Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
REALLY, HOW MUCH STUFF IS TO MUCH?
It's nice to have a lot of cool gear but at what point does it become to much to carry. It's never a good practice to sacrifice speed, surprise and violence of action. Not to mention the possibility of becoming an upside turtle (this can occur when you carry much kit and have a difficult time getting off the ground... I've seen it happen... heck, it's happened to me).
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
THE PORTAL SONG
Anyone who has ever played Portal will recognize this song. The words are kind of morbid but I like it.
Monday, January 26, 2009
BOBA FETT
O.K. I admit it, I'm a Boba Fett fan. I mean, if you think about it, Han Solo was a smuggler of illegal goods. So Fett was just doing his job.
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GE8405
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GE8405
60 MIN SPECIAL ON MED CARE IN IRAQ
I watched this some time ago on 60 minutes. I liked it because it showed the important role of medics in prehostital care. It's also about medical treatment in Iraq and is a good watch if you find interest in this sort of stuff. The segment is about 13 minutes long.
Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2135920n
Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2135920n
LEAFLETS DROPPED IN IRAQ
This is a compilation of some the leaflets dropped in Iraq during the past few wars. Some of them are kind of funny to look at but I guess they made their point. The site includes an English translation for each leaflet.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
NEW STAR TREK MOVIE - TRAILER
This looks like it's going to be great movie. If you go the first day it shows be ready to see a lot of people in costume... don't let them see your fear!!!
CARL SAGAN'S PALE BLUE DOT
True, Carl Sagan was an atheist but he had some good insight. In this video he gives us a grasp of how small this planet is... this place is all we have to live on. I'd like to think that before he died he found God (I often wonder how astronomers can look at the majasty of the universe and still not see his work). Anyway, it's about five minutes long but well worth the time.
Below the clip is another picture of the earth taken from the Cassini Saturn probe.
Friday, January 23, 2009
MOOSE HIT - WOW
I've seen what a moose can do a car. They are heavy, slow and generally have a poor attitude for moving out of the way of traffic. Most of their weight high off the ground. Sadly, the center of mass is equal to the height of most windshields.
FROM WWW.BITSANDPIECES.COM
FROM WWW.BITSANDPIECES.COM
ORIGINAL MEANING OF THE "PEACE SYMBOL"
I was reading a National Geographic Magazine the other day and read an article about the original meaning behind the "Peace Symbol". It seems that in 1958 Geralt Holtom (an artist) created a design for the antinuclear movement in Britian. Holtom used semaphore symbols (a form of communication through the use of flags) to for the letters "N" and "D" which stood for Nuclear Disarmament. Over the years it became the symbol for antiwar protesters (and in many ways I feel it is often misused). Anyway, now I know.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
GREAT COMMENT FROM JOHN SCALZI
Who hasn't wanted to say this to someone at the airport. I once sat near George Clinton... long flight.Anyway, John Scalzi says "
Open Letter to the Scraggly-Bearded Dude in the Concert Tee Who Stood in Front of Me in the Line for the Airplane Yesterday
Dude:
Reeking of skunkweed and hasty lavatory wiping is no way to go through life. I’m just saying. I pity the poor bastard who had to sit next to you for three and a half hours. It must have been like having a coach seat in Willie Nelson’s outhouse.
So, seriously, dude: Before you subject anyone else to your (literally) crappy pot-smoking ass, air out and take a second pass with the TP wad. It’s really not too much to ask.
Thank you for your attention.
Open Letter to the Scraggly-Bearded Dude in the Concert Tee Who Stood in Front of Me in the Line for the Airplane Yesterday
Dude:
Reeking of skunkweed and hasty lavatory wiping is no way to go through life. I’m just saying. I pity the poor bastard who had to sit next to you for three and a half hours. It must have been like having a coach seat in Willie Nelson’s outhouse.
So, seriously, dude: Before you subject anyone else to your (literally) crappy pot-smoking ass, air out and take a second pass with the TP wad. It’s really not too much to ask.
Thank you for your attention.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/ HERE IS THE LINK FOR A GREAT SCIFI AUTHOR
NASA TV
NASA can show some of the coolest stuff on their channel. You can watch it on the Internet or at home (most satellite services and some cable service have available for viewing). But... sometimes they they have shows aimed at a younger audience and the content is kind silly for adults. I think that most kids who watch would like to see real footage rather than a cartoon of a talking fish (watch it and you'll see what I mean). I know they have enough footage from decades of space operations to show. I like to watch the live feeds from the station, especially when the shuttle is up. Anyway, if you don't already do so you watch and enjoy.
HERE IS A LINK TO NASA-TV:
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
COVERT TACTICS IN GAZA
This is a very good article about one aspect of modern warfare. The focus on the article relates to how the Israelis dealt with IED's and explosive traps in Gaza.
Link:
THE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA REPORT
This is a large download file and it is several hundred pages long but it makes for an interesting read. I really believe that the astronauts didn't suffer. It's amazing how much of the shuttle they actually recovered.
Link:
WHO DOESN'T LOVE MULT-CAM
This is a great product line and camouflage pattern. It seems to work well in many settings although ever popular desert colors are dominant.
Oh, don't wash this type of uniform with standard household detergent (this is what can happen)
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2009
I'm not to sure where they are going to take the plot line this season. I'd kind of like like to see them find someplace and settle down. I suspect though that they'll finish of the the episodes and leave us hanging, but I'd rather see it happen this way than have the show drag on and get boring (the Stargate series is a prime example... I don't think it's possible for the SciFi channel to air that show any more than they do).
PEOPLE WHO DESERVE IT
I like this website. As you scroll the entries who relate to at least half or more of the examples they have listed. This is ones of my favorites:
Hey there buddy, I see you got one of those fancy cyborg ear attachments for your cell phone, you must be pretty important?
No?
Oh, of course you’re not, you’re not even on the phone right now, instead your just walking around with a blinking light in your ear like a metro-sexual robot.
Honestly, unless you’re police dispatch, or air traffic control, there is no way you’re getting enough calls to justify sporting that glorified techno-earring 24/7. So do us all a favor take that “thing” out of your ear and rejoin regular society.
Otherwise, it’s open season, and our fist-to-face connection is one call that always goes through. Can you hear us now?
No?
Oh, of course you’re not, you’re not even on the phone right now, instead your just walking around with a blinking light in your ear like a metro-sexual robot.
Honestly, unless you’re police dispatch, or air traffic control, there is no way you’re getting enough calls to justify sporting that glorified techno-earring 24/7. So do us all a favor take that “thing” out of your ear and rejoin regular society.
Otherwise, it’s open season, and our fist-to-face connection is one call that always goes through. Can you hear us now?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
THE INFINITE MONKEY THEOREM
WELL WORTH THE SHORT TIME IT TAKES TO READ
The infinite monkey theorem revolves around the idea that a monkey hitting random keys on a typewriter (or in today's context, a keyboard) for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, usually defined as the complete works of William Shakespeare.
CLICK ON TITLE TO LINK
The infinite monkey theorem revolves around the idea that a monkey hitting random keys on a typewriter (or in today's context, a keyboard) for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, usually defined as the complete works of William Shakespeare.
CLICK ON TITLE TO LINK
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY
Watch it while you can folks, in a few years the shuttles will be in museums. They've had their problems but they are still a great system.
Monday, January 19, 2009
LEARN CPR
A good friend of mine recently saved a woman's life by helping her with a chocking emergency. This illustrates the importance of learning CPR (even if you just read about it). I found this photo a while ago of a lineman providing a coworker with CPR. Apparently the worker had been electrocuted... I seem to recall that he didn't make it.
NASA SHUTTLE FLIGHT STS-119
The crew for the next shuttle flight has arrived at Cape Kennedy for pre-launch training and preparation. The launch is scheduled for February 12, 2008 at 7:32 am. If you don't already do so, I recommend watching NASA TV when the shuttle is up. With the live feeds of mission activities it makes it something viewing.
While it sometimes may seem like they are not doing anything worthwhile in orbit it is important to remember that much of what is being done is not known to the public.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
UPSIDEDOWN VIEW OF THINGS
Why is it always in science fiction movies that when ships meet or arrive at a planet they always seem to be oriented towards each other correctly (or right side up)? Although, I think in the opening scene of "The Fifth Element" they showed an odd view of earth.
"ALL ALONE IN A CROWDED ROOM"
“All alone in a crowded room” by Joseph West
The only thing worse than being in a room by yourself is being in a room full of people and having no one talk to you.
For most of modern mankind’s space exploration we assumed that although there might other life forms out there we would probably never meet due to the vast distances of space and time. This all changed when the pin point flashes in the night sky started to appear near Jupiter. At first scientist thought it was meteorites crashing into the Jovian system. But telescopes and time slowly revealed it was something much more fantastic… they were spaceships. It took awhile to get good pictures of what the ships looked like, their designs were as mixed and as creative as anything seen in science fiction movies or written about in books. We could see them flying to different large hubs that had been set up soon after their arrival. The flashes of light were later determined the means of travel from where ever they come (or where ever they go). There are always pinpoints of light now.
People seemed to take the idea that we were about to make contact with alien races pretty well, there wasn’t the panic that could have set in. All we had to do was make plans for the first contact. Everything including the red carpet treatment would be brought out to meet them… which was assumed would be soon after their arrival… every plan had been considered by many governments but in the end the countries of the world joined together in a great show of unity.
That was the plan. But as weeks, months and eventually years went by our world had not received any contact from the ships and stations that were set up in the Jovian system.
Over time scientist (who always have the best telescopes) gathered very detailed images of what was happening at what was now called the jump point zone. The ships of all shapes and sizes kept coming and going. Structures so massive they could hardly be believed to be real serviced all the vessels and seemed to house a very large and complex society.
Probes were sent with messages of peace in an attempt to make contact and gather intelligence but as they few by the jump point zone they were as ignored as our planet was. Photos taken by those probes showed stunning detail of the jump point stations and ships. Humanoid shapes could be seen in windows and flying around in space suits. Yet, images were all that we had. No signal of any other kind was ever received by earth.
As years went by anger and resentment began to emerge among the inhabitants of our planet. Plans were considered to attack the jump point with nuclear weapons in attempt to illicit any kind of response from them (who ever they may be). But gratefully interest in such attempts fell because we realized it would take years to even get the smallest of weapons there. For even then (and now) we never could develop a engine efficient and powerful enough to get us to Jupiter in any reasonable time.
So life on Earth goes on. Still no contact was ever made. Maybe they found us to primitive to be included in their society. Maybe they had strict guidelines on contacting societies of lesser technology (of course even they must have seen Star Trek). But the bottom line is that we (the People of Earth) feel like the guy at the party no one wants to talk to. So we’ll just have to sit back have a few drinks and listen to the music…
…at least we know that somebody’s having fun.
The only thing worse than being in a room by yourself is being in a room full of people and having no one talk to you.
For most of modern mankind’s space exploration we assumed that although there might other life forms out there we would probably never meet due to the vast distances of space and time. This all changed when the pin point flashes in the night sky started to appear near Jupiter. At first scientist thought it was meteorites crashing into the Jovian system. But telescopes and time slowly revealed it was something much more fantastic… they were spaceships. It took awhile to get good pictures of what the ships looked like, their designs were as mixed and as creative as anything seen in science fiction movies or written about in books. We could see them flying to different large hubs that had been set up soon after their arrival. The flashes of light were later determined the means of travel from where ever they come (or where ever they go). There are always pinpoints of light now.
People seemed to take the idea that we were about to make contact with alien races pretty well, there wasn’t the panic that could have set in. All we had to do was make plans for the first contact. Everything including the red carpet treatment would be brought out to meet them… which was assumed would be soon after their arrival… every plan had been considered by many governments but in the end the countries of the world joined together in a great show of unity.
That was the plan. But as weeks, months and eventually years went by our world had not received any contact from the ships and stations that were set up in the Jovian system.
Over time scientist (who always have the best telescopes) gathered very detailed images of what was happening at what was now called the jump point zone. The ships of all shapes and sizes kept coming and going. Structures so massive they could hardly be believed to be real serviced all the vessels and seemed to house a very large and complex society.
Probes were sent with messages of peace in an attempt to make contact and gather intelligence but as they few by the jump point zone they were as ignored as our planet was. Photos taken by those probes showed stunning detail of the jump point stations and ships. Humanoid shapes could be seen in windows and flying around in space suits. Yet, images were all that we had. No signal of any other kind was ever received by earth.
As years went by anger and resentment began to emerge among the inhabitants of our planet. Plans were considered to attack the jump point with nuclear weapons in attempt to illicit any kind of response from them (who ever they may be). But gratefully interest in such attempts fell because we realized it would take years to even get the smallest of weapons there. For even then (and now) we never could develop a engine efficient and powerful enough to get us to Jupiter in any reasonable time.
So life on Earth goes on. Still no contact was ever made. Maybe they found us to primitive to be included in their society. Maybe they had strict guidelines on contacting societies of lesser technology (of course even they must have seen Star Trek). But the bottom line is that we (the People of Earth) feel like the guy at the party no one wants to talk to. So we’ll just have to sit back have a few drinks and listen to the music…
…at least we know that somebody’s having fun.
R2D2 VS. C3P0
For the life of me I can't figure out why R2D2 doesn't speak in any coherent language. It seems like every other robot from Star Wars can speak. It just doesn't make any sense that they can't give him (or her) any speaking ability. I'll submit to the fact that R2D2's design makes him an efficient service /repair droid. A small barre ll can't be better than a humanoid form. C3P0 gets around just fine. They tried to enhance R2D2's usefulness in the later movies (there were several scenes where he (she) could be seen repairing things). The current animated series, the Clone Wars, really attempts to show off R2's design advantage. Like I said, I can accept the barrel shape... but at least let him (her) talk at the level of Jar Jar Binks!
GLOBALWARMING VIDEO
This video has been around for a long time but I think it is very moving. While I don't believe that the world is soon to end as a result of rising temperatures I do think it is something to keep studying. Yes, mankind does have a lot to do with polluting the atmosphere but I don't believe this impact is causing climate change. More on this later.
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