Monday, June 30, 2008

The Stalled Server Room - The Daily WTF

Here is an except from an article that I came across today: "A few months back, Jen Frickell's company was given some bad news. When their lease ended, they'd have to move out of their second-floor suite. ...
It was a fairly reasonable request, so the company's executives signed a new lease and prepared to move. There was, however, just one, small hitch. The nice little server room they built in the back of their office - equipped with air conditioning units, ventilation, dedicated power, backup power, and so on - could not be relocated."

Read the article to find out what happens, its definitely worth it (the picture is priceless).

ICANN adopts new Web site naming rules

CNET News.com reports: "The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers voted Thursday to relax rules for naming Web sites.

At its meeting in Paris, ICANN, a not-for-profit organization that oversees the naming scheme for Web sites, voted to accept a proposal that will allow companies to purchase new top-level domain names ending in whatever they like."

Get ready for a new set of Top Level Domain (TLD) names (i.e.: .com, .org, .net, etc.) This could turn out to be a gold rush for new TLD domain names or a major devaluation of all the existing prized ones in the existing TLD space.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Finavera Renewables' AquaBuOY

There are several different type of clean renewable energy systems, most are solar, wind, or wave power. I have seen several different wave power systems, but I like the design of this system. Its also has what looks like the lowest surface profile of most of the systems that I have seen so far.



The AquaBuOY is a floating buoy structure that converts the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of oncoming waves into clean electricity.

Creme That Egg!



A Rube Goldberg machine that is used to squish a Creme Egg. It goes around the walls of our lounge. This is an entry in Cadbury's "Unleash The Goo" competition, in which entrants must find the most creative way to break a creme egg.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

How To Diagnose Problems With Your Car



Learn what every shake, rattle, and roll means so that a car mechanic can't tell you that a cracked hose is a major transmission meltdown.

How the Brain Works: Illusions



Jerry Andress shows and explains a few different optical illusion.
Note: This video can and will mess with your mind... :-)

Monday, June 23, 2008

First Drive: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity



Clarity. It's the name Honda has given its production fuel cell car, and it's a name you'll want to remember. After years of having fuel cell prototypes in the hands of fleets and even paying customers, Honda makes good on its commitment to a hydrogen future. The 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show was the venue for the introduction of the FCX Clarity, an Accord-sized sedan with styling based on the FCX Concept from a few years ago that promises to "enable levels of performance room, comfort and dynamic styling previous unattainable in a fuel cell car.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

FAQ: Meet the new iPhone 3G

Computerworld reports: "The days and weeks and months of speculation are over. Apple Inc. did, as expected at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, retire its original iPhone and replace it with a faster, cheaper model.

You could have knocked us over with a feather. Of course, it would have to be a darn big feather."

I have been covering the new iPhone 3G in my Windows Mobile Tips blog, but I wanted to make sure that I had a reference in this blog as well.

The new iPhone 3G is more evolutionary then revolutionary, but its definitely worth checking out. Its the first version of the iPhone that I would consider using, but I doubt if I would buy one (you would have to know me to understand my logic otherwise you would be reading a 25 page dissertation about my views).

Worst Male-Bashing Ads

AskMen.com reports: "You’ve seen him plenty of times on sitcoms; he’s the dumb, bumbling, idiot dad, husband and boyfriend who appears useless at everything but bringing home a paycheck. The message: Guys are dumb and women have to lead them around. This, of course, cues the laugh track. Yet a survey from an organization called Children Now found that two-thirds of kid respondents described men on TV as angry, while respondents from another group’s survey said men were portrayed as corrupt on TV by a 17 to 1 margin. Clearly, this is no laughing matter."

Its interesting, if this was done about any particular race, gender or group it would be considered politically incorrect. So why does it seem to be politically correct to bash men in general?



Watch the videos in the article to see what I am talking about.

Boeing 737 Landing with Jammed Landing Gear



Here is a Boeing 737 trying to land with some of its landing gear jammed. In the first landing attempt the pilot tries to dislodge it by bouncing the plane, when that doesn't fix the problem he has to land it any way he can...

Saturday, June 14, 2008

BMW GINA Concept Car



BMW's latest concept car called GINA is the most revolutionary car body I have ever seen. It has a fabric material over a moveable wire mesh frame that allows the shape of the car body to change. Underneath the fabric material which covers the body there is a light aluminum subframe with moveable electric hydraulic controls.

High Speed Camera Video



Here is some high speed camera footage of a bullet passing through several different items. These camera are capable of recording up to 250,000 frames per second.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Pentagon Looks for 'Killer Switch' | Danger Room from Wired.com

Wired.com reports: "Imagine if the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could be effectively shut down by a foreign adversary with the flip of a switch? That's, in part, the the concern behind the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Trust in Integrated Circuits program, reports IEEE Spectrum, in a fascinating article that explores the underbelly of national security and globalization"

There were rumors of this technology being used in the first Gulf War. I read a small article in Time magazine that talked about a network virus that was inserted into a printer's firmware that shutdown the network.

Although, I later read that this might be a hoax. If it's true or not that doesn't matter because the concept is realistic. Here is a post that I found that talks about it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Ford Nucleon, A Nuclear Powered Car Researched In The 1950’s

Absolute Random reports: "In the 1950’s people were still quivering with anticipation to see what new possibilities will nuclear power open for them. Nuclear powered houses, trains, airplanes and cars, all dreams of a petrol free future, without much thought on the dangers of nuclear power.

ford-nucleon-atomic-carFord Nucleon was one of those dreams, a nuclear powered car that was supposed to travel for 5,000 miles without a recharge. The nuclear car project was announced in 1957 by Ford, and it was a futuristic looking vehicle with an incredibly efficient fuel mileage, thanks to the small atomic fission reactor fitted in the trunk."

I remember reading an article or seeing a show that briefly talked about this car. I had a conversation with a friend tonight and we were talking about it. So before I forgot, I thought I would post a link to it just in case anyone might be curious.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A Buyer’s Guide to Sugar Substitutes

MSN Health & Fitness reports: "According to a recent survey, seven out of 10 adults say they want to reduce or avoid added sugars. To do so, they’re turning to sweeteners that deliver zero or minimal calories. Data from Mintel, a market research group in Chicago, shows that while sales of caloric sweeteners like sugar have been declining in recent years, sales of 'diet'-friendly substitutes have skyrocketed, increasing by about 50 percent from 2000 to 2006. And since 66 percent of Americans are overweight and 20.8 million have diabetes, even many health experts are advocating the use of these sugar substitutes."

I have read too many scary things about sugar substitutes, so I stopped using them. Although, Stevia looks promising to me.

What if gas cost $10 a gallon?

MSN Money reports: "In four years, U.S. gas prices have doubled to more than $3.70 a gallon, and crude oil has tripled to around $125 a barrel. Allowing for inflation, that's higher than prices were during the 1978–83 oil shock that triggered a recession and sky-high interest rates. But..."

If the future of gas is going to be $10 a gallon then we need a public transportation system. Read what the future have have in store for us.