Java? It's So Nineties
Peter Yared (of NetDynamics fame) says, "Java is a dinosaur."
It's official, I'm now a legacy programmer. :)
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Goodbye, Moon
Goodbye, Moon - New York Times
The publisher of "Goodbye Moon" childrens book has digitally removed (from the photo)the cigarette in the hand of the illustrator, Clement Hurd, to avoid the appearance of encouraging smoking. The writer of this piece suggests (with much tongue in cheek) a series of other saftey measures that could be taken in bunny's bedroom.
Also, the author's (Karen Karbo) young adult fiction book, Minerva Clark Gets a Clue, looks like funny.
The publisher of "Goodbye Moon" childrens book has digitally removed (from the photo)the cigarette in the hand of the illustrator, Clement Hurd, to avoid the appearance of encouraging smoking. The writer of this piece suggests (with much tongue in cheek) a series of other saftey measures that could be taken in bunny's bedroom.
Also, the author's (Karen Karbo) young adult fiction book, Minerva Clark Gets a Clue, looks like funny.
The Forbes Fictional 15
The Forbes Fictional 15 - Forbes.com
This list is pretty darn funny. The premise is "With the Forbes Fictional 15, we have taken the opposite approach--fiction’s caricatures are elevated to the status of real people." And then of course, they are rated by how wealthy they are. Notable entries: Santa Claus, Mr. Burns (The Simpsons), Scrooge McDuck (Disney), Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies), Mr Howell (Gilligan's Island).
The List
This list is pretty darn funny. The premise is "With the Forbes Fictional 15, we have taken the opposite approach--fiction’s caricatures are elevated to the status of real people." And then of course, they are rated by how wealthy they are. Notable entries: Santa Claus, Mr. Burns (The Simpsons), Scrooge McDuck (Disney), Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies), Mr Howell (Gilligan's Island).
The List
Monday, December 05, 2005
Note to Chicken Little
...the sky is not falling. It's the ocean that's rising. "Honey, time to pack our things. The ocean is has gotten too high again."
To take a look, check the Google Map for Vanuatu.
To take a look, check the Google Map for Vanuatu.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
science fiction in the service of science
"Let the problem of the mind dissolve in your mind..."
"...science fiction in the service of science. Or just science, if you agree that fiction is part of it, always was, and always will be as long as our brains are only minuscule fragments of the universe, much too small to hold all the facts of the world, but not too idle to speculate about them."
--Valentino Braitenberg "Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology"
"...science fiction in the service of science. Or just science, if you agree that fiction is part of it, always was, and always will be as long as our brains are only minuscule fragments of the universe, much too small to hold all the facts of the world, but not too idle to speculate about them."
--Valentino Braitenberg "Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology"
18 Tricks to Teach Your Body
18 Tricks to Teach Your Body
From the "strange but it's true" category, try some of these out. My favorites were using sleep to help your brain work and to memorize (18). I use this with studying and work often. And which ear to use when listening (2). I can use this one since tinnitus is setting in for me. Too many Van Halen concerts in my youth.
From the "strange but it's true" category, try some of these out. My favorites were using sleep to help your brain work and to memorize (18). I use this with studying and work often. And which ear to use when listening (2). I can use this one since tinnitus is setting in for me. Too many Van Halen concerts in my youth.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Me and My Imaginary Friend
I don't consider myself an atheist, but this essay from Penn Jillette (NPR : There Is No God) is very provocative.
"I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up,"
"How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.
"I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up,"
"How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
No snow for Santa
CNN.com - Snows fail to fall in�Arctic tundra - Nov 22, 2005
Ask the guy driving the Hummer next to you to explain to the children that there will be no snow at the North Pole for Santa this year.
Ask the guy driving the Hummer next to you to explain to the children that there will be no snow at the North Pole for Santa this year.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Visual Tricks and the movies
So I popped in the "original" Star Wars trilogy DVDs last night and watched some of my own selected favorite scenes. Afterward, I was thinking about something I learned about human vision and visual tricks in my AI class.
When your brain sees a visual trick that seems like it should make sense, but is obviously a trick (see Walter Wick's Optical Tricks ) we are drawn to it, because our brain strives to understand the trick. However when we see something visually that obviously makes no sense, we just ignore it because we simply chalk it up as absurd, there is nothing to solve.
There is an analogy in the use of CG in movies. When you see Luke use the force to draw his light saber to his hand from the floor in "Empire Strikes Back", we look at the trick and wonder, "I bet they used a wire to move the saber through the air." And we say "That was a good trick." When we see Yoda doing ridiculous flips through the air in "Attack of the Clones" we easily realize that it is CG and we ignore how it was done. "It was just a computer."
BTW, if you haven't make sure you watch the old trailers and TV spots on the bonus DVD. They are priceless. I especially liked the voice talent and how the teasers often used story board illustrations instead of any real scenes from the film.
When your brain sees a visual trick that seems like it should make sense, but is obviously a trick (see Walter Wick's Optical Tricks ) we are drawn to it, because our brain strives to understand the trick. However when we see something visually that obviously makes no sense, we just ignore it because we simply chalk it up as absurd, there is nothing to solve.
There is an analogy in the use of CG in movies. When you see Luke use the force to draw his light saber to his hand from the floor in "Empire Strikes Back", we look at the trick and wonder, "I bet they used a wire to move the saber through the air." And we say "That was a good trick." When we see Yoda doing ridiculous flips through the air in "Attack of the Clones" we easily realize that it is CG and we ignore how it was done. "It was just a computer."
BTW, if you haven't make sure you watch the old trailers and TV spots on the bonus DVD. They are priceless. I especially liked the voice talent and how the teasers often used story board illustrations instead of any real scenes from the film.
Monday, November 14, 2005
A Scanner Darkly
If you liked Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" and you like Philip K. Dick stories, check out this trailer for "A Scanner Darkly".
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Monarch butterflies
Pilot tracks monarch butterflies on long migration - Yahoo! News
I heard this man's story on NPR. Factoids:
"Not one butterfly makes the round-trip journey, and the offspring of those who start it head instinctively for a place they have never been.
After leaving Mexico, it takes three or four generations of monarch butterflies to reach their summer grounds in Canada and northern areas of the United States. The last generation, which has a longer life span, then makes the journey south to Mexico for the winter."
I heard this man's story on NPR. Factoids:
"Not one butterfly makes the round-trip journey, and the offspring of those who start it head instinctively for a place they have never been.
After leaving Mexico, it takes three or four generations of monarch butterflies to reach their summer grounds in Canada and northern areas of the United States. The last generation, which has a longer life span, then makes the journey south to Mexico for the winter."
Good read for web nerds
Tim O'Reilly is the web's prophet. Better known as founder of the tech books series with the animal covers.
Recent buzzword, oft blogged, is "Web 2.0". Tim writes an insightful tome on What Is Web 2.0. Worth the read, for web nerds. In a pinch, you can skip to "Web 2.0 Design Patterns" and "Core Compentencies of Web 2.0 Companies" on page 5.
What I found interesting was, working in software, I can say my employers have not (are not) displayed these core competencies of Web 2.0. Makes you wonder about the future of such software (companies).
Recent buzzword, oft blogged, is "Web 2.0". Tim writes an insightful tome on What Is Web 2.0. Worth the read, for web nerds. In a pinch, you can skip to "Web 2.0 Design Patterns" and "Core Compentencies of Web 2.0 Companies" on page 5.
What I found interesting was, working in software, I can say my employers have not (are not) displayed these core competencies of Web 2.0. Makes you wonder about the future of such software (companies).
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Rosa Parks
In honor of Rosa Parks who died yesterday at 92, take a look at her Mug Shot and remember, it started here.
White House lawyers vs. The Onion
Protecting the Presidential Seal. No Joke. - New York Times This is no joke. Your taxes hard at work so that White House lawyers can make sure no one mistakenly thinks The Onion is a serious newspaper.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Celebirty mugshots
Found this entertaining site (The Smoking Gun: Arresting Images) when I was directed to Tom Delay's new mugshot.
Check some of my fave's, Noelle Bush, Bernard Ebbers, Ozzy Osbourne (check out the Blues jersey!), Frank Sinatra, Bill Gates, and School Marm.
Check some of my fave's, Noelle Bush, Bernard Ebbers, Ozzy Osbourne (check out the Blues jersey!), Frank Sinatra, Bill Gates, and School Marm.
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