcast aggregator would automatically download it. Being usually of an .mp3 format, you can transfer this to a digital audio player of your choosing or burn it to cd just like any other .mp3 track. This phenomenon really caught on towards the end of 2004 and has grown from a handful of feeds to thousands of them.

Podcasts have become so popular, that iTunes has built-in support right out of the "box". In my opinion, it's much easier to navigate and subsribe using iTunes than other aggregators. But, in case you want to keep your options open, you can check out other applications here.

Within that list is the iTunes software which I recommend for its sheer simplicity to subscribe, download, and listen to podcasts.



Here are a few of my favorites (mostly tech talk):

Diggnation
This Week In Tech
The Daily Source Code (with Adam Curry)

Again, there are plenty of topics to choose from. There are some directories to browse if you haven't downloaded iTunes yet; Podcast.net and iPodder.org are both good sources. You'll definitely find something that interests you among these choices.

So get to downloading and take a listen while enjoying what is proving to be the future of audio broadcasts.

Amazing Underwater Photography

The man’s name is David Doubilet. He’s photographed over 60 stories for none other than National Geographic magazine since 1971.  Please do yourself a favor and take a look at his website. The shot above, taken in the Camen Islands, is just one of many jaw-dropping visuals you’ll see there.

This blog will especially tickle the fancy of a certain friend in Nova Scotia who loves Mother Ocean as much as I do.

Aloha

Wave bye bye to WinMX

"It is the end of an era folks. The WinMX P2P network is no longer running. The Peer Cache servers as well as the company website are no more. As of late last night (approx. 4-6 hours ago) the servers went down and users were no longer able to connect to the network."


This was a good p2p application back in the day, but it looks like they're trying to avoid being sued by the almighty RIAA. All this means is WinMX users, which there were alot of, will flock to yet another app. RIP.

Quick Quote (#1)

"Clones are people two"

Dolby Headphone

Although it will never replace a real surround setup, Dolby labs has come up with a fantastic virtual 5.1 (but I use the ".1" loosely) for use with a normal set of headphones. This technology uses a highly sophisticated room modeling algorithm that mimics surround sound very convincingly.

Put on your headphones, and take a listen. Click on the orange headphones on the right of the page.



The flash demo: Very convincing for only two speakers. These types of demos REALLY sound amazing on a proper setup, but this particular demo surprised me with it's depth and spacial cues.

The trailer demo: Not much separation there. Depth was almost non existent also. A poor demo, in my opinion.

Super Speedway demo: Well, I own this particular dvd, so no matter what I'm going to be biased. This demo lets you know via text that's located above the movie whether it's in stereo or surround. Again, better than I thought it would be, but doesn't hold a candle to a proper setup. *note* if you enjoy auto racing at ALL and have a 5.1 system, this is a must-have dvd.

No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close.

Step Into Liquid

If you haven't seen this documentary and have any interest in water sports and especially Mother Ocean, I highly recommend purchasing this dvd. I've never seen such stunning camera work for any water sport. There is also a bonus Hi-Def dvd included to view on your PC. Nothing short of amazing, this bit of film. Click on this topic title to view their website.

Click here for a preview. It's a short clip of a 40+ foot wave being surfed about 100 miles off the coast of San Diego at Cortes Bank. You've never seen anything like it.

The Complete Calvin And Hobbes

My favorite comic strip of all time, now sold with all 3 books in one collector's edition. To celebrate this occasion, Bill Watterson, creator, has re-released the classic comic for a limited time thru December 31st in newspapers across the country.

(Random Thought #1) The Sneeze

Have you ever noticed how ugly people look when they sneeze? Check it out sometime. If your friend/spouse/whatever looks like they're about to, take a good look and focus on their face. Better yet, whip out that phone cam and snap a pic. Man, that's got to be the ugliest look the human face can muster - it's that bad.

If your reflexes are truly as good as you boast to your friends and you actually manage to get that picture, send it to the email addy in my profile (be sure to put the word "Sneeze" in the subject line or it's automatically garbage) and I'll post it here. Don't worry, I'll make sure their faces are anonymous.

This is Eric, from emotioneric.com. This is the inhale part of the sneeze. I'd rather have the exhale bit, but if you get something like this, that's alright.



And hey, ladies and gents, don't bother trying to catch yourself sneezing in the mirror since the end result of trying to keep your eyes open is the equivalent of forcing oatmeal through your eye sockets. You have been warned.

(Official Rant #1) What is it with cupholders?

/rant

Ever notice that the cupholders in cars absolutely suck? They're either domestic and big enough to hold wine barrels or they're the import sized shot glass holders. What's the deal? My previous import cars were all inadequate to hold anything properly. For example, I used to drive a 90's Honda Civic. There were so many things wrong with the cup holder in this car:

* It was located right in front of the stick shift, making it impossible not to knock that already wobbly fountain drink onto the floor board while shifting into 3rd or 5th gear.

* You couldn't fit two bottles/cups/containers next to each other. So, whoever the lucky person was in the passenger seat got to hold theirs between their legs or hold theirs AND mine because not only wouldn't it fit in the cupholder, but I was driving a manual transmission and couldn't hold it myself. Bad luck :(

* You couldn't fit anything taller than a pepper shaker there because the radio was directly above it. Who the hell designed this? The Keebler elves?

Now I own a domestic. You'd think I'd be happier with larger cup holders, but unfortunately this is not the case. Sure, if I'm drinking out of a milk jug, I'm good to go, but let's face it - drinking from milk jugs is so 90's. Pfft.

Everything I like to drink just hates my cupholders and winds up leaning against my leg when I make a right hand turn. Ridiculous.

At this point you're saying to yourself "He must not have been in a *insert make of car here*." Of course I've not done a cup holder test on all makes of cars, and why should I? Can't there be a standard size for all?

Maybe I have been shopping for vehicles incorrectly all these years. The next time I purchase a car this will be a top consideration only second to gas mileage.

/rant

My Top 5 Playstation games

In lieu of Playstation's 10 year birthday here in the U.S., I've decided to pick out 5 games that:

* I still own.

* I still play.


So without further ado, because I know you're just underwhelmed with curiousity, here are my top 5 Playstation games in no particular order:

Metal Gear Solid



Ohhh man. Perhaps one of the greatest games on any platform, this game has it all - great graphics, impeccable gameplay, and an amazing story. I played through it twice because of the alternate endings. If you've never played any incarnation of Metal Gear, kick yourself in the back of the neck and call it a day.

Crash Bandicoot



Fantastically fun game. The graphics, the goofball sound effects and humorous moments are too numerous to mention. And who can deny a gaming company named Naughty Dog? Good stuff.


Tekken



My favorite fighting series. Yes, it's pretty easy for a noob to pick up the controller, mash buttons like he's a crackhead killing "bugs", then surprise you with some combos from hell, but if you know what you're doing, you can keep these kinds of opponents at bay. Great fun against your friends. But be forewarned: Lots of yelling and shouting of obscenities occur frequently.

Gran Turismo



The first and still the ONLY video game series that actually feels like driving without leaving the comfort of your home. This series is worth getting a Playstation in itself. The only other game that has come close to this was Sega's Ferriari F355 Challenge.

Battle Arena Toshinden



This game was my first true 3D fighting experience. The game wasn't perfect - had a bit of slowdown, controls were sometimes slow - but it had atmosphere, cool looking characters and weapons. What more could a guy ask for? Are you kidding me? Quite a bit I'm afraid, but it doesn't involve sitting around a tv.

And there you have it folks, my top 5 Playstation games of all time. If you see a game that you think should be in my top five, well, too bad. Write your own damn blog.

Happy 10th Birthday Playstation!!!

10 years ago today, the Playstation was launched in the U.S. Yes, I'm a geek for even mentioning this. Stuff it. I'm going to compile my top five games for the original Playstation and post them here, just not tonight. kthx.

Some newly snapped pics of Sony's Walkman

Sony's brand new Walkman, 26 years later...

"Sony has released their 20GB (NW-A3000) and 6GB (NW-A1000) portable audio devices, dubbing them as the new face for the Sony WALKMAN name.



Sporting an impressive advanced organic EL display, these two players feature new shuffle functions. By selecting ‘My Favorite Shuffle’, the device automatically selects the most listened to 100 songs and plays them at random. The ‘Time Machine Shuffle’ function randomly selects a year and plays all of the songs from that particular year that are currently held on the device."



The organic display is sick. It will be released in early November of this year. I'm very curious about format support and other sonic details. I'll be keeping an eye on this one...

First Look: iPod Nano

"There’s a new iPod on the scene—the iPod nano—and we’ve got one. What follows are our first impressions of this very impressive little player.

As you’ve undoubtedly heard, the iPod nano comes in two colors (white and black) and two configurations ($199 for 2GB, and $249 for 4GB). Each model stores music on a memory card rather than a hard drive, bears a crisp color display, and—like current full-sized iPods and the now-defunct iPod mini—sports a click wheel."



Wow, really. For athletes or people that are more active outside, this is a very good thing. The 20GB+ ipods are too bulky and are hard drive based - making them subject to a short life span because of jarring or constant vibration. On the other hand, my brother has an iPod Shuffle which is light and has flash-based memory, but is pretty skimpy in features and storage and doesn't have a display. He loves it though, so it's all about what's important to you and what suits your lifestyle. Click the topic title for an early first look at this new member to the ipod family.

Playstation turns 10 this Friday!

"Bake a cake and light some candles—this Friday marks the 10th birthday of everyone's favorite 32-bit system, the Sony PlayStation. It's hard to believe that it's been a full decade since the PS1 came along and launched Sony to the pinnacle of success. But here we are, downshifting our Emotion Engines as we cruise into the twilight days of the system's successor, making way for the PS1's Cell-powered grandchild."

Click the topic link to read the rest of this insightful and well written article.

Samsung to the rescue (hopefully)

"FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co. will bring out a DVD machine next year capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD if backers of the rival standards fail to agree on a unified format, says a newspaper."

Samsung's head of consumer electronics, Choi Gee-sung, told the Financial Times Deutschland: "We would welcome a unified standard but if this doesn't come, which looks likely, we'll bring a unified solution to market."

Fortunately and unfortunately for consumers this player will be a reality. Good because you won't have to buy two players. Bad because it's bullsh*t we have to deal with two formats. Beta Max and VHS anyone?

The public is already confused with Hi-Def as it is, much less having to choose between two Hi-Def optical formats next year.

Can RFID secure America's ports?

"Ocean-going cargo is the critical link in the United States' economic supply chain--as well as the most effective delivery vehicle for a terrorist-inspired weapon of mass destruction.

A WMD-laden container ship entering Los Angeles, Seattle or New York would be enough to bring the entire U.S. economy grinding to a halt--whether successfully detonated or not. Either way, the impact would be devastating economically and politically both here and abroad."

Other than the mention of the over-used acronym "WMD", this is a good article on the possible implementation of RFID to be used on ocean going cargo. These tags are a good use of technology - as long as they are implanted only in products and not used for human tracking such as the idiotic InClass RFID scenario. It's the same as treating people like cattle. Ludicrous.

Toshiba - Delaying HD DVD until 2006?

"Toshiba Corp. said it is considering pushing back the year-end US launch of HD DVD players until 2006, losing its first-move advantage against Blu-ray Disc, which is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2006. The main backer of the next-generation DVD format known as HD DVD said that any change in the launch schedule is intended to maximize the potential demand of the new format."

"We are now in talks with Hollywood studios and large-scale retailers to seek the most effective timing of the launch and best way to launch," a Toshiba spokeswoman said. "We originally aimed for the year-end launch in the United States. But we have not really decided on that."



Please don't rush this new format to the masses JUST because it's the holiday season. Instead, launch it when you AND the studios are both ready. In my opinion, this is good news, but that little jump that it was going to get on Blu-Ray is now a tad smaller.

More here, or click the blog topic.

Compression killing High Definition quality

"Consumers are getting a raw deal when it comes to viewing the best quality of high-definition television possible, said Mark Cuban, co-founder and president of Denver-based HD.Net. Speaking to more than 200 members of the television-manufacturing industry last week during an HDTV conference, Cuban said most HD content is compressed or made smaller, underutilizing HDTV sets capable of showing programming with extremely high resolution."

Hm. Not that I doubt that any kind of compression scheme is being used by providers, but this is coming from a guy who has nothing to lose by such a statement and everything to gain business-wise with this kind of slant. Nevertheless, this doesn't surprise me, but should not be taken lightly by the public. You see, once analog signals are cleared from the airwaves, it'll leave considerably more room for over-the-air High Def content, which hopefully providers will make quality a priority over quantity. There is no excuse why they cannot give us all that High Definition has to offer.

Live police/radio scanner from New Orleans

You'll need Winamp to listen. This is some insane audio from live scanners taken from police and other radios. A little disturbing at times, so be forewarned.

New Orleans live journal

"This journal has become the Survival of New Orleans blog. In less perilous times it was simply a blog for me to talk smack and chat with friends. Now this journal exists to share firsthand experience of the disaster and its aftermath with anyone interested."

Some incredible blogs. Here's a snippet:

"Situtation is critical.

I'm not leaving, so stop asking. I'm staying. I am staying until this shitstorm has blown itself out. Period. End of discussion.

Now for some updates:

1. Been too busy to debrief the police officer, so that will come later. Low priority now.

2. Buses loading people up on Camp Street to take refugees to Dallas, or so the word on the street (literally) is.

3. Dead bodies everywhere: convention center, down camp street, all over.

4. National Guard shoving water off the backs of trucks. They're just pushing it off without stopping, people don't even know it's there at first -- they drop it on the side in debris, there's no sign or distribution point -- people are scared to go near it at first, because the drop points are guarded by troops or federal agents with assault rifles who don't let people come near them, which scares people off. It is a mess. When people actually get to the water, they are in such a rush to get it that one family left their small child behind and forget about him until Sig carried him back to the family."

It's just incredible what is happening here. BUSH, HURRY THE F*CK UP.

Get out your bus passes...

On the way home last night from work I spotted a gas station's prices that almost made me drive into oncoming traffic in frustration. Instead, I decided to snap a pic with my cell. Don't mind the quality since it was around midnight and shot through limo tint:

























Thanks Katrina for giving an excuse to raise the oil prices :

/rant

Speaking of Katrina - why are there so many people being rescued from her devastation? There was plenty of notification regarding the magnitude of her size and power. Approximately 3000 people were reported being rescued yesterday alone. Don't tell me all of them were homeless, because that's not true. I have a feeling that alot of people didn't take this too seriously. I feel bad for the kids, but not for anyone that had the means to evacuate in a prompt manner. boneheads.

/rant

Nova | The Elegant Universe

"The fundamental particles of the universe that physicists have identified—electrons, neutrinos, quarks, and so on—are the "letters" of all matter. Just like their linguistic counterparts, they appear to have no further internal substructure. String theory proclaims otherwise. According to string theory, if we could examine these particles with even greater precision—a precision many orders of magnitude beyond our present technological capacity—we would find that each is not pointlike but instead consists of a tiny, one-dimensional loop. Like an infinitely thin rubber band, each particle contains a vibrating, oscillating, dancing filament that physicists have named a string."

All three hours of this popular mini-series are now viewable online! You'll need Quicktime or a Realplayer alternative (I don't recommend Realplayer) like Real-Alternative to view. Worth every minute - a definite must-see.

Where's Bush?

"Mr. President,

There is something wrong with this picture.

Hurricane Katrina is now being called one of the worst, if not the worst, disaster in US history. Instead of focusing on this growing tragedy in the southeast, you are at this moment giving a speech in California about World War II and Iraq. Yes, you devoted one minute of that speech to the hurricane, but now it's been 20 minutes and you are still talking about WWII and Iraq.
"

Click link above picture.

I've not pimped anyone's blog before, but this one deserves a read considering what's been unfolding around Katrina's devestation.

GPS/Windows Mobile/smart phone is a first

"Mio will next week preview the A701, its first GPS-enabled Windows Mobile-based smart phone, The Register has learned.

According to basic specifications we've seen, the device is based on a 520MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor backed by 192MB of memory, of which we reckon at least 64MB will be ROM. The phone runs Windows Mobile 5, aka 'Magneto'."

Green Day steals the show

"Punk veterans Green Day picked up seven awards at the MTV Music Video Awards Sunday. In a show usually dominated by hip-hop or pop acts, Green Day managed to take a bundle of awards, including best rock video and video of the year for the hit "American Idiot.""







Ya know, it sure is nice to see that Rock still has its place even in the washed out and generic cesspool of modern pop music. By the way, this album is a must have if you haven't picked it up yet (and if you haven't, you should kick yourself in the chin and call it a day)

The Edge 103.9

Pimping my favorite local station. Although I don't listen to much over the airwaves (I prefer my .mp3 collection or podcasts) when I do turn on the radio, it's always this one. It's not corporate driven, which is a big plus.

Check out the streaming broadcast here.(Windows Media Player)

Google Talk

Just as predicted, Google has emerged with an open sourced Jabber client called Google Talk. It's ad free, light, and works very well. Let's hope this catches on among the "big three" instant messenger clients.

There is a nice review of Google Talk here.

Web server the size of a match head?

""The single chip computer in the above picture runs the iPic web-server, the world's tiniest implementation of a TCP/IP stack and a HTTP web-server. The chip above is a complete micro-computer, and it includes all components of a complete computer on a single tiny micro-chip (this includes the CPU (central processing unit), memory, serial port interface circuitry, and clock oscillator)."





The nerd in me showing in today's post. This is just incredible.

New Urbanism

"NEW URBANISM promotes the creation and restoration of diverse, walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the same components as conventional development, but assembled in a more integrated fashion, in the form of complete communities. These contain housing, work places, shops, entertainment, schools, parks, and civic facilities essential to the daily lives of the residents, all within easy walking distance of each other. New Urbanism promotes the increased use of trains and light rail, instead of more highways and roads."

I ran across this site today while surfing around. The idea is simple enough, but with most Americans being fairly materialistic, are they willing to commute using alternative methods other than their own car? Probably not.

Nevertheless, this sure would be an ideal way to start curbing our use of oil and prepare for the astronomical gas prices that are yet to come.

Copy protection screws ipod owners

Sure there are a couple of ways around this, but for the layman, it is ridiculous that an ipod user (of which there are millions), cannot transfer these cd's to their ipod. Not being able to easily backup or rip a cd I purchased without some trick is frustrating. Sorry RIAA, you're pushing more people to illegally download music with tactics like this.

Another long overdue update. I purchased a new vehicle. It wasn't quite what I had planned to get, but I needed something pretty quickly. It boiled down to not being able to afford what I REALLY wanted, but come on, most everyone's run into that wall.

My brother and I had an interesting chat last night about music and the memories that certain songs/albums/artists conjur up. It's so interesting how a song can instantly remind you of the time you were fishing off of a pier in San Diego, doing "endos" off of a 3 foot cement wall in front of your house ON PURPOSE, or remind you of that special moment with a significant other. Music is such a huge part of my life, as it is with alot of people, that I don't know how i would survive without it at times. Maybe it's because I am a musician that I take music to such great heights when it comes to expressing myself or how it can move me.

*queues The Shins - New Slang.flac*

An update

Well, some stuff has happened since I last blogged which seems like 2.3 million years ago. My car was stolen a few weeks ago. It was found a few days later without wheels and tires with parts of the interior and motor missing also. To top it off, they keyed the crap out of it. I've had that car one year after it was released to the public back in the early nineties. I had it paid off a few years after that and only carried liability, so obviously I got nothing for it. It was hard to see it like that, but it was a sign to move on to something different is how I see it. So, currently still looking for an SUV (my other car was small) so I can do the things I like to do outdoors. Whatever SUV I end up with will get used like it should be :)

Wish me luck!