Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

That's creeeeeeepy

From the "things that are way cooler than my job" department:

New video of BDI's Big Dog robot

I still think something with wheels or treads would be a better solution, but it's amazing to see how fast robotic technology is advancing.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Titan Has More Oil Than Earth

So apparently Saturn's moon Titan Has More Oil Than Earth. And if that doesn't spur the private space flight industry, then I don't know what will.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Are we all gerbils?

Okay, I just now saw a TV commercial for the Oral-B® Triumph™ with SmartGuide™ ProfessionalCare™ 9900. This is a toothbrush that communicates via radio frequency with the base station that sits on your counter while you're brushing. The base station has a display to tell you how long to brush in each quadrant of your mouth. It also displays a warning if you're brushing too hard, and at the end of brushing, it rewards you with a cute little digital smiley face to enjoy with your freshly brushed teeth.

Ummm... people? Have we really, seriously, actually gotten so uselessly stupid that we can't figure out how long we need to brush our teeth without an electronic nanny?

I'm waiting for the shoe tying assistant, the nose-blowing robotic arm, and a little electronic diagram that shows you how long to chew your food at each meal.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

More RIAA antics

Radio stations want Congress to look into major label recording contracts

It appears the RIAA might have awakened a sleeping giant. Hopefully they get soundly pummeled, as they so richly deserve.

More coverage at Slashdot.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Scorched 3D

For anyone who remembers the old DOS game Scorched Earth, now there's Scorched 3D - A 3D Remake Of Scorched Earth. Brings back memories of Cirque. I don't even want to know how much of their time we wasted on that game. I'm trying very, very, very hard to resist the temptation to waste all my free time on the new version.

(No) Thanks to Matt for pointing it out. :-)

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Microsoft Giving Away Vista Ultimate, With a Catch

Slashdot | Microsoft Giving Away Vista Ultimate, With a Catch

Desperation, or just experimentation with a new and exciting method of spyware distribution? Possibly both.

No.
Thank.
You.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

And here I am

Made it to Newfoundland without any drama. The plane was an Embrarer 190. I had never been on one of these before. Actually, I think they're fairly new. I think I saw one at one of the airports on our September trip, and couldn't figure out what it was. They're only slightly larger than a Canadair regional jet, but the engine configuration is more like a 737. The Embrarer is fine. It's two seats on each side like a CRJ, but it does have more space inside. Feels more like a 737, except there's no middle seat.

The approach to St. John's is interesting. Base leg was out over the Atlantic, and we got a nice view of the city at dusk. It's much nicer to look at from the air than Toronto is, although I still prefer being up in the mountains.

It's pretty well dark here already, the time is an hour and a half ahead of Toronto. I get a view of the harbor from my room, the hotel is almost right on the water. It's not the greatest view, as it's a working shipping port, but it could certainly be worse.

I don't know how much time we're going to have for sightseeing. Probably next to none. The cab driver gave us a virtual tour of the area, as much as he could in the 10 minute drive from the airport. It'll remain to be seen whether or not we'll have a chance to actually check out any of his recommendations or not.

More as I get a chance to post.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Don't like the forecast? Check again tomorrow

I'm headed out to St. John's, Newfoundland next week for business. I've never been east of Montreal, so it should be an interesting experience. In preparation, I've been watching the weather forecast. The Weather Network has a graph of the upcoming 14 Day Trend. Normally I'm used to the forecast being somewhat accurate for the next three days or so, then less so every day in the future. But if I watch the 14 day trend for Toronto, it looks somewhat similar as the dates march across the calendar.

I've been warned by others in the office that the weather out there is significantly less predictable than it is here. Honestly, I don't know why they even bother putting together a forecast for St. John's. This graph looks completely different every time I check it. I think their "computer model" is a simple random number generator.

The bottom line is to be prepared for anything and everything, whether it's sun, rain, snow, slush, freezing rain, wind, hurricane, or sea monster attack. From what I've been able to gather, these are all equally likely. Watch this space for sea monster pictures.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Friday, November 02, 2007

As if I needed another way to waste time

lolcats and funny pictures

I've seen several of the pictures, of course. However, I had no idea that LOLcats were such a prevalent phenomenon. It's way too easy to spend way too much time looking at pictures and more pictures. They even have a history.

I don't know why I like these so much. Yes, they're cute and yes, they're also stupid. Honestly, so are cats most of the time. Really. I have five. They're just as stupid as they are cute, which is why they're so entertaining.