codyg1985's real and internet life

DOMAIN CHANGE GOES IN EFFECT

2006-02-23T10:03:00.000-06:00

From now on, my blog will be posted at codyg1985.com.

This will be left open for reference, but please update your bookmarks to reflect the change.

Toilet paper dispute between roommates ends in murder

2006-02-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

What do you do if you run out of toilet paper? This guy beat his roommate to death with a hammer.

The roommates were fighting, and one pulled out a shotgun. The other roommate then pulled out a sledge hammer and beat the other roommate to death.

Open source internet TV platform

2006-02-21T18:08:00.000-06:00

For those of you with the internet connections to handle it, these folks have developed a media player that aggregates streaming video into one source:

Download and watch all the best internet TV shows and videos in one powerful application. New channels arrive daily in the built-in Channel Guide.

Stop squinting at tedious web videos-- sit back and watch big, high resolution videos one after another. It's so easy to use that you'll be watching interesting videos in moments.

Features: subscribe to video RSS feeds (including podcasts, video blogs, and BitTorrent feeds), watch fullscreen, share with friends.

New York state implements tax to extort money from tourists on an annual basis

2006-02-21T17:51:00.000-06:00

New York state will tax out-of-state drivers that get ticketed in the state. The tax charges cited motorists $100 per year after the ticket has been issued and paid.

Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas also dock drivers with this tax, and Virginia will soon follow suit.

Computer error stops Times Square electronic billboard in its tracks

2006-02-21T17:47:00.000-06:00

It's another branding from Microsoft. A billboard in Times Square had a application crash message on it...the very dialogue box that torments users on a day-to-day basis.

Cheney's got a gun

2006-02-21T09:15:00.000-06:00

It has been so easy to make fun of the Dick Cheney hunting accident. Here's a flash video that parodies both Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun" with Dick Cheney.

[blog] Domain change

2006-02-19T21:14:00.000-06:00

With the recent problems that have occured with Blogger lately, I have decided to purchase hosting for my blog and personal items. In a few days, I will post the link to the new blog on here, and at that time all posting on this blog will cease.

I will try and import all of my posts on here onto the new blog for crossreferencing.

[personal] I hate having diabetes

2006-02-19T16:11:00.000-06:00

I am so sick of having diabetes. It is rare that my body feels good and I feel good. Most of the time I feel tense and ill as a hornet. That's the way I feel right now. The slightest thing pisses me off, and it takes a lot for me to feel better. Nobody can realize how bad I feel somedays, and I can't put it in words beacuse half the time I can't put anything in words when I feel that bad. Maybe I should make an attempt to eat better, but if I try that I will be as miserable trying to count carbs and make healthier choices.

Oh well, here comes another week of rain, classes, and inferior-quality cafeteria food.

Mozilla programmer responds to Firefox memory leaks

2006-02-17T10:25:00.000-06:00

Ben Goodger, a lead engineer for the Mozilla Firefox web browser, acknowledged the memory issues that hasve plagued the browser, but also said that the memory leak is the consequence of a caching feature that stores previously-viewed pages in memory. From Goodger's blog:

To improve performance when navigating (studies show that 39% of all page navigations are renavigations to pages visited < 10 pages ago, usually using the back button), Firefox 1.5 implements a Back-Forward cache that retains the rendered document for the last few session history entries. This can be a lot of data. It's a trade-off. What you get out of it is faster performance as you navigate the web.

Users can change this feature, as noted in the article:

Type about:config in the browser address bar.

Scroll down and find the browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers entry

Double-click on that line, and change the value as follows:
- -1 (default entry based on memory on system)
- 0 (no caching)
- 1-8 (number of pages to cache)

[blog] Firefox and Blogger don't agree with each other

2006-02-16T09:53:00.000-06:00

For some strange reason, when I tried to publish one of my blog entries this morning in Firefox, I got an error which said permission was denied to one of the archive files. I found that odd, but then I took at look at the Blogger help group and noticed a a post that mentioned problems publishing with Firefox.

So, I fired up Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2, and the blog post published without a hitch. Same went for another story I posted that I tried posting in Firefox before it froze up on a PDF file. These may be two reasons for me to switch back to IE, but I am not going to make up my mind yet.

Antigravity propulsion system proposed at space conference

2006-02-16T09:43:00.000-06:00

A proposal to achieve near-luminal propulsion speeds was unveiled by Dr. Franklin Felber at Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF) in Albuquerque, NM. The system works by propelling a secondary spacecraft to a little more than half the speed of light. Felber's paper argues that in front of this secondary spacecraft a narrow "antigravity beam" would form that would repel anything in front of the spacecraft away from it. A primary spacecraft would be placed in front of the secondary vessel, and according to the paper the primary spacecraft would move at near light speeds, assuming its initial speed was the same as the secondary spacecraft.

The paper also argues that this method of propulsion would not involve strong tidal forces which would rip the spacecraft to shreds.

[personal] Light at the end of the tunnel

2006-02-16T07:26:00.000-06:00

Today is the day where all of my work is either due, or it has already been due at some earlier time. As I sit here eating away at my candy I recieved for Valentine's Day, I realize that this is really the first day this week I can sort of relax; that is after my Engineering Economy class. Assignments due in every class, I have not had as much free time this week as usual, but the assignments do keep me busy, and I have finished them. What a week this has been!

There may be icing problems here in Huntsville over the weekend; the entire state will have rain throughout the weekend (tired of rain during the weekend), but up here it may be cold enough for ice to form on bridges, overpasses, and power lines. If the power goes out, World of Warcraft will be a bit out of reach for my roommate, and Call of Duty will be out of reach for my other roommate. It will be interesting to see how everyone acts if the power is out for a prolonged duration.

Valentine heart inspired by woman's bum?

2006-02-15T12:42:00.000-06:00

That heart on that box of candy that you got for Valentine's Day could have been inspired long ago by the shape of a woman's butt, according to a professor of psychology:

Galdino Pranzarone of Roanoke College in Salem, Va., told Discovery News that he analyzed "essential literary and speculative evidence from mythology and secondary sources," which led to his theory. He believes one rather obvious bit of evidence is that the heart symbol does not directly duplicate the heart human organ.

"The twin lobes of the stylized version correspond roughly to the paired auricles and ventricles (chambers) of the anatomical heart," Pranzarone said, but added that the organ "is never bright red in color" and its "shape does not have the invagination at the top nor the sharp point at the base."

[personal] Tuesday's life by the numbers

2006-02-14T19:58:00.000-06:00

Here is a little list that was inspired by these blog posts:

2 is how many hours it took to finish an Excel spreadsheet detaling a payment plan for a class project

10 is how many minutes it took for my hands to almost turn numb this morning defrosting the car for class

3 is how many Valentine's Day candy packages I received

1 out of the 3 was from my mother given to me last Sunday

9.768 is the acceleration due to gravity in Huntsville, AL (in meters per second)

28 is the number of friends I have online on Trillian

14 out of those 28 are away and/or idle

14 is the amount of homework problems assigned during today's Calculus lecture

1108526400 is the Unix time when my Chapter 6 Physics homework is due

[personal] Busy week ahead...

2006-02-14T18:18:00.000-06:00

Whew, this week is shaping up to be a busy one. A lot of assignments are due within the generous space of a few days. This includes two Physics lab reports, the Chapter 6 Physics homework assignment, and a case study for Engineering Economy. There is also Calculus C homework that I need to do to get practice with partial derivatives, although that homework is optional.

Thursday will be a load off of my shoulders because after Thursday most of the work will have been due.

I also need to begin work on the second NL History article, for those of you interested in my first article.

Machines will take over the world! We are doomed! Wait a minute...

2006-02-13T13:17:00.000-06:00

The folks at Wired Magazine are looking at a day where machines will perform tasks autonomously and human skill will be rendered obsolete. Fully self-sufficient robots and machines will stay in the realm of science-fiction because, well, science-fiction has taught us that if made autonomous, robots will take over the world, leaving everything, including their creators, in the dust.

Robots will get smarter, and eventually will be semi-autonomous. However, robots will only be self-sufficient in the tasks that they are to perform. The robots are not going to gain knowledge on how to perform other tasks they are not designed to perform. Moreover, robots won't be programmed to replicate themselves by gathering the materials to build copies of themselves, much less improved versions of themselves.

Most important, new robots will need to be designed and built, and humans will still be up to the challenge of that.

High school student arrested for serving brownies...laced with pot

2006-02-12T19:28:00.000-06:00

A senior at Munford High School, northeast of Talladega, AL, was arrested for serving brownies laced with marijuana to his classmates. The drugged desserts caused the twelve students dizziness and nausea.

The student has been charged with distribution of a controlled substance.

Alabama still will not play a role in presidential primaries

2006-02-10T10:21:00.000-06:00

Thanks to a defeat of a bill to move up the Alabama Presidential Primary, the state of Alabama will still vote for the Republican and Democratic candidates for President--long after it has already been decided by the majority of the country. The reason for the defeat: it would cost $3.4 million to move the primary to an earlier date.

Alabama would receive more national attention, including from the candidates , if the primaries were moved up. Candidates would spend money in Alabama, which would probably pay for moving the primary, and then some. Instead, thanks to a few state house members, we remain at the bottom of the list, as we do in almost everything else.

And we all wonder why Alabama is the butt of so many jokes?

Neat trick for desktop backgrounds

2006-02-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of this Digg submission:

This collection of images show off some pictures of computer monitors whose backgrounds are set so that they match what would be behind the monitor.

[blog] New Theme

2006-02-09T19:06:00.000-06:00

I have decided to forego the cookie-cutter theme that I have been using for this blog in favor of my own creation. My main thing is to make the blog brighter-looking and to remove all of the images that were in the last blog design.

If I find hosting for images I may do my own custom logo to replace the text at the top.

If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment. BTW, I have turned off comment moderation, so that the only trial by fire that one has to go through to comment is word verification.

Islamic response to Danish cartoons only strengthens stereotypes

2006-02-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

The situation that has arisen from the Danish cartoons has spiraled out of control. The way the Islamic extremists are reacting to these cartoons is uncalled for, and is in no way an appropriate response to those sketches. The cartoons, no matter how offensive they are, are not worth starting a conflict over. Although the actions of a small percentage of Muslims certainly do not speak for all of Islam, those actions only reinforce the violent stereotype that taints the religion's image and meaning, and unless the majority does not speak out against these actions, the image of the Muslim world will only continue to sink in the eyes of the world.

Was it appropriate for Flemming Rose, the cultural editor for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, to authorize the publication of those cartoons? Probably not. Two wrongs do not make a right, so just because the Christian and Jewish faiths have been persecuted in the past by Islamic fundamentalists does not mean that it is right to go the other way and persecute Islam. However, by responding to the cartoon by going out and proving the very point that the cartoon makes only causes people to condemn the violence instead of the person holding the pencil.

I know that the Qur'an does not teach to kill people. Given the action of Islamic extremists, however, many people believe otherwise. If Muslims want their religion to have a better image, believers should step up and voice outrage over this violence. They should voice outrage over previous actions taken by Hamas and Al Qaida. A large number of these people should do this all over the world. A campaign, if you will. Positive actions make a lasting impression, and those actions could lead to some good press for Islam.

Materials retrofitted with nanotubes found to vibrate less

2006-02-08T12:20:00.000-06:00

Research suggests that materials that are retrofitted with nanotubes vibrate less under intense heat. The reason for this is because the nanocomposite materials experience better damping--the characteristic of a material to correct itself after undergoing vibrations, thereby reducing the resultant vibration of the material.

NL History: The Beginning

2006-02-07T20:58:00.000-06:00

The following is the first of a series of articles about the former technology community Next L3vel that I was administrator/owner at for two years. This article talks about how Next L3vel got off the ground.

Next L3vel had some humble yet unfortunate beginnings.

In the second half of 2002 a website known as Windows XP Stuff was making a small scene in the technology news arena. Unfortunately, the website was plagued with hosting problems, and the owner of the website was not around to maintain order. Most of the staff of Windows XP Stuff did not complain too much and went about their duties at the website. I decided to purchase a hosting plan for the website so that it would have reliable hosting. After doing so, I proposed that Windows XP Stuff be moved to the new hosting that I bought. Most of the staff agreed to do this, but the owner did not agree to move the website, but instead opted for the hosting to be used for file hosting. The final straw came in late October 2002 when it was discovered that the website owner had a drug addiction problem. As such, the new website had its beginning.

Initially the hosting was not ready until the end of November 2002, so one of Windows XP Stuff’s staff members (and new admin at the new website), known then as DigitalFreedom offered to provide temporary hosting. The name of this new website was still undetermined, so many of the staff at Windows XP Stuff that decided to make the move to the new website collaborated through an IM conference to discuss the name. A staff member that went by elw3irdo coined “Next L3vel” as the name of the website, and the name stuck.

The website drew members from Windows XP Stuff due to one of the staff members, Chris Holmes (a.k.a Chris123NT) posting a news item about the owner of Windows XP Stuff and his drug addiction. The news item also invited people to go to the new website created by the staff of Windows XP Stuff. Initially the community was very small, but everyone for the most part got along, and the forum content was interesting and entertaining.

I am not proud of how Next L3vel got off the ground, in reference to the problems of another website. Despite that, the move that was made was for the better for the members most involved at Windows XP Stuff, and the foundation was laid for a community that I am proud to have been a part of.

Star Trek fan goes bankrupt transforming house into Starship Voyager

2006-02-07T14:24:00.000-06:00

How much of a Star Trek fan are you? Enough to max out 14 credit cards to transform your home into the Starship Voyager? Well this person was. Now he's bankrupt.

[link] SimMcDonalds coming to a browser near you

2006-02-07T10:16:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this parody of McDonalds where you get to run your own fast-food franchise.

Looks a lot like The Sims doesn't it?

PC created using Whiskey bottle

2006-02-05T20:28:00.000-06:00

This person shows the step-by-step process that went into converting a whiskey bottle into a case for a "quiet" PC.

Seventh grade student writes essay threatening President Bush, Oprah Winfrey

2006-02-05T20:21:00.000-06:00

A Rhode Island middle school student was suspended from school after writing an essay that spells out what he could consider a perfect day: killing President Bush, Oprah Winfrey, executives of Coca-Cola company and Wal-Mart, and attacking a Walgreens pharmacy.

The student's teacher alerted the authorities after the student turned in the essay. The student was suspended from school for "mental health issues," but he was not arrested.

Making a threat to the President is a felony.

[blog] Some blogger suggestions

2006-02-05T10:16:00.000-06:00

Blogger is a great blogging tool. Many websites support it, and it is easy to use. Best of all, it is free and no hosting is required to get it up and running.

However, as a frequent viewer to other blogs and as a former forum administrator, there are a few things that I would suggest that the folks at Blogger add:

Categories - most other blog software provide the option for categories, even the inferior MySpace blog software. Categories would make the blog much more organized, especially for me since I write on various subjects. No more tagging each title with tags.

Blog backup - As a former forum and website administrator, I cherished and appreciated the ability to backup our database on a regular basis. It saved our tail a few times, that's for sure. Given that the webmasters here probably perform regular backups, this should not be a problem, but what if something did go wrong, and everything was lost? Or what if you wanted to move blogs to another blog website or another blog software? It would be a painful process either way, so backing up the blog would be something to ease that pain.

Visit tracking - If you have a blog, would you be curious about who is visiting your blog, and how those people are discovering your blog? Moreover, would you like to know what people are searching for to arrive at your blog? There are various outside tracking services that monitors who is coming to visit your webpage. For most reputable hosting services, website administration software called CPanel is used for many, many under-the-hood things, including tracking visitors. It would be nice if Blogger put those stats in each blog to see where people are coming from. If the blogger had an idea as to what keywords brought people to his/her blog< then that blogger could perhaps fine-tune his/her content to take advantage of those hits already coming in.

It seems like I have written about this before, but I can't find the post on here to prove it.

Beverages that contain aspartame to be banned in NM?

2006-02-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

A bill to go before the New Mexico state legislature would ban the sale of drinks that contain the artificial sweetener aspartame. The bill calls the sweetener "a poison," and that it is a known carcinogen.

If passed, the ban would begin on July 1.

Pay your bill on time, you are golden, right? Wrong.

2006-02-04T22:36:00.000-06:00

A British credit company will begin rewarding customers who pay their bill on time by making their monthly payment due sooner than the previous month. Failure to pay in time would result in a 20 pound ($35 USD) late fee.

The reasoning behind this decision was because the company was not making as much money on customers that pay off their entire bill as from those that borrow money.

Google developing cheap PC's that connect to a special Internet?

2006-02-04T15:42:00.000-06:00

Google is allegedly working on a cheap PC, called a Google Cube, that will provide access to a separate internet, known as "GoogleNet."

An Internet Service Provider is in talks to provide the service to Google Cubes.

Build your own Tesla coil

2006-02-03T13:02:00.000-06:00

If you are bored, and have the time and materials laying around, then look at this website to explore how to build a Tesla coil.

The 'Tesla Coil' is a device invented by the brilliant scientist Nikola Tesla (born 1856, died1943). It is a high voltage, high frequency, power generator, primarily built for conducting experiments and to observe phenomenon associated with alternating electricity. With this coil, Tesla was able to generate voltages of such magnitude, they would shoot out of the apparatus as bolts of lightning!

Fajita scale updated to reflect damage from weaker winds

2006-02-03T12:45:00.000-06:00

The National Weather Service is changing the Fujita scale to reflect the fact that weaker winds than previously thought can topple homes and turn ordinary objects into projectiles.

An F-5 tornado under the enhanced Fujita scale would have winds of at least 200 mph instead of 261 mph.

A note from the official website:

The Enhanced F-scale still is a set of wind estimates (not measurements) based on damage. Its uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgment of 8 levels of damage to the 28 indicators listed below. These estimates vary with height and exposure. Important: The 3 second gust is not the same wind as in standard surface observations. Standard measurements are taken by weather stations in open exposures, using a directly measured, "one minute mile" speed.

The new system will go into effect Feburary 2007.

[Follow-up][Link] AIAA paper on Heim hyperdrive propulsion

2006-02-02T15:07:00.000-06:00

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has released a paper that goes into further detail about the theory behind the Heim hyperdrive.

Here is the beginning of the abstract:

This paper is the third one in a series of publications, describing a novel and revolutionary space propulsion technique, based on a unified field theory in a quantized, higher-dimensional space, developed by the late B. Heim and the first author, termed Heim quantum theory (HQT) in the following. It is interesting to note that this theory shares a similar physical picture, namely a quantized spacetime, with the recently published loop quantum theory (LQT) by L. Smolin, A. Ashtektar, C. Rovelli, M. Bojowald et al. [11, 24-28]. LQT, if proved correct, would stand for a major revision of current physics, while HQT would cause a revolution in the technology of propulsion.

How Japan sees North America

2006-02-02T14:58:00.000-06:00

Here is a map that was drawn out that shows what a Japanese person thinks North America looks like:

This map is basically what would happen if you got a bunch of Japanese guys in a room, got them drunk and then asked them to draw what they could remember about America on a bar napkin.” Hey, that’s how I explain what I remember about America. Looking at the map, I see Dallas and *gasp* Detroit, but where’s Denver? A million crocodile tears for Crecente.

Follow up: Facebook does not use Segoe UI

2006-02-02T12:33:00.000-06:00

After taking a look at the CSS style sheet for Facebook, the website does not use Segoe UI as the default font, but Lucida Grande, as evidenced by this code:

body, p {
        font-size: 11px;
        font-family: "lucida grande", tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;
        text-align: left; }

The fonts look very similar though. If you have Segoe UI on your system, you will able to see the two fonts:

This is Lucida Grande.
This is Segoe UI.

This is Lucida Grande at 13px.
This is Segoe UI at 13px.

As I said, the fonts look very similar. Note that if you don't have Segoe UI on your system (this is most of you), Segoe UI will appear as Tahoma.

Mexico to build bullet trains: no bullet train to meet across the border

2006-02-02T09:46:00.000-06:00

Mexico is planning to build a network of bullet trains (Tren Bala) that will eventually connect Mexico City with the U.S. border at Nuevo Laredo and Tijuana.

My question is simple: how on earth does Mexico get to put money into a high speed train network, which will be the first in the Western Hemisphere if built, while the United States is still pouring billions into Amtrak, getting nothing in return?

It is given that Mexico is the ninth largest economy in the world, but the United States is the largest. The U.S. pours billions into its system of interstate highways, and while they provide economic development in most cases, interstate highways encourage sprawl and irresponsible planning, which leads to traffic problems that taxpayers have to pay for.

Instead, the U.S. government should allocate a percentage of that money towards building high-speed rail networks (true high-speed tracks, unlike those in the Northeast Corridor that share track with regular freight trains). It is given that as the distance increases it becomes faster and cheaper to travel by plane, but high-speed rail does provide an alternative to driving and/or flying for intercity travel and in densely-populated areas (i.e. the Northeast Corridor).

High-speed trains may encourage people to return to the city instead of move farther out into the suburbs and the countryside.

Smile, you just got a ticket sent to your doorstep

2006-02-01T13:56:00.000-06:00

Scottsdale, AZ will become the first city in the United States to enforce speed laws through the use of radar detectors and cameras. The devices will be installed along an eight-mile stretch of Arizona State Highway 101 which creates a freeway loop around Phoenix, AZ.

The camera will capture the license plate number and send a citation to drivers going more than 10 mph over the 65 mph speed limit.

Microsoft lays out blog policy after removing outspoken blog

2006-02-01T13:30:00.000-06:00

Microsoft clarified that it would remove blogs from MSN Spaces if it recieves a legally-binding notice from a government to do so. The statement comes after criticism of Microsoft deleting a blog of a Chinese journalist.

Microsoft also calls for an "international framework" to lay out regulations for blogging services across the world.

Google stock value plummets 10 percent

2006-02-01T13:21:00.000-06:00

After Google failed to meet its profit projections, its stock traded down on Wednesday by as much as 19 percent at one point. The loss has stabilized to 10 percent, or at $395 per share.

The lower profits are attributed to a 11 percent higher tax rate for the Q4 2005.

Reasons to continue exploring the solar system

2006-02-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of this Digg submission:

This website lists some down-to-earth reasons for exploring, visiting, and eventually colonizing the solar system.

Some of the reasons mentioned include:

Give the next generation dreams and goals to fulfill

Become one human race against many races and religions pitted against once another

Open up resources for use by everyone so that the gap between the haves and the have-nots closes

Set leadership goals, and propel the United States back to the forefront of space exploration (Russia wants to put a mine on the Moon by 2025)

Discovering, researching, and putting to use technologies that would be used to explore and colonize the solar system

Injured ABC News Reporter Set Up?

2006-02-01T13:01:00.000-06:00

According to this blogger, Bob Woodruff, co-anchor of ABC News's World News Tonight, was injured in Iraq by insurgents working within the Iraqi Army. This is quite an impressive argument to make, but the author of this piece does have some legitimacy to put behind his argument because he was stationed at an Iraqi Army training base.

[personal] Trying to stay organized here....

2006-02-01T12:55:00.000-06:00

I bought myself a marker board and a set of markers so I could draw out problems in my Calculus, Physics, and Transporation Engineering classes. I have ended up using it as a organization/planner tool. I write out what I plan on doing on each day up to three days in advance. I have been able to stay focused on what I need to do since the tasks are staring me in the face.

I have also been reading Catch-22, a book full of puns and paradoxes. The events are somewhat hard to connect, but the way that they are organized helps the reader understand the correlation between one event and another. I am looking forward to continuing to read the book.

I plan on writing the first of the Next L3vel History articles tomorrow. I will consult other members of the staff during the majority of the website's history to make sure that I have not left any loose ends untied. I can't promise a time when the article will be posted here; it will be posted when it is ready.

Punish those that rely on Word's AutoCorrect feature

2006-01-30T14:01:00.000-06:00

A fun prank to play on an unsuspecting coworker that relies too heavily on the Microsoft Word AutoCorrect feature. Fun things can happen to your victim.

Google Toolbar 4 Released

2006-01-30T13:36:00.000-06:00

On Monday morning, Google released a beta of its Google Toolbar. Here is a list of new features in Google Toolbar 4:

Sign into your Google account

Suggested search queries as you type; similar to Google Suggest

Custom buttons: Button gallery and the ability to create custom buttons

Bookmarks to go: add a star for a page and your bookmarks can be accessed from any computer with the Google toolbar installed

Send web page to friend via email, SMS, or instant messaging

Currently this version has only been released for Internet Explorer; you can download it from here.

Inflatable concrete to be used to create portable buildings

2006-01-30T13:14:00.000-06:00

Soon one will be able to carry a bag of cement to a site and create a tent. The concept of a concrete canvas will allow an inflatable form to be cast quickly from scratch. Some facts from the website:

Delivered, folded, and sealed in a plastic bag weighing 230kg, Concrete Canvas is light enough to be transported in the back of a pick-up truck, light aircraft, or an 8-man lift.

Once in position the sack is filled with water. The volume of the sack controls the water:cement ratio, eliminating the need for water measurement. The bag is left for 15 minutes while the cement hydrates. The fibre matrix adds hydration by wicking water into the cement. It also provides tensile reinforcement once the cement is set.

Once hydrated, the sack is cut along the seams and unfolded, strengthening the ground sheet. Deployment is done at dusk to avoid over drying the cement.

The structure is unfolded to form the shelter's footprint. It is then inflated by activating a small chemical pack. This released a controlled volume of gas into the plastic inner and inflates the structure.

The concrete cloth cures in the shape of the inflated inner and twelve hours later the structure is ready for use. Doors and ventilation holes are left with no concrete cloth bounded to the plastic skin and allow access points to be cut from the inner once the cement has dried

I still believe that setting up tents would be faster than waiting around for concrete to cure. Moreover, it would be difficult to dispose of the concrete structures once their use has been fulfilled; after all, they will more than likely be temporary structures. Nonetheless, the idea is a really ingenious one.

"Senioritis" afflicts local high school junior

2006-01-30T07:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, some of us have had that experience at the end of your senior year of high school when you don't feel like doing anymore work. It is just too much to ask to lift a pencil and write your name, much less an entire essay. The condition is known as "senioritis" by many high school and college students.

Of course, if you ask some people about this, each of those people would probably claim that they have always suffered from the condition. Others would claim that there is no such thing as senioritis; it's all in their heads.

Senioritis can arise if the classes get dull, boring, and monontonous. In my case, my second semester of my junior year consisted of only one academic class; the others were an elective of my choice (newspaper staff) and two that were chosen for me because there was nothing else available. Those classes were interesting, so I was not as bored as I could have been; and thus, the senioritis did not take hold on me as badly as it could have.

"Dateline" takes a look at MySpace

2006-01-29T22:10:00.000-06:00

Dateline NBC took a look at the popular social networking website MySpace.com. The on-air piece featured a teenager that got hooked to the website after realizing how convinient MySpace made it to talk to her friends.

This is another example of how parents should monitor the websites that young kids and teenagers go to. It is not that difficult for parents to view the history of the websites that their kids view.

Look mom...that pig's flying! And it glows too!

2006-01-29T21:32:00.000-06:00

By adding cells from a jellyfish to a pig's embryo, scientists in Taiwan are able to breed pigs that glow green in the dark.

The hope is that the glowing pigs will aid in stem cell research and the research of human diseases.

Middle School Students Blogging for Soliders

2006-01-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

At Paine Intermediate School in Trussville, AL, a group of students in a technology skills class are learning how to use a blog to communicate with people. Their blog was set up to communicate with soilders in Iraq.

This is a great way for these students to learn how to develop writing skills and learn about the sacrifices that our soilders make to defend our country.

Russia has ambitions for a moon mine by 2020

2006-01-25T13:51:00.000-06:00

The Russians are proposing to build a mine on the Moon that will extract Helium-3, an isotope of Helium that can be used for nuclear fusion.

The base, which will be built by 2020, will include a mine to extract the material, and a transport center that will transport the fuel to the International Space Station for further transport.

If Russia can get the cash required to bankroll this mission, then there may be another space race on our hands. NASA had better stop fiddling around with the Space Shuttle and develop a real space vehicle that can get astronauts into and beyond Earth's orbit. Not to mention that China may be a player in a space race to the Moon.

Funny Google Suggestions

2006-01-25T13:42:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of this Digg submission:

Google Suggest is a Google search that suggests things to search for based on what one has already typed. For example, if one typed the word "Microsoft" in the query box, one would expect to see in the suggestions "Microsoft Windows" or "Microsoft Office."

However, if one types things of the form "X is/are" in the query box, where X is any nationality, group, or ethincity, interesting suggestions appear for your query. For example, if you type "Americans are" in the query box, the top three suggestions are "Americans are stupid," "Americans are dumb," and "Americans are idiots."

The end has come for Next L3vel

2006-01-25T13:22:00.000-06:00

It is time to stop and reflect upon the great things that happened at Next L3vel, since Sam, Chris, Ryan, and Kris have decided to close its doors.

Here is the post that I made to the farewell thread:

Well I certainly hate to see this happen, but I imagine that it is the right time for it. The declining activity and the incidents that happened beforehand did not help this site's cause.

Not only that, but IMO the focus of tech news is moving away from forum sites anyway--only the very strong ones have really hung on for the past couple of years. People do have blogs now, and thus each person can have his/her own voice about what to say,without any moderation from any staff member of any forum.

While we once was strong at what we did, everyone just has other things that come before their role here, including myself. We are all busy people. The site going down and coming back up as many times as it has really has made its prolonged existace a thing to be proud of. I am glad that many people cared about this website, and still care about it as I am typing this.

It has really been fun, and as Kris said, I myself cherish every friendship that has been made as a result of this website. May everyone pleace keep in touch. :)

I was one of the founding staff members of the website back in November 2002, and from then until November 2004 when I stepped down as co-owner and C.E.O., I had a great time with the website. The Longhorn/Vista Tweak Guides that Chris (a.k.a Chris123NT) produced were a really good popularity booster for the website, and it set the focus for it as well.

The friendliness and professional yet layed-back attitude of the website is what made it so popular during its hay-day. Those members that participated on a regular basis knew everyone else that particpated on a regular basis, including the staff members. Everyone for the most part got along with everyone, so Next L3vel was a tame place for someone to participate.

Unfortunately, NL has had its fair share of controversy, especially within the staff members. Most of us knew what had to be done to make NL a successful community, but there were some different opinions on how to achieve it. The various hosting situations, mergers, and downtime is what ultimately led to some people giving up on NL. I wished that a lot of that could have been changed; who knows, we may have been a very large community at this point if it were not for the internal problems.

One of these days I will post some items about the history of the website, including how the site came into being, and what happened during its time on the Internet. It was certainly a great ride.

If you have something to say about the website, especially if you were/are a member of Next L3vel, please have a visit to the farewell thread and share your thoughts.

[link] Introducing Yapoo GeoShities

2006-01-23T19:41:00.000-06:00

Yapoo GeoShities is the perfect place to host your website. Large or small, GeoShities will meet your demands, for the low price of having your website not function for every fifth visitor. That's not all: you always know you are using quality hosting with a cute little bar at the top of every page reminding everyone how great GeoShities is.

[Link] Newsmap organizes Google news feeds into a "tree"

2006-01-23T18:39:00.000-06:00

Newsmap is a constantly-updating aggregator of the popular Google News service. The importance of a story, gauged by how often it is reported, is reflected in the map by the size of the box that the link is contained in.

After GM, it's Ford's turn to cut jobs

2006-01-23T13:18:00.000-06:00

Almost four months after General Motors announced that it was slashing 50,000 jobs, Ford Motor Company announces that it will be cutting 30,000 jobs and closing 14 maunfacturing plants over the next six years.

We are witnessing the end of the era of quality American-made cars as I type this.

This is against the law, but we will allow it because its "safer"

2006-01-23T07:27:00.000-06:00

I know I am guilty of this. When a busy road has a center turn lane, I tend to pull out into the center turn lane and accelerate with traffic instead of trying to pull directly into traffic.

This is technically against the law, but police in Huntsville encourage people to do it anyway. I can't disagree with them, but I disagree with the law. It is a safe thing to use the center turn lane as a sort of acceleration lane, just as long as no one is in the way.

The only problem that would arise from using it that way is that drivers on the main road may want to use that same stretch of turn lane. Since those drivers have the right of way, they would have first priority to use the turn lane.

Oh well, we should just solve everything and call it a "center turn/acceleration lane."

Let's encourage sprawl by widening Winchester Road

2006-01-23T07:20:00.000-06:00

Yes, it is a given that Winchester Road is one of the most dangerous in Madison County, Alabama. Many would like to see it widened from its current two and three lanes between Moores Mill Road and Buckhorn High School, but would it really help? Sure it may reduce the number of accidents on the stretch of road, for a while. In the long run, widening a road will only encourage more people to use it, which will lead to the same problem that caused the road to be widened in the first place.

I will agree that something needs to be done. Improvements to the road, including more guardrails and better striping and reflectors could be installed along Winchester. I will also agree that the traffic counts warrent its widening. However, widening the road will cause people to let their guard down, thinking the road is safer. When everyone lets their guard down, the road becomes just as dangerous as before. Maybe the road should be left alone, leaving drivers alert, or just letting them find an alternate route.

All links on here are now on my del.icio.us account

2006-01-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

I have created a del.icio.us account where I will submit all the links that I have on this page. I will also place a link to my account on the sidebar.

This will be yet another way for people to see what I am looking at.

Wi-fi hot spots inside lamp posts

2006-01-22T19:27:00.000-06:00

The Scots are experimenting with providing wireless internet access by installing Wi-Fi hot spots inside lamp posts. The lamp posts themselves will be powered with a solar cell, and the light will be produced with LED bulbs instead of traditional incandescent lights. The energy savings will make it possible to put Wi-Fi hot spots inside the lamp posts.

I am a big advocate of putting this sort of infrastructure in existing infrastructure. For example, around Memphis, TN cell phone towers are placed on existing high-voltage transmission towers. By using the existing infrastructure, the cost of erecting tall masts for the towers is eliminated.

Similarly, by putting Wi-Fi inside lamp posts (as well as other things), free internet access can be given to a large portion of the population.

Shift work hours all across the night and day to ease overcrowding?

2006-01-22T19:15:00.000-06:00

Andy Rooney of CBS News has an interesting solution to ease congestion in our cities. Simply allow people to work at varying hours of the day. The effect would be that there would be about the same amount of traffic on the roads, effectively eliminating rush hour.

Some consequences of this would be that people would have their meals, sleeping times, and just about everything else at different times of the day. If this concept was adopted universally, it would lead to a lifestyle change for everyone. Everyone's lives revolve around their work schedule, so moving the work schedules around to any time slot in the day would mean that the lives of many people would change dramatically. Everyday life would operate on a 24-hour basis, which means that many businesses would need to stay open 24 hours. Energy consumption would increase to keep the lights on all the time.

The idea is a great way to ease congestion, but all of a sudden you only know about half of the people that you would know normally. The other half would be asleep.

China to build experimental fusion device

2006-01-22T14:11:00.000-06:00

A Tokamak fusion device--an "artificial sun" is going to be built in China in March or April, and if experiments are successful, it will be the first device of its kind to work.

Now let's see if the 100 million degree Celsius temperature can be generated--much less contained--so that deuterium and tritium can be fused together and a net energy gain can occur.

KDE for Windows...Will anyone use it?

2006-01-22T13:35:00.000-06:00

KDE is working on a port of its Linux window-manager to Windows. Currently it runs under Cygwin, a Unix emulator for Windows.

From the project website:

Windows is the OS of choice for many companies. How does this square with the promotion of KDE? The answer is simple: build something that allows KDE applications to run atop Windows. This is the goal we are aiming for with this project.

However, KDE developer Aaron Seigo argues that porting open source software, including KDE, to Windows only hurts Linux and the entire open-source movement in the long run:

This "strategy" ensures Free Software desktops remain a 5% fringe in the market. This translates to ISV interest in desktop Linux/BSD being kept to a barely noticeable minimum. In turn this means fewer software packages, which in turn means even fewer reasons for people to use Free Software operating systems. Can you hear the dominoes falling as they approach?

Free Software desktop applications on Windows represent a no-win situation for Open Source, but Open Source desktops on Free Software operating systems do. It's now up to us to pick our directions and to pick them carefully.

Some Linux users prefer Gnome over KDE for the GUI of his/her choice. Aside from that, the port (at least for now) does not actually replace the standard Windows GUI, but runs on top of it through a emulator/user environment. At its current form, I don't expect KDE for Cygwin to catch on. Windows applications can't run inside the emulator, so the only thing one would get from the KDE port would be a peek into what KDE looks like, and nothing more. In other words, this is more of a toy than a functional tool for Windows.

Illiterate in college?

2006-01-22T01:04:00.000-06:00

A study concluded that students at four-year universities and community colleges lacked the ability to perform important tasks such as understanding a contract.

The study measured the ability to do three common tasks: read and comprehend the articles of a newspaper, perform the math necessary to balance a checkbook, and understanding legal documents.

The public school system does not teach real-life skills to students. Sure a student will do much with reading comprehension and mathematics, but the problem is that the style of math and reading that is taught to students does not prepare them for real-world situations.

A student in the public school system will start out by learning the number system, and how to perform the basic math operations. After that, however, a huge amount of emphasis is placed on algebra instead of the math that one would encounter when filling out a tax form, computing the right amount for a tip, or balancing a checkbook. No amount of algebra or calculus will help in either of these situations.

Reading comprehension is not so much a weak point in the public school system, but, again, the style that is taught in schools is not that that one would encounter in the real-world. Reading many ficticious short stories, poems, and novels will not help to develop the skill required for one to understand the terms of a contract or a lease agreement, to name a couple of examples.

If the public school system does not teach these skills, then who should? Colleges usually don't take up the task because they assume that students already know how to handle the real-world situations. Public schools don't teach these skills because it is assumed that parents will teach the student how to handle the situations. Unfortunately, some parents think that the school should teach these skills. It is not an easy solution; schools have other problems to worry about when it comes to "book learning" as it is; it would only make things more complicated if all of a sudden school also had to teach real-world, "street smarts" to students as well.

So, the best thing is either to let the parents teach these skills, or learn yourself...sometimes the hard way.

Windows Vista isn't finished, now details about its sucessor surfaces

2006-01-22T00:37:00.000-06:00

I know, this may or may not be official, but nevertheless, it is an intersting discussion of the successor to Windows Vista.

Formerly codenamed "Blackcomb," the sucessor to Windows Vista and "Longhorn" Server, now codenamed "Vienna," is due in 2011. "Vienna" will radically change the way one uses the computer:

Internal sources pitch Vienna as being not just a major revision of Windows, but a complete departure from the way we have typically thought about interacting with a computer. While Windows Vista is intended to be a technologies-based release, with some added UI sparkle (in the form of the Aero set of technologies and guidelines), Vienna is targeted directly at revolutionizing the way we interact with our home and office PCs.

For instance, the "Start" philosophy, introduced in Windows 95, may be completely replaced by the "new interface" which was said in 1999 to be scheduled for "Vienna", before being moved to the Longhorn project, and then back to "Vienna".

The Explorer shell will be replaced in its entirety, with features such as the taskbar being replaced by a new concept based on the last 10 years of R&D at the Microsoft "VIBE" research lab. Projects such as GroupBar and LayoutBar are expected to make an appearance, allowing users to more effectively manage and keep track of their applications and documents while in use, and a new way of launching applications is expected - among other ideas, Microsoft is investigating a pie menu-type circular interface, similar in function to the dock in Mac OS X.

Could ISP's make their websites faster than others

2006-01-21T21:37:00.000-06:00

Over the past few years, internet companies have offered internet consumers a more multimedia-rich internet experience. However, with the increased bandwidth required to piggyback these internet experiences, internet providers are considering some options to remind everyone who builds and maintains the networks.

One option would be to restrict the amount of speed and bandwidth allocated for competing internet services:

The changes may sound subtle, but make no mistake: The telecommunications companies' proposals have the potential, within just a few years, to alter the flow of commerce and information -- and your personal experience -- on the Internet. For the first time, the companies that own the equipment that delivers the Internet to your office, cubicle, den and dorm room could, for a price, give one company priority on their networks over another.

Internet providers such as BellSouth and Comcast make the argument that they need to come up with ways to keep up with the demands of internet companies that provide increasingly more media-rich products:

Meanwhile, on the other side, companies like AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth are lobbying just as hard, saying that they need to find new ways to pay for the expense of building faster, better communication networks. And, they add, because these new networks will compete with those belonging to Comcast, Time Warner and oth er cable companies -- which currently have about 55 percent of the residential broadband market -- this will eventually bring down the price of your high-speed Internet service and television access.

How do you wipe after taking a dump? It may determine your personality

2006-01-21T21:28:00.000-06:00

I think I have seen eveything now. A personality test based on how you wipe your ass after you take a dump. I don't see many people admitting how they do it, so I don't know how this information was forumated, but here it is.

Google stands ground against search subpoena

2006-01-20T07:24:00.000-06:00

The U.S. government has obtained search records from Yahoo, AOL and MSN in an effort to defend against a lawsuit brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (didn't see that one coming (!)). However, one very important search service is not included, so far, and that is Google.

Supposedly the government is looking at searches for online pornography, but anything in the records could be fair game. According to the government, no privacy infringement took place because there are no names or IP addresses associated with the search results.

The ACLU claims that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. What is ironic is that the government is obtaining search records which may obstruct privacy and civil liberties to defend itself against the American Civil Liberties Union.

Sex-based MMO on its way

2006-01-18T21:27:00.000-06:00

Ready or not, here comes Naughty America. This new game will let users engage in virtual sexual activities, and even film them.

Not my cup of tea, I'll tell you what.

read more | digg story

Facebook spam/virus?

2006-01-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

This facebook user got an invitation to an unusual event on Facebook:

Some Guy has invited you to a performance hosted by Peace.

Who: Peace
What: Love
When: Friday, January 20
Where: My Heart

To RSVP to this event, go to:
http://iit.facebook.com/events.php

Thanks,
The Facebook Team.

Just a heads up to anyone that reads this that uses Facebook on a regular basis. Just another example of how these social networking sites are a victim of their own success.

Former Democratic Congresswoman calls for Bush Impeachment

2006-01-15T18:36:00.000-06:00

Former Democratic New York Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman has listed many reasons to impeach President George W. Bush.

Holtzman argues that Bush has went above the law in issuing wiretaps for American citizens without a warrent:

On December 17 President Bush acknowledged that he repeatedly authorized wiretaps, without obtaining a warrant, of American citizens engaged in international calls. On the face of it, these warrantless wiretaps violate FISA, which requires court approval for national security wiretaps and sets up a special procedure for obtaining it. Violation of the law is a felony.

Two legal arguments have been offered for the President's right to violate the law, both of which have been seriously questioned by members of Congress of both parties and by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in a recent analysis. The first--highly dangerous in its sweep and implications--is that the President has the constitutional right as Commander in Chief to break any US law on the grounds of national security.

The second legal argument in defense of Bush's warrantless wiretaps rests on an erroneous statutory interpretation. According to this argument, Congress authorized the Administration to place wiretaps without court approval when it adopted the 2001 resolution authorizing military force against the Taliban and Al Qaeda for the 9/11 attacks.

Indeed, the claim that to protect Americans the President needs to be able to avoid court review of his wiretap applications rings hollow. It is unclear why or in what way the existing law, requiring court approval, is not satisfactory. And, if the law is too cumbersome or inapplicable to modern technology, then it is unclear why the President did not seek to revise it instead of disregarding it and thus jeopardizing many otherwise legitimate anti-terrorism prosecutions. His defenders' claim that changing the law would have given away secrets is unacceptable. There are procedures for considering classified information in Congress. Since no good reason has been given for avoiding the FISA court, it is reasonable to suspect that the real reason may have been that the wiretaps, like those President Nixon ordered in Watergate, involved journalists or anti-Bush activists or were improper in other ways and would not have been approved.

Firstly, I believe that Holtzman's comparison of Bush to Nixon is a bit of a stretch. The spying that Nixon was engaged in was for political gain; to get an edge on his opponents. The wiretapping that Bush has allowed to occur was/is being used for national security purposes. Only international calls are being traced; not every call is being placed. The legality of the matters put aside, our country may not be as safe as before if these wiretaps were not legal. Of course, the legality of the wiretaps are certainly up for debate.

The second reason Holtzman gives for the impeachment of President Bush is the reasons that he and his administration gave to invade Iraq:

It is that the decision to go to war is the gravest decision a nation can make, and in a democracy the people and their elected representatives, when there is no imminent attack on the United States to repel, have the right to make it. Given that the consequences can be death for hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of people--as well as the diversion of vast sums of money to the war effort--the fraud cannot be tolerated. That both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon were guilty of misleading the nation into military action and neither was impeached for it makes it more, not less, important to hold Bush accountable.

Once it was clear that no weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq, President Bush tried to blame "bad intelligence" for the decision to go to war, apparently to show that the WMD claim was not a deliberate deception. But bad intelligence had little or nothing to do with the main arguments used to win popular support for the invasion of Iraq.

It would agree that the reasons given to go to war were questionable. It seemed to me that those reasons were such that they got the attention of the American people. The claim that Iraq was in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction, especially nuclear weapons, would catch the attention of the American people, who would then demand immediate action.

I believe that Bush should be held accountable for this. Thousands of U.S. troops have paid the ultimate price for this war, and what really justifies the loss? There is little to no evidence to support the claim that Saddam Hussein was coordinating with Al Qaeda, and arguably, terrorist activity has increased since the U.S has invaded Iraq.

However, now that the U.S is in Iraq, impeaching the Commander in Chief may be a mistake. Impeachment may only lead to additional losses in Iraq, and that would not be in the best interests of anyone involved.

Quantum entanglement: instantaneous, spontaneous communcation between particle pairs?

2006-01-15T18:20:00.000-06:00

Is instant communication of a particle's characteristics possible? According to Quantum Entanglement, a particle pair can be separated by any distance, and information about one particle can be instantly communicated to the other particle, and, as a result, the other particle can react to the information:

To illustrate, if an entangled photon meets a vertical polarizing filter the photon may or may not pass through. If it does, then its entangled partner will not because the instant that the first photon’s polarization is known, the second photon’s polarization will be the exact opposite.

It is this instant communication between the entangled photons to indicate each other’s polarization that lies at the very heart of quantum entanglement. This is the "spooky action at a distance" that Einstein believed was theoretically implausible.

Facebook creators keeping Windows Vista in mind?

2006-01-14T18:30:00.000-06:00

An interesting tidbit about Facebook is the font used on most pages. For most people, the font that you see is Tahoma. This is the same font used in most window elements in Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

However, if you are using a version of Windows Vista, Microsoft's next version of Windows, or if you have Office 12 Beta installed, the font used on Facebook will be different. It looks similar to Trebuchet MS, and it is called Segoe UI.

More on the Heim Hyperdrive

2006-01-14T17:24:00.000-06:00

An article by Damn Interesting talks about the theories that German physicist Burkhard Heim proposed that would unite the macrosopic world of Einstein and Relativity and the microsopic world of Quantum Theory. Those ideas could be used to create a propulsion system that would allow for hyperspace travel between two points. The propulsion system would work by modifying the nature of space immediately around the system.

The article links to the New Scientist article that has seemingly created a blogging frenzy about the subject. A link to the PDF of the paper that lays out the theories behind the hyperdrive system can be found here.

Paving completed on one section of I-22, but it'll be a while before it opens to traffic

2006-01-14T17:04:00.000-06:00

The paving work on a section of future I-22 between the Walker/Jefferson County Line and west of US 78 is near completion. Guardrails on the main lanes of the freeway are up also, which was part of the paving contract.

However, it will be a while before this opens to traffic. Two additional segments to the west of this one are in the early to middle stages of paving, and will probably be completed late this year or early next year. In addition, another contract will need to be let by the Alabama Department of Transporation (ALDOT) for the striping, signage, and lighting on the entire freeway between Jasper at Exit 65 and Graysville at US 78.

Hopefully the thing will be open to traffic late this year or sometime in 2007.

Ok, that's it, I don't care anymore.

2006-01-14T16:48:00.000-06:00

After yet another disappointment with just meeting a friend of mine from high school, I have decided to just give up in trying to find any new friends or making stronger friendships with the ones that I have.

When I try to talk to someone and ask that person if he/she wants to meet up sometime, the person comes up with some excuse to make me think that they want to, but can't do it then. Translation: they don't want me to bring it up ever again, and they just want me around if they can get something out of me. Otherwise, the hell with me.

Sooo, with my confidence shot to hell and back into next month, I am just going to give up for a while. Maybe schoolwork and hobbies will keep my busy enough to forget about it, but medicine or no medicine, it does not change the fact that I am unbearable to be around for long periods of time.

Sickness for Thursday, Women Problems

2006-01-12T22:27:00.000-06:00

Last night I began feeling sick at my stomach. I took some Pepto Bismol and ate some yogurt, and that settled my stomach for the night. When I woke up, however, the stomach pain and nausea made a dreaded return. At this point, I could not hold things down. I went to Jazzman's down in the UC to get some apple juice and some Diet Pepsi, and I threw up on the way down there (unfortunately). I had some crackers and the apple juice when I got back, and then I went to sleep. Now I feel better, and I have been hungry. I think I can make it to class tomorrow morning.

Have you ever had the feeling that someone is trying to avoid you, but without actually telling you? I think that is the case with the person that I want to ask out (see below). I asked her if she wanted to go and get something to eat sometime, and she responded by telling me that she was busy and that she would tell me when she is availiable. However, I overheard conversation that she was having that indicated that she had a date with someone over the weekend, and a particular person she was hugging up against. She did not really bother to say anything to me. This made my feelings sink to the bottom. I am now not expecting to hear anything from her, and I expect to get the same response from her if I continue to ask her.

LED Keyboard coming soon....

2006-01-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

These folks are developing a keyboard that is comprised of keys with LED screens inside of them. Each key will display differently depending on what program one has open.

No word on the cost of this keyboard, but I would certainly love to have this, but of course the keyboard needs to also include the ability to have proper key feedback (which my current Microsoft Wireless Desktop keyboard fulfills remarkably well).

Link: Newzingo

2006-01-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

Another interesting link from the bowels of my surfing...

Newzingo reads Google news and extracts information tags from the items posted. The more of those items found, the bigger the tag name is displayed in a "cloud" (I know, it does not look like a cloud, but that is what they site authors call it).

If this site would automatically update itself (via AJAX or some self-reloading meta-tags), then it would be more instantaneous, but as it stands Newzingo is a nice visual representation of what the media is reporting.

Another version of this site, Techzingo, monitors Slashdot, Digg.com, The Register for technology-related stories.

Link: Watch out for A!

2006-01-09T21:13:00.000-06:00

This is a dumb link, but I thought it was interesting just how many A's you can find.

Link: AAAAAAAA!

First day of class....well how can I glorify that?

2006-01-09T20:51:00.000-06:00

Today the students of UAH, along with many others universities, returned to class. This UAH student thinks that the day went well. Here are some reasons why:

My Calculus C class has only ten people.. Although a teacher that other people have strugged with is teaching the class, my Calculus class is indeed small, and I think that will help everyone in the class do better.

My Transporation Engineering teacher is a comedian. Transportation engineering...it is something that I think I will really be interested in. While this course seems to be demanding, I am interested in every bit of it, so I am ready to see it. Plus, the teacher has a nice sense of humor. And he visits Fark.com.

A lot of people I know are in my Physics I class. It is a given that there are about 200 people in this class, but I did not think that some old friends and some recent ones would be joining me in this class, but there they were. This class may be an involved class, but I will at least enjoy attending the lectures.

Tomorrow may rear the ugly side of things. I am not really feeling so hot about Engineering Economy...it just does not sound interesting, and it sounds like a lot of work is involved. I will comment on this subject matter tommorrow after I get finished with the class.

As for my personal life, I am pondering whether or not I should ask this I know out. She seems to like me as a friend, but I think there may be a connection that I would at least like to see if there is anything to. I am not sure when I will develop the courage to ask her, but I really think that I may have a shot. If anything else, I would just like to be a closer friend with her.

Facebook, MySpace being used for data mining?

2006-01-07T23:49:00.000-06:00

An interesting issue has been raised concerning the increasing popularity of social-networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. The issue at hand: who has access to the mounds of personal information stored on these sites, and what is done with this information?

Facebook's privacy policy reveals some disturbing information:

Facebook also collects information about you from other sources, such as newspapers and instant messaging services. This information is gathered regardless of your use of the Web Site.

What purpose would Facebook, or any other social-networking websites, have for using outside sources to collect additional information about someone? Cross-linking to different databases perhaps?

We may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship. For example:
We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. Specifically, we may use third parties to facilitate our business, such as to send email solicitations. In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for use in connection with these business activities.

We may be required to disclose customer information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law or to protect our interests or property. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.

If the ownership of all or substantially all of the Facebook business were to change, your user information would likely be transferred to the new owner.

The second point is the big one here. If you are a college student as I am, you would tend to get somewhat liberal and post quite a bit of information on Facebook about yourself. You probably think that this would help people get to know you better, and it would. However, it is downright scary that the government could use Facebook to track down where someone lives, what his/her habits are, and who his/her friends are. Clearly by just signing up for Facebook, without doing anything else, one sacrifices his/her right to privacy.

So should Facebook and MySpace be brought to the attention of the mainstream? These social networking sites are exciting ways to meet new people and reunite with long lost friends from elementary, middle, or high school. Take a look at the websites though. Yes, you get the contact information for your pal that you met, but the government may also have that contact information, and much more.

Back in Huntsville

2006-01-07T23:42:00.000-06:00

Today the powers that be over housing let 6-month residents return to the dorms. The event was uneventful for me. After I came in, my roommates arrived later in the afternoon.

We all went to the UAH hockey game against Air Force Academy. We won 6-3.

It is life as usual now for me, with my roommates doing things now that everyone is back. However, that is going to change, as both of my remaining roommates (one of them left after last semester) are on academic warning due to their low grades of last semester. Both have to do well in order to pull their cumulative GPA out of the hole so that their scholarships will not be discontinued, or at worst be kicked out of school. I wish both the best of luck. I know they can pull it off; they just need to buckle down and do it.

I am feeling a sense of dread for this semester. I expect it to be easier than last semester, but I am concerned about my money supply at this point. I should have that resolved in a few weeks, but for now I am worried about how much money I will have available to myself for things that I will need.

Sewer extension for I-22 FINALLY about to begin

2006-01-05T14:26:00.000-06:00

After over a year of delays, the city of Jasper has finally finalized the $2 million contract to extend sewer service to the Alabama Highway 269 and Industrial Parkway interchanges of future I-22. Construction is set to begin this month.

Funding is being sought for sewer extensions for the other two Jasper interchanges at Alabama Highway 69 and Alabama Highway 118.

New hyperspace propulsion in our near future?

2006-01-05T13:58:00.000-06:00

The US government is looking into a hyperspace "Z Engine" that would create a magnetic field that would be powerful enough to propel a spacecraft in another dimension.

The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in today's New Scientist magazine.

That is more than 50 times faster than the speed of light. I wonder what allows light to travel faster in the other dimension (read below)?

The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft.

Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.

My questions are: how much energy would be required to generate the magnetic field, and how could we create a spacecraft that would: 1) withstand the extraordinary speed, and 2) shield the occupant(s) from any radiation that may occur.

Here are two more sources for this concept:
Paper on Heim Quantum Theory for Space Propulsion
New Scientist - Take a Leap into Hyperspace (paid subscription required)
Full New Scientist Article

read more | digg story

How Google Is Killing the Publishing Industry

2006-01-01T17:44:00.000-06:00

Is Google AdSense slowly killing off the publishing industry? This article argues that magazines are getting smaller and less frequent due to the decreasing revenue from traditional advertising. The argument is that the pay-per-click ads from Google and Yahoo are creating a trend that leads to businesses turning to the internet to see where the revenue is coming from.

Ad agencies 12 to 13 years ago didn't want to know whether or not their ads had actually been read, they told us. This was simply because if an advertiser discovered that few, if any, people were actually reading their modem ad on page 113, they might just pull the ad and save their money. The entire ability to sell an ad-edit ratio of 75 percent was based on this deliberate ignorance. Ad agencies and publications alike knew that many -- even most -- advertising dollars were simply wasted, but it wasn't in their interest to admit that, so they didn't.

Contrast this to pay-per-click, which is brutally honest, where every successful ad has efficacy and advertisers have a pretty darned good idea what they are getting for their money. This reality is precisely why magazines, newspapers, and television are losing revenue to pay-per-click. It is a trend that is likely to continue, and can only result in a degradation of production standards on the print side to match the reduced revenue potential of the online business, where BS gives way to measurable, though impoverished, results.

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Link: Technorati

2006-01-01T00:28:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while I will find a link that I find interesting that I will post on here for my own personal reference.

Technorati is a blog indexing and searching service. I may put it on there myself, just as long as I can keep this updated.

Happy 2006 Everybody!

2005-12-31T23:53:00.000-06:00

As I am typing this the last few minutes of 2005 are ticking away. The new year is a time of hope, and I wish for everyone to have a great and wonderful new year. Here are some of my wishes for the new year:

Let's lower the number of troops in Iraq. Hopefully the situation in Iraq will stabalize to the point to where we start bringing our troops home.

Rebuild New Orleans. It would be a shame if the Crescent City was left to rot away due to a lack of help. Let's rebuild the city and restore it to its former glory. Let's also rebuild the levees so that they are able to withstand a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.

Focus on education in the state of Alabama and across the nation. Asian countries are producing more engineering graduates per year than the United States. The Bush administration and Republicans in congress have succeeded in cutting back funding for Federal Student Aid for college students. This will only help to discourage even more prospective students from attending college. What kind of society that will be produced in the future depends on how much we invest in the education of our citizens.

Fix social security so that seniors don't have to choose between groceries and medicine. It is unfathomable that senior citizens that have worked an honest living all of their lives are being told to choose between food and medicine. That is exactly what is happening these days, and the government's confusing options for Medicare isn't helping matters. The social security system should be more reliable so that the burden of maintaining pension funds for workers is taken off the hands of companies.

I have a lot more that I could say, but this computer is slow, and I don't want to write a novel. Have a great and wonderful 2006 everyone!

May the force be with scientists?

2005-12-31T14:27:00.000-06:00

An article argues that everything in the universe, including humans, are connected together by this symphony of frequencies and vibrations. It sounds a lot like string theory, but it seeks to explain the supernatural instead of the natural.

The Field offers a radically new view of the way our world and our bodies work. The human mind and body are not distinct and separate from their environment, but a packet of pulsating energy constantly interacting with this vast energy sea. The Field creates a picture of an interconnected universe and a new scientific theory which makes sense of ’supernatural ‘phenomena.

At first this sounds like an umbrella theory that seeks to take God completely out of the picture.

Here in so-called ‘dead’ space may lay the key to many of life’s processes, from how cells communicate to how organisms actually take shape. The field is responsible for our mind’s highest functions - our memory, intuition, creativity. It is the force that finally determines whether we are healthy or ill, the force which must be tapped in order to heal. Original, and well documented with distinguished sources, The Field lifts many areas out of the realm of mystery and into the realm of hard science

New Truths from The Field - What Biology Tells Us

The human being is a survival machine largely powered by chemicals and genetic coding.

The brain is a discreet organ and the home of consciousness, which is also largely driven by chemistry – the communication of cells and the coding of DNA.

Man is essentially isolated from his world, and his mind is isolated from his body.

Time and space are finite, universal orders.

Nothing travels faster than the speed of light.

What The Field Has Discovered

The communication of the world does not occur in the visible realm of Newton, but in the subatomic world of Werner Heisenberg.

Cells and DNA communicate through frequencies.

The brain perceives and makes its own record of the world in pulsating waves.

A substructure underpins the universe that is essentially a recording medium of everything, providing a means for everything to communicate with everything else.

People are indivisible from their environment.

Living consciousness is not an isolated entity. It increases order in the rest of the world.

The consciousness of human beings has incredible powers, to heal ourselves, to heal the world – in a sense, to make it as we wish it to be.

100 things we didn't know this time last year

2005-12-31T02:31:00.000-06:00

You can learn alot of stuff in 365 days. Thankfully, the BBC has compiled a list of 100 new things that have been learnt over the past year.

Here are some of the ones that caught my attention:

3. While it's an offence to drop litter on the pavement, it's not an offence to throw it over someone's garden wall.

6. WD-40 dissolves cocaine - it has been used by a pub landlord to prevent drug-taking in his pub's toilets.

7. Baboons can tell the difference between English and French. Zoo keepers at Port Lympne wild animal park in Kent are having to learn French to communicate with the baboons which had been transferred from Paris zoo.

19. The = sign was invented by 16th Century Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde, who was fed up with writing "is equal to" in his equations. He chose the two lines because "noe 2 thynges can be moare equalle".

23. In America it's possible to subpoena a dog.

32. "Restaurant" is the most mis-spelled word in search engines.

52. You're 10 times more likely to be bitten by a human than a rat.

53. It takes 75kg of raw materials to make a mobile phone.

67. Giant squid eat each other - especially during sex.

74. It takes a gallon of oil to make three fake fur coats.

78. One in 18 people has a third nipple.

89. Spanish Flu, the epidemic that killed 50 million people in 1918/9, was known as French Flu in Spain.

94. Bill Gates does not have an iPod.

Free MIT Video Lectures

2005-12-31T00:14:00.000-06:00

A/V Lectures and course materials from MIT. They have physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, psychology, you name it.

Another way for students to avoid going to class. I am gonna try this when I get back to the dorms...these may prove handy.

Unfortunately, you need RealPlayer to play the video files.

read more | digg story

Thought of the moment: Why do cartoon characters have only one outfit?

2005-12-30T18:44:00.000-06:00

A thought occured to me today. All of the cartoon shows that I watch (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, Family Guy, American Dad) all feature characters that seemingly wear the same outfit on a day-to-day basis. Other sitcoms that are not animated have characters that change clothes from one episode to the next.

I wonder why that is the case. Perhaps it is for character recognition purposes. However, there are other features of the character that make them easy to recognize outside of the outfit. Or maybe the animators don't wish to redraw the character for each episode with a new outfit.

Just a thought.

Trains without rails?

2005-12-30T18:33:00.000-06:00

An article at Damn Interesting (a new favorite site of mine) talks about a proposal to build a futuristic train in Houston, Texas.

The train has no rails, or even a support platform to speak of. Instead, columns with a hollow top are put at even intervals along the path the train will take. Inside the support columns there are wheels that grip to rails on train which propel the train forward:

Now, this does not run on rails, air, or a magnetic cushion. It has no wheels. In fact, it has no engine. That may start you sniggering in derision but they claim its the wave of the future. The train they are proposing is built somewhat backwards. The rails are on the train itself and the wheels are built into the cement "rings" and run by electric motor. The cars on the train are quite long…if fact, one of the design points are that the cars be as long as the distance from one ring to the next. The designers claim it that because the train has neither engine nor wheels, it will be lighter and therefore more efficiently able to utilize energy. The wheel in the rings would have to be controlled by some program turn on and off at the right time. Even if a motor breaks down on one of the rings, the train will still run just as well.

MIT's stackable car concept

2005-12-30T18:01:00.000-06:00

The Smart Cities team at MIT is tackling the problem of city traffic congestion -- still left untouched by the Segway -- with a "stackable" car to be used as part of a public transportation program, much like those bicycle-sharing programs in Europe, and stowed like a shopping cart.

read more | digg story

Done well this semester

2005-12-30T17:50:00.000-06:00

I have managed to pull A's and B's this semester, just as I did in the Spring. I made an A in Cal B, World Literature, Surveying, and Chem Lab, and I made a B in Western Civ and Chem 123, which yields a GPA of 3.65.

I am kinda worried about my friends' grades, which seem to be not as good. They all came here on scholarships, and if the trends continue, they will lose the scholarships. I just hope that they can pull off a good semester next time. I have tweaked my schedule to do so.

Bringing this blog back

2005-12-30T17:45:00.000-06:00

After not using this blog space for more than a year, I have decided to start posting my musings and interesting stuff on this blog instead of my current MySpace Blog. I will have a lot more of an ability to customize the look and feel of this blog, and I am looking forward to using this.

[personal] Note to self: don't put fast food wrapping in a microwave

2005-12-26T17:53:00.000-06:00

Well, I am a dumbass. I went to get some food earlier, dropped it off here, and went somewhere. When I came back, I thought "Hey, this is wrapped up, perfect...I can put it in the microwave." Needless to day, I shouldn't have. Immediately after pressing start, the wrapping proceeded to glow this bright blue color, and I heard this "buzzzzzzz" sound. Immediately afterwards, a small flame appeared on the wrapping. I rushed over to stop the microwave and put out the flame. The flame did not burn the burger inside.

Lesson learned I guess, but I should have known better. Now I am laughing at myself.

[personal] I am addicted to Super Mario [insert version]

2005-12-16T23:37:00.000-06:00

I am glad that I decided to at least bring my laptop home with me. I have been playing Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World since I have been home. My left hand is ever so sore from the increased activity, but it is sure a fun way to blow away the oodles of time that I have here at home until Christmas, my first real event of the vacation.

I hope that everybody is having or will have a great Christmas break. I am certainly trying to make the best of mine (sleeping in is a great example).

Now I am off to sleep, then off to see if I can discover the Star Road or if I can defeat Big Bertha.

[personal] I feel like crap....

2005-12-13T13:10:00.000-06:00

I slept past noon today, and I feel like I have been runover by a bus. I have the task of studying for my Chemistry final that encompasses the past two chemistry classes I have taken. I think I can handle it, but I am just tired of studying for these finals.

The cure for the "Slashdot Effect"---enter Mirrordot

2005-12-11T01:27:00.000-06:00

If a website is ever posted on the popular technology site Slashdot.org, the host had better get ready to handle the amount of traffic that hits the site. In many cases, so much traffic visits the site that the website will grind to a halt or not function at all until the "excitement" wears off.

The solution to this problem: create a site that looks exactly like slashdot.org, but links to archived images of the linked story instead of the actual website:

Mirrordot works by picking up the Slashdot news feed, creating a blog-like page with all the same articles and links. The only difference is that on Mirrordot when you click on a link, instead of going to Forbes.com, for example, you'll end up at the snapshot picked up by Mirrordot at the time the original Slashdot story was posted.

Jay Jacobson says that he and his partner Erik Stephens aren't looking to get rich and famous. They don't charge for the mirroring service and pay for the large bandwidth requirements out of their own pockets. They've even been approached by "a couple of other sites to mirror them," Jacobson says, "but we haven't really done that. Our initial intention was to make a statement and prove a point, not to build a business." In fact, Jacobson and Stephens already own a business, called EdgeOS, that provides managed vulnerability assessment services.

Source: NewsForge