… have to be the ones that are so convincing that, even though you know it has to be a joke, it’s believable enough that you still question whether or not it could be true. Like this one for example.
How Cool is this? From Wired:
University of California scientists are building a distributed earthquake-detection system that uses the accelerometers inside many notebooks, including MacBooks
The idea is basically to create a huge grid of earthquake detectors using the motion sensors in laptops which report over the internet and could give valuable seconds to people about to be hit by an earthquake. Think of it like seti at home only for earth quakes.
[Read Scientists Want Your MacBook for Earthquake Detection]
Between 8 and 9 tonight residents of dublin are being asked to join a symbolic gesture that is being repeated around the world, to turn your lights out for one hour to help draw attention to climate change. The city council is also participating and government buildings and non essential lighting in Dublin City will be turned off for the hour.
While I doubt many Irish people will participate it is still a good cause. Im currently writing this in the dark but most of the other apartments still have heir lights on. It would be easy to give in to the cynicism of people and just not bother, but the whole point of this is that every one can make a difference. Find out more at the Earth Hour website. They will be reporting on how much energy was saved so it will be interesting to see just how much one hour of artificial light actually makes up.
More Links:
From Breaking News.ie:
People who send excessive text messages and emails may have a mental illness, according to an editorial in a leading psychiatric journal
[Read Excessive test messaging may be a sign of mental illness: US Journal | World | BreakingNews.ie]
You have to wonder what defines “excessive”.
From BBC News:
Legendary British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90. He came to fame when his story, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was made into a film by director Stanley Kubrick in 1968. Once called “the first dweller in the electronic cottage”, his vision captured the popular imagination.
[Read BBC NEWS | UK | Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90]
Arthur C. Clarke was one of the true icons of the future when I was growing up. His writings and lessons and the many programs he did on science and space inspired me as a child and nurtured my interest in science and technology. May he rest in Peace
Greetings from Ireland on this our national holiday to who ever you are, wherever you are. Of course it’s not all that exciting really. There’ll be a Parade and then the entire country will get so drunk today that productivity at businesses across the isle will be down about 50% tomorrow, but hey, a holiday’s a holiday.
For those of you reading this blog in the US I thought you might find this interesting. Given the recent plummeting dollar value, here is the cost of a few things in Europe converted to their dollar equivalent, so if you’re planning a trip to europe, brace yourself.
Starbucks Vente Latte: €3.90 or $6.07
Apple iPod Shuffle: €45 or $70
Average Price of a Cell Phone Call (Peak - Per Minute): €0.40 or $0.62
Average price of a Deli Sandwich: €4.95 or $7.13
Average price of a DVD (New Release): €24 or $37.39
Liter of Milk: €1.14 or $1.77
Cinema Ticket: €7.00 or $10.90
From CNN:
Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax. Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.
[Read Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons creator, dies - CNN.com]
From Macworld UK
The BBC has today introduced Mac support for its streaming catch-up TV service in beta form. Mac users can visit the iPlayer beta site now to immediately begin streaming shows broadcast across the last seven days.
Note that the service only allows streaming, although downloading of shows is set to come in 2008.
[Read BBC iPlayer for Mac launched - iPod/iPhone - Macworld UK]
Mr. T and William Shatner in a hilarious set of commercials for World of Warcraft.
An incredible 16 billion pixel digitized image of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” digitized image of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” has been put online with google maps like navigation. It’s truly stunning, as you can zoom right into the cracks in the plaster.
Singapore Airlines’ new A380 has, not just first class, but super first class.
Found this interesting article in the Guardian. Apparently use of the word “Olympic” could be barred in the UK under copyright law. Fascinating, if scary article. Well worth a read.
Next,
Stay updated on my meandering thoughts & activities via RSS (Syndicate).
Subscribe To RSS feed