Linkblog (2004–2007)

Captive Ad Audience

January 11, 2007

Our desire to squeeze an advertising nickel out of anything and everything has reached an all new low - placing ads in the security trays at airport security checkpoints. Although aggressive advertising has already needled its way into some annoying places, the vast majority are voluntary. I can more or less choose not to look at a billboard or I can certainly drive a different route and avoid it. I can turn the channel and avoid a commercial on TV. I can choose to not sit on or look at bus benches. One thing I cannot do, however, is avoid looking at the security trays at the airport when passing through security, especially when there is an armed guard telling me I have to place my personal belongings in it. It’s not optional. Placing an ad there amounts to forcing flyers to look at it. Folks, this is not acceptable.

I’m not even going to get into the conflict of interest inherent in thinking of security checkpoints as ad revenue streams. That’s messed up on a number of levels. My primary issue is being forced to look at an ad with the only alternative being not flying. Why not set up roadblocks on our highways and have armed highway patrolmen force us to hear Amway pitches? Is that next? Look, advertisements are an important part of capitalism, I get that, but they shouldn’t be co-mingled with something as critical and involuntary as airport security. The sad thing is, we’ll probably see less public outrage over this than the stupid Spiderman logos they tried to put on the bases in Major League Baseball. Yeah, our priorities are a little screwed up. Coming Soon – Ads in Airport Security Trays — CNN.com (no archived copy)

A Year without Buying

January 9, 2007

The outlandish consumerism in America has always bothered me on a certain level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as guilty as everyone else. But I do think about it from time to time, and I’ve never been comfortable with how quick our culture is to dispose of things instead of reusing them. It’s true in many cases that it’s more expensive to get something fixed than to just buy a new one. But what will the longterm toll be for such a disposable lifestyle?

A movement started by 10 friends in San Francisco last year aims to put a tiny dent in our high consumption culture by not making any purchases except for food, medicine, and essential toiletries for an entire year. Their effort is called the Compact, which is a not so serious riff on the 1621 Mayflower Compact. Their goal is to borrow and barter everything beyond the essentials, or if absolutely necessary, buy used. What makes the group interesting is its lack of organization - it is essentially a group of people connected by a blog and a chat room.

While there is certainly a strong environmental component to the group’s initiative, I see personal benefits far beyond the environmental statement. At a time when Americans are saving little or no money for their futures, maybe a throttling back of our materialism is a good thing. Yes, I know that capitalism is at the heart of everything American. But one of the fundamental tenets of capitalism is free choice. Exercising your right not to buy something has no moral or political implications and it just might improve your personal bottom line.

The Year of Living Thriftily — Time.com

Hotel Key Card Myth Debunked

January 5, 2007

Having spent a considerable amount of time researching myths and legends for the social/trivia game I created, Tall Tales, I’m always skeptical when I get the inevitable panic-inducing email. Today I got a new one that actually had me worried for a second. It described how personal information such as your name, address, and credit card number is encoded on hotel key cards, and therefore up for grabs by identity thieves when you casually return or get rid of the card. Indeed, I’ve thrown those cards away, left them on the front desk, etc. Was I unknowingly opening myself up to the identity wolverines?

A quick visit to Snopes.com, which I highly recommend, put my fears at ease. It turns out that the main system used for card-based hotel entry is designed to operate solely off of room number. This isn’t to say that a prying hotel chain might not decide to put more of your information on one of those cards, but so far there is no evidence that any hotels have. And given the liability and negative PR issues associated with an identity breach, I don’t see them having much to gain by trying it. If you want to err on the side of caution, by all means feed your old room cards into your food processor. Just don’t immediately believe everything that arrives in your Inbox!

Card Sharks — Snopes.com (no archived copy)

Pull-String Power Generator

January 2, 2007

I was going to just mention this in a comment to the previous One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) blog post but it occurred to me that the pull-string power generator employed by these computers could ultimately be more revolutionary than the computers themselves. Each computer includes a gadget shaped like a yo-yo that has a pull string. You pull the string to generate power that is stored in the computer to power it. The OLPC folks claim that 1 minute of string pulling will generate about 10 minutes of laptop power.

I’m a big picture guy, so I see this solving a few different problems at once. First and foremost, this may be the killer exercise aid of the New Millenium! I’m only half joking. Imagine if every Gameboy addicted kid had to spend a minute pulling a string for every 10 minutes of game time. We just need to adjust the tension on that string so that it’s akin to starting an old lawnmower. Trust me, that can be quite a workout!

Problem solution part two: low emission renewable energy. Wouldn’t the energy expended by humans be one of the best forms of renewable energy? A person yanks away on a string to recharge their cell phone and the only by-product is heat and maybe a little sweat.

About the only downside to this whole pull-string power generator idea is the risk of repetitive stress injuries. That, and the prospect of literal sweatshops where poor souls with Popeye-sized forearms are forced to pull strings all day recharging everyone’s mobile gadgets. Let’s hope that day never comes!

OLPC Pull-String Power — Engadget.com

One Laptop Per Child

January 2, 2007

Here’s an uplifting story for the New Year: the One Laptop Per Child project is planning to ship several million of their sub-$150 laptops (called XO) to children in developing countries by July of this year. Although the original goal was a $100 laptop, the $150 price point is still pretty amazing when you consider that these are fully functional machines with 366 MHz processors, 512 MB of flash memory, LCD screens, etc. Oh, and they’re being given away thanks to $29 million in support from tech companies such as Google and Red Hat, among others.

Of more interest to me is the specialized operating system and user interface employed by the machines, which deliberately stray from the feel of current mainstream PC OS’s such as Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. The user interface is nicknamed Sugar, and uses a journal metaphor for storing data, as opposed to the familiar file folder metaphor.

No word yet on whether the XO computers will be available for general purchase but I would love to tinker with one. While the original aim of providing affordable computers to the developing world is admirable, I could see the machines having a profound impact on children all over the world who have been forced into using office-centric computers that were ultimately designed for their parents.

Cheap Laptops for Third World Schoolchildren — CNN.com

Cool Ajax Book

December 19, 2006

Sorry for not posting too regularly as of late - I’ve been on another little hiatus with tons of work. In the midst of working on two different JavaScript projects, I’ve gotten quite immersed in Ajax, which is the JavaScript programming technique that makes Web pages much more responsive. I also hung out with the author (Brett McLaughlin) of a very unique Ajax book, “Head Rush Ajax,” which is a spin-off of O’Reilly’s popular new Head First series. It is a very cool book with a cutting edge teaching approach that is highly entertaining and effective.

As it turns out, I’m working on my own Ajax book at the moment. So why would I be promoting someone else’s book? Simple - because it’s a very cool book. My book is unique in that it focuses on plug-and-play Ajax projects, while the Head Rush book is more of a step-by-step Ajax tutorial. I’ll let you know when my book is close to being ready. In the meantime, check out the Head Rush book - you won’t be disappointed.

Head Rush Ajax — Amazon.com

Open Voting

November 7, 2006

So today is election day and if you’re able to overcome the inevitable apathy brought on by our two warring political parties, then maybe you’re voting. If so, you should know that the fear of electronic vote rigging has progressed far beyond the realm of conspiracy theorists. Even if you haven’t watched the HBO documentary, Hacking Democracy, the very fact that voting machine software is a secret should give you a clue. I suppose I’m OK with the fact that some things have to be held secretive by a government but the inner workings of how votes are counted is not one of those things! And in this case it’s not even the government holding the secret, it’s a private business.

So obviously I must be a bitter hippie liberal to even question the legitimacy of our voting system. Wrong. I’m a tech dork who knows that any electronic system can be gamed. Ask Microsoft or any other software vendor. As with picking lottery balls, the only way to guarantee the system isn’t rigged is to make the system open to public scrutiny. You see the balls whirling around and then pop into the tube, and there’s a certain sense of trust in that you saw randomness in action. The voting equivalent, at least in my opinion, is open source software. If anyone and everyone can take a peek at how the system works, we might all be able to rest easier that it hasn’t been tampered with.

And for the record, I’ve never voted for a Democrat or a Republican, so I really don’t have an axe to grind in terms of political parties. Just remember that today’s loser is next year’s winner, and just because your guy won doesn’t mean the system shouldn’t be scrutinized. It’s our duty as Americans to ensure our votes count, or more to the point, that they are counted accurately. Here are some links to learn more:

Open Voting Consortium

Block Box Voting

Vote Trust USA

Electronic Frontier Foundation

A Veteran’s Day Read

November 7, 2006

If it’s one thing most Americans, myself included, are guilty of, it’s figuring out half-hearted ways to make ourselves feel better about tough issues. One such issue is troop support during military conflict. Although I know many people’s hearts are in the right place, putting a magnet or sticker on your car is an embarrassingly weak attempt at “supporting” our troops. My hockey friend Pete took the initiative to organize care packages that were sent to Iraq. Every few weeks he’d collect magazines, books, etc. from friends and family to send out. That is supporting our troops.

Another way to support the troops is to become more educated to their plight. I say plight because there is plenty of evidence out there that they are not being treated very well. So maybe you say this “evidence” is biased by a liberal media. That’s certainly possible but if the media reported that one of your family members was being mistreated, would the seriousness of the accusation alone not be enough for you to at least dig a little? Or is there something else at work? Could it be that deep down most of us suspect that our troops are being used and abused but maybe it’s just easier to bury the thought?

To honor our troops on Veteran’s Day, I recommend you read the article linked below by Ron Kovic, the real-life Vietnam veteran who served as the basis for the movie “Born on the Fourth of July.” Mr. Kovic provides a detailed explanation of the incredible challenges faced by the wounded soldiers of Iraq, drawing upon his own experiences in Vietnam. To truly support our troops requires an understanding of their situation. We owe them that much.

The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq — TruthDig.com

Forum Spam Apologies

October 26, 2006

As some of you might have noticed, the forums on this site have been attacked by spam posters hawking everything from prescription drugs to mobile phones. I had originally allowed visitors to post messages to help minimize the hassle of asking book questions, but apparently that’s going to have to change. As long as shameless losers are willing to overrun the forums with bogus ads, I’m going to have to clamp down and make it a little tougher to post messages. Note to spammers: This Web site is not your ad space, so please stop treating it as such.

I apologize for the hassle. It may take a little while to weed through the junk posts and clean the forums out. Please bear with me…and I thought email was the only place I had to worry about the barrage of junk!

The Gift of Music

August 24, 2006

So today is my birthday, and I decided to hold off on sharing my most excellent gift until now. About a month ago I found out that Tom Waits was playing at the Ryman Auditorium here in Nashville. Of course, I found out a few days after the tickets had sold out (in three minutes, I might add). A feverish pestering of friends and searches of eBay didn’t turn up much more than $500 tickets, which is a bit ridiculous even for such a hardcore Waits devotee.

So my wife and I decided to just show up and see what happens. She was determined to get me into that show for my birthday. It turns out that we scored a pair of tickets together about 15 minutes before the show started. Yes, we unfortunately paid a premium from the scalper but still much, much less than what people were trying to scam for them online.

Anyway, back to the main point - I got to see Tom Waits live at the Ryman for my birthday! It was hands-down the most amazing show I’ve ever seen. My wife, who is at best a casual Waits listener, even ranked it as her favorite show ever. If you’ve never heard his music, clear your mind and give it a shot. Some of it is readily accessible, some is highly experimental, but it’s all very, very good. Thanks for a great birthday, Tom!

TomWaits.com

Defying the Terrorism Odds

August 11, 2006

Quick, what unnatural death are you more worried about? Death by terrorism, car wreck, drowning, pack of stray dogs, or lightning strike? We’re being told practically every day that terrorism is the one we need to be worrying about, and some very real terrorist attacks have added some legitimacy to the fears. But what are the real odds of dying as a result of terrorism as compared to other untimely deaths? You may be surprised by the answers.

Don’t Be Terrorized — ReasonOnline

World Cup Observations

July 10, 2006

I missed it live but I finally got around to watching a replay of the World Cup championship game tonight. I really didn’t have much at stake in the outcome but it did make me realize a huge problem with World Cup soccer that I think is felt by many fans of mainstream American sports. The game was fun to watch, by the way, but I couldn’t help but being nagged by two major issues that I think FIFA needs to address:

1. Penalty kicks must go as a means of deciding a tie. If hockey purists think penalty shots are a bad way to end hockey games, then I can’t imagine what soccer purists think about penalty kicks. I had forgotten about how much of a disadvantage goalies are at in a soccer penalty kick. It pretty much looks like a coin flip scenario, and just hope you guessed right. When a .30 save percentage is considered good, something is wrong. Back the line up, blindfold the kicker, or just draw straws. I think it’s a horrible way to decide a winner. And I don’t care about how tired everyone is – there are plenty of good drugs around these days to keep those guys hopped up for hours. Consult with some baseball trainers and you’ll have that problem alleviated stat!

2. FIFA needs to immediately enact a new rule that if you fall down, flail your arms, and roll around moaning like you have a compound fracture, you need to be clubbed by drunken hooligans until you actually do have a compound fracture. I complain about diving and whining in hockey and basketball as it is but soccer takes it to a whole new level. All pro sports should have a 5 second rule – if you can’t get up on your own within 5 seconds of falling down, you’re out of the game until the next period. And refs should carry cattle prods just to make extra sure no one is attempting to bend the rule.

That’s all I have. World Cup soccer was fun to watch this year, so please don’t take this as a jab. And I’ll readily admit that I’m no soccer expert. But I do enjoy a variety of sports, and I can say that penalty kicks as a tiebreak and diving are two things that will continue to stand in the way of soccer further creeping into the American consciousness.

FIFA World Cup - Germany 2006

Home Grown CNC Machine

July 5, 2006

I’ve always been intrigued by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines, which basically give you the ability to design a real world object on your computer and then automatically carve it out of material into something real. Long a coveted tool for defense and space manufacturing, now days a lot of fancy high-end bicycle parts are machined this way, just to name one of many examples of the practical uses of CNC machinery.

Anyway, I stumbled across a cool article on Engadget about how to build your own CNC machine. I wouldn’t call it a trivial DIY project but then again, we’re talking about building a tool that most individuals would never have the ability to access or use. Have fun kids, and if you end up machining some wicked aluminum brake levers, feel free to send a pair my way!

How-To: Build Your Own CNC Machine — Engadget

Smoky Mountain Killer Trash Bees

July 4, 2006

Warning, this post has nothing technical, political, or otherwise interesting unless you’re the kind of person who worries about being attacked by killer bees. I wasn’t that kind of person but I’m strongly considering a change of heart because I was just viciously attacked by a ruthless gang of Smoky Mountain Killer Trash Bees.

Here’s what happened. I decided to spend a few days with family at high altitude in the Smokies to dodge the July heat for the 4th. We were staying in a chalet with a long steep driveway, and I volunteered to haul a bag of trash down to the bins at the street below. Open lid, insert bag, close lid, proceed to get stung 5 or 6 times by a marauding pack of bloodthirsty bees. Seriously, I got popped first on the wrist, which surprised me. And just as I was processing the surprise of the sting to the wrist, they went in for the kill - an all-out attack on my face. I’ve been involved in enough dangerous sports over the years to be able to deal with pain pretty well, but a direct bee sting to the upper lip is not a pain I can recommend to anyone. They actually got me in the left temple and upper lip at the same time. That’s when the glasses flew off and I became a spastic windmill of bee evading fury. It sorta worked.

I ended up running up the driveway flailing and holding my face, but only after sustaining stings to my wrist, both temples, lip, and nose. My lip swelled up really big but I was generally OK - thankfully, I’m not allergic. Just consider this a public service message to be on the lookout for Smoky Mountain Killer Trash Bees if you venture into the Smokies of East Tennessee and decide to go dumpster diving.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park — Wikipedia

Games for Change

June 28, 2006

Wow, we’ve come a long way since The Oregon Trail. Educational video games have always existed but a new generation of games aims for loftier goals - social change. It pretty much started in 2004 when 40 developers and activists attended the first Games for Change conference. From there, several free titles have been developed to shine a light on real world social struggles such as violence ravaged Darfur. It will be interesting to see if any of these games actually make a mark on the culture of games. At the very least, maybe a few people will be able to empathize with a situation they otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

Video Game Designers Try to Help Save the World — CNN.com

DarfurIsDying.com

Buffett and Gates Join Forces

June 25, 2006

In an amazing move with financial consequences that would typically be associated with a major Wall Street merger, billionaire Warren Buffett announced that he’ll start systematically leaving the majority of his $40 billion net worth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Oracle of Omaha will eventually join the Gateses as a trustee of the foundation, so he’ll have some say in how the money is used. It is estimated that Buffett’s contribution to the foundation in 2006 will be valued at close to $1.5 billion. You really have to give it to these guys for figuring out a way to maximize the charitable power of the incredible wealth they’ve amassed. Warren Buffett Gives Away His Fortune — CNNMoney.com (no archived copy)

Blogging and the Pot Plan

June 25, 2006

At a skateboarding session a few nights ago I was scolded by my friend Brent for being such a slacker with the blog. I’ve been incredibly busy building a house and revising a book but Brent was still right - the blog show must go on.

So I’m committing a renewed effort to keeping the blog updated, not to mention expanding it into more personal territory. No, I don’t plan on posting my grocery list or giving you play-by-play details of every mundane thing I do, but I do plan on going beyond the tech stuff. I realize that many of you arrive at this site after purchasing one of my computer books, and you may or may not care about anything beyond solving your immediate JavaScript or XML problem. That’s cool. But maybe along the way I’ll snag your attention with a blurb about skateboarding, hockey, fantasy football, pond building, civil liberties, or some of the other random topics I plan on unleashing very soon.

As a thank you to Brent for the kick in the pants, here’s a shameless plug for his book, The Pot Plan: Louie B. Stumblin and the War on Drugs. The book rightfully rails against the abysmal failure we call the War on Drugs, while simultaneously describing one person’s unique solution to addiction and self-destruction. Support my man Louie and pick up a copy!

ChronicDiscontent.com

Diet Coke and Mentos

June 17, 2006

Sorry for another long hiatus on my part. In the name of supporting science, here’s a neat little video a friend recently sent me:

Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments

Throwable LEDs

February 15, 2006

Not sure if this qualifies as vandalism but it sure is neat. Take some inexpensive LEDs, connect them to a lithium battery, and then attach all that to a magnet. You now have a light that you can stick on any metal surface, including those out of reach - just throw the thing. Depending on the specific battery, you can get in the neighborhood of two weeks of light out of the LEDs. This is a pretty slick alternative to spray paint graffiti, which really is vandalism.

LED Throwies — SQUID Labs Instructables

Rube Goldberg Half-Life Mod

February 14, 2006

No not Goldberg the wrestler, Goldberg the guy who dreamed up ridiculously complex machines to carry out common tasks. Anyway, here’s a cool video made via a Half-Life 2 mod that shows an intricate “mouse trap” style sequence that Mr. Goldberg would’ve certainly appreciated.

HL2 Rube Goldberg Device: Reloaded — Google Video Beta

No Implants For Me

February 13, 2006

Although I wouldn’t go so far as to make “mark of the beast” references, as I’m sure some will do, I’m not at all comfortable with electronic ID implants in humans. I just think it’s a technological overreach of privacy. I know, the company that started doing it has said it is entirely voluntary. Maybe it is for now but I’ve seen lots of “voluntary” company policies get people “repositioned” when they choose not to comply.

I think we need to all think through the whole issue of human implants as it pertains to privacy before it spins out of control. This is one of those slippery slopes where good intentions can lead to disastrous results. Of course, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom behind just about every federal initiative these days. We could be only a few steps away from ID implants being the key to stopping terrorism. No thanks, I’ll fend for myself if it comes to that. And you should too.

ID Chips Not Just For Pets Any More — CNN.com

Gone But Not Forgotten

February 13, 2006

I apologize for taking such a long hiatus from the site. I’ve checked in from time to time but have been too overwhelmed to do much in the way of posting. I’ll try do get back on track and stay more involved. I also have a couple of new books to get updated in the Writing area…stay tuned.

USB Office Weaponry

December 3, 2005

So if you decided not to spring for the Butterfly indoor radio-controlled airplane for me for Christmas, then here’s a more affordable backup option. Of course I’m talking about desktop USB weaponry in the form of air darts that you can aim and fire from your PC. Finally, someone has started getting practical with USB peripherals. It’s about time we went beyond mice, printers, and Webcams to make some things that are actually useful. Fire up your USB air cannon and get your war on!

USB Powered Air Darts — MarkAndSpencer.com

Strategy at the Speed of Light

December 3, 2005

Since my theme lately has been unusual tech holiday gift ideas, here’s one more. It’s a strategy “board game” called Deflexion that relies on the redirection of laser light as the basis for outwitting your opponent. It’s a little like Chess in that your objective is to take out the other player’s main piece, in this case a pharaoh. However, you do so by bouncing the laser off of your own mirrored pieces, which you rotate and move around as the game progresses. If a pharaoh gets illuminated by a laser beam, that player loses. Sounds like a winner of a game to me.

Deflexion Web Site

Safety Animals

November 30, 2005

This is great. A farmer in Pennsylvania has decided to take creative action in response to aggressive deer hunters who are known to accidentally shoot farm animals on occasion. His solution? He’s painted his cows, horses, goats, turkeys, and even his Dalmation with bright orange flourescent paint. It’s this kind of “can do” attitude that many Americans are missing these days. No word yet on whether his kids are sporting a flourescent orange safety paint job.

Farmer Protects Animals With Orange Paint — Comcast News (no archived copy)

Livingroom Flyer

November 30, 2005

Just in case any of you were planning on buying me a Christmas gift, here’s a great idea. It’s the Butterfly Livingroom Flyer by Plantraco Hobbies, which is billed as the world’s lightest indoor radio-controlled airplane. I used to race R/C cars and have been tempted on several occasions to try out an airplane. The prospect of flying an airplane inside my house is just too cool. I wish they could get the price down a bit but otherwise this appears to be a really cool product. And like I said, it would make a great Christmas gift…

The Butterfly Livingroom Flyer Web Site

Mapping Your Holiday Shopping

November 25, 2005

So it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Google Maps and the interesting ways it is being used to add a geographical context to data. Most of the more interesting Google Map “hacks” have come from third parties. I’m even working on my own customized Google Map Web service that should be up and running in a couple of months. Anyway, the latest Google Map creation comes directly from Google, and it ties a local map to the Froogle shopping search engine. Do a search on “Xbox 360” and the map will pinpoint stores near you that carry the item. This is a great way to plan your shopping day and make sure you only hit stores that carry the things you’re looking for. Of course, I’ll still be doing a huge chunk of my holiday shopping on Amazon.com, but that’s another issue altogether. Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

Froogle Local Web Site

Thanksgiving and the Binary Divide

November 23, 2005

Product of the Bible Belt. Give thanks for being born in and able to continue to reside in a country that holds individual rights above the collective. The vast array of political viewpoints cannot be distilled down to two opposing mindsets.

Xbox 360 Arrives

November 22, 2005

Just in case you missed it, the Xbox 360 was released today to much fan fair. I haven’t seen one yet in person but the technical specs are pretty impressive. Feel free to post a comment on here if you’ve gotten one and had time to explore it a little.

Xbox Web Site

Gas Powered Blender

November 22, 2005

I’m not a big tailgater myself but I definitely know some hardcores. What more could any self-respecting football tailgater ask for than a gas powered blender? As long as you don’t get your PGA mixed up with your unleaded, you should be good to go mixing up some frozen cocktails with the TailGator in any parking lot you choose! Siphon a little gas out of your lawnmower and be the star of the tailgating party.

TailGator Web Site

Location, Location, Location

November 15, 2005

Those are the three magical words you always hear when it comes to real estate. But what about virtual, virtual, virtual? Apparently virtual real estate in the right location is starting to rival real-world real estate in value. A virtual space station in the computer game Project Entropia recently sold for $100,000. Yes, that’s $100,000 real dollars. The buyer plans to rehab the space station and turn it into a cross between “Jurassic Park and a disco.” Sounds like an obvious fit to me!

Seriously, the interesting thing about this purchase is that the buyer actually considered investing in real-world real estate, and then opted for the virtual after examining the cashflow possibilities. So my question is this: how long will it take for the late night get-rich-quick real estate shysters to start hawking no-money-down virtual real estate schemes? Not long enough, I’m afraid.

Virtual Property Yields $100,000 — CNN.com (no archived copy)

Worst Bugs of All Time

November 11, 2005

If you missed this, make sure you check it out. It’s Wired Magazine’s 10 Worst Software Bugs in History…so far. From the costly (financially) Pentium floating point divide bug to the costly (in lives) Therac-25 radiation therapy device, this list covers some of the most interesting programming bugs to ever rear their little heads. All programmers have created bugs but few on a scale with such scary ramifications. Read and learn!

History’s Worst Software Bugs — Wired.com

Hands-Free Rearview Mirror

November 11, 2005

Wait a minute, rearview mirrors are already hands-free…you just look at them! Ah, but not the new prototype mirror from those gadget masters at LG. This one is Bluetooth enabled and has the ability to act as a caller ID by displaying numbers right there on the mirror’s surface. It is also a wireless speakerphone, which makes it a bona fide hands-free mobile phone device. Using a rearview mirror to house a speakerphone makes a ton of sense to me, and I foresee new cars incorporating this system (or one like it) as a standard feature at some point. The visual caller ID is just gravy.

Bluetooth Rearview Mirror — Gizmodo

Too Many Superheroes

November 1, 2005

This is great. Apparently panhandling as a superhero or famous costumed character has finally gotten out of hand on Hollywood Boulevard, and unfortunately things have gotten ugly. According to police, as many as 70 or 80 costumed characters now roam a one-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard near the Chinese Theater, and their solicitation has gotten aggressive and even violent. Picture Elmo, Mr. Incredible, Catwoman, Chuckie, and Princess Fiona from Shrek all boxing out for tips, and that’s the problem the Hollywood police are dealing with. Some of the characters are into the acting and aren’t as concerned about the tips, while others view it as their livelihood and are more territorial. Personally, I’m all for anything that makes panhandling more entertaining. If you’re going to hassle people either way, at least try and make them laugh while you’re doing it!

Hollywood Boulevard Just Isn’t Big Enough For Elmo and Friends — The Wall Street Journal

Halloween Legends

October 29, 2005

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and to celebrate I’d like to direct you toward the Halloween section of Snopes.com. If you’ve never been to Snopes, it’s an awesome library of urban legends, along with whether or not they have been proven to be true, false, undetermined, etc. I regularly hit Snopes when I get a questionable email that just doesn’t jive. Most of the time Snopes immediately reveals the email to be bogus. Anyway, click below for some great Halloween legends, some of which are actually true!

Halloween at Snopes.com

Motorcycle Airbags

October 27, 2005

Yeah, you read that title correctly. As much as I like Honda as a carmaker, I have to seriously wonder if their drug testing policies (or lack thereof) are starting to cause problems in their motorcycle division. In other words, someone at Honda Cycles is smoking something because last month they unveiled an airbag system for motorcycles. Similar to an automobile airbag, the motorcycle version detects a frontal collision and deploys near the handlebars into the rider’s chest and face.

Motorcycle crash test dummies were used extensively during the development of Honda’s motorcycle airbag system, so I’m hoping that Honda engineers have something up their sleeve with this. But really, how effective can a motorcycle airbag truly be? I could almost buy into a motorcycle airsuit that inflates to make you look like the Michelin Man - now that makes some sense. Or maybe an air bag grenade that gets hurled out in front of the rider as the rider goes flying from the bike. Clearly, Honda needs some people like me who are thinking outside of the bike. In the meantime, their curious airbag system is set for release in 2006 model Gold Wing motorcycles.

Honda Develops World’s First Production Motorcycle Airbag System

BlackBerry Fantasy Football

October 25, 2005

As some of you may know, I dabble a bit in fantasy sports and even write a weekly fantasy football column for FedEx Football. Research In Motion (RIM) recently partnered with CBS Sportsline to offer a fantasy football companion service for BlackBerry devices. This cleanly merges two of my interests since I just finished up a book on the BlackBerry 7100 line of smartphones. I haven’t tried out the companion service on an actual BlackBerry but I can tell you that for fantasy football nuts it will add another whole level of meaning to the “CrackBerry” name that has been jokingly given to BlackBerry devices.

CBS Sportsline Fantasy Football Companion for BlackBerry

Video iPod Announced

October 12, 2005

It’s been a rumor for quite some time, and now it’s official. Today Apple announced a video version of their immensely popular iPod line of portable media players. What makes the iPod video player uniquely interesting is Apple’s alliance with ABC, which will allow them to offer episodes of popular television shows for sale in the online iTunes store. For example, you’ll be able to download and watch an episode of “Lost” for $1.99, available the day after the episode originally airs on television. Content is the tricky part of making portable video players popular, and the ABC deal may just be a way to make it work.

The 30 GB iPod video player will sell for $299, while the 60 GB version will sell for $399. That’s not too terribly bad when you consider that they could serve as pretty decent portable back-up hard drives.

Apple Unveils Video iPod — CNN.com (no archived copy)

I’m Back!

September 29, 2005

Apologies all around for my little hiatus from the Web site. I’ve written a total of four books so far this year, along with a commercial mobile game, not to mention laying the groundwork for a few Web projects. The past two months have been ridiculously busy as I fought through deadline after writing deadline. At any rate, I’m getting caught back up and will do a better job staying tuned in to the site, updating the blog regularly, and staying on top of the forums.

In addition to my new BlackBerry and Treo books that are already on the shelves, I also have an XML book and an HTML/CSS book coming out by the end of the year. And I’ll have some very cool new interactive Web projects to unveil in another month or two. Stay tuned!

Hurricane Help

September 6, 2005

I just wanted to share a quick story to hammer home the fact that there is something all of us can do to assist with the hurricane survivors from the Gulf Coast. Many of you know that I live in Nashville, TN, which is fairly removed from anything associated with hurricanes. However, while spending the holiday weekend at a state park just outside of town, some of my relatives ran across over twenty families from Louisiana who had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina, including family members. These people just started driving north, and ended up at a state park outside of Nashville.

I was traveling with my wife and parents when we found out, and my Mom immediately called several local news stations in Nashville, informing them of the situation and the fact that the hurricane survivors were only getting a 10% discount to stay at the park. Within a few short minutes the news stations had made contact with the park and arranged to increase the discount to 50%, as well as a significant food discount. From there, things escalated much further. A few more calls to family and friends in the area, and several churches and other local groups rallied to provide these families with food, clothing, money, and other essentials. My uncle is a Vietnam war veteran, and is even driving one of the people, another veteran confined to a wheelchair, to get special medicine at Fort Campbell Army base in Clarksville, TN. My aunt reported that the families were so shocked by the outpouring of help that they were in tears.

Yesterday I spent a few hours entering the names of surviving family members on Katrina survivor Web sites, along with requests for help to find their missing family members. I have to say it’s the first time I’ve ever used a computer to deal with matters of such critical importance. Simply typing a person’s name has never felt so critical or saddening, knowing that the results of what I post may ultimately lead to a family learning of a loved one’s existence. Trust me, it makes everything else I’ve ever typed on a computer seem utterly insignificant.

Why do I share all of this? To let you know that despite the criticisms of the American government, which are largely justified in my opinion, the American people are different thing altogether. I have personally witnessed and made a tiny contribution to an outpouring of good will that shows the true character of the American spirit. Our leaders have a lot to learn from us…

American Red Cross Hurrican Katrina Relief

Alter Ego Exhibit

August 29, 2005

For those people who regularly play online multiplayer games, to what extent does their online character reflect the real person? That’s the question more or less posed by the Alter Ego photography exhibit, which shows virtual characters alongside photographs of the real person who plays the character online. Although some characters appear dramatically different than their real world counterpart, some facet of the real person’s personality or appearance is usually perceptible.

Virtual Gamers Reveal Themselves — BBC News (no archived copy)

Titanium Necklace Sports Enhancer

August 24, 2005

This story is nothing new. If you’ve ever played golf you’ve seen the goofy little metal bracelets that are supposed to harness your inner energy or calm your nerves or otherwise make you a better golfer. Of course, zillions of people bought the bracelets and only some of them became better golfers…the ones who practiced! Now there is a similar product offering similarly ridiculous claims, and once again people are jumping on the bandwagon. It’s a “liquid titanium” necklace that pro baseball players are apparently endorsing. I come from a cycling/mountain biking background, so I’m well aware of the fact that anything with the word titanium in it is instantly going to make your life better. And so the theory goes with these necklaces.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in these necklaces to buy the first season DVDs of Penn & Teller’s popular Showtime show, Bullshit!. Penn & Taller lay the smack down on pseudoscience alternative medicine, including “magnet therapy,” which is in the same vein as the liquid titanium necklace. Be forewarned, this show isn’t exactly family friendly in terms of language but the content is something every family should talk about nonetheless.

A Bauble for Bobbling Ballplayers — Wired News

The Perfect Treo Accessory

August 24, 2005

As you may or may not know, my new Treo book, Treo Essentials, is scheduled to hit the shelves any day now (stay tuned for details). This book primarily covers the ins and outs of the popular Treo 650 smartphone handheld device. An interesting new development has taken place involving a partnership between Palm and Audi that will result in Treo-specific support in the 2006 line of Audi automobiles. 2006 Audi cars will support Bluetooth connections to Treo 650 devices, and offer a wide range of integrated hands-free features through the Audi Multimedia Interface (MMI) console and voice recognition software. Once you scrape together enough money to afford a Treo 650, you might want to start saving up for an Audi!

Better Treo Compatibility for Future Audi Vehicles — TreoCentral.com

Google Casualty Map

August 19, 2005

As you may already know, I am a huge fan of Google Maps. I think it’s one of the most exciting technologies to hit the Web in quite some time. While I’ve seen some interesting and entertaining custom map mods (I’m working on a few of my own), I just ran across a custom map that is a little sobering. It’s an Iraq War casualty map that shows the hometown of every U.S. troop killed in Iraq since the start of the second Iraq War. You have to click the little plus sign out beside the casualty number to load the casualty markers in groups of thirty. Take some time to explore the soldiers who have lost their lives in this conflict.

Casualty Maps

The Wild West Kingdom

August 18, 2005

Forget gunslingers, the real wild west could be on the horizon as ecologists consider the prospect of introducing lions, elephants, and other large native African animal species to the American Great Plains. I don’t presume to understand the full ecological implications of such a drastic move, and I’m sure it will be weighed heavily before any action is ever taken. But if the problems can be sorted through, I’m all for it. There is a significant convservation argument given that so many species are dwindling in Africa. But more importantly, these are cool animals that I’d love to be able to see without leaving North America. Yeah, I know I’m being a bit isolationist but I can live with that.

Lions and Elephants on the Great Plains? — CNN.com (no archived copy)

Googling the Moon

August 17, 2005

I’m admittedly a little behind getting this one posted but it’s too good not to still mention. In honor of the first manned Moon landing on June 20, 1969, Google offered a Moon version of their powerful online Google Maps application. While checking out the locations on the Moon’s surface of each manned lunar landing, you are viewing real NASA imagery of the Moon. Make sure you zoom all the way in on the map to find out what the Moon is really made of!

Google Moon

Mario Bros. and Al Qaeda

August 15, 2005

I suppose it was only a matter of time until video games started appearing that promote the “other side” of the Western conflict with Islamic terror organizations. Video games where you can play the “good guys” against terrorists are nothing new. But games with a heavy dose of propaganda on the other side of the equation are something most Americans haven’t seen. If it’s any consolation, Islamic teens apparently aren’t as computer savvy as their Western counterparts, leaving most pro-extreme Islam games relatively low tech.

Even so, the concept of being able to play the role of enemy in a virtual conflict that is still taking place in the real world is an interesting, if not somewhat uncomfortable prospect. As video game mods become easier to access and hack, it’s only a matter of time before a truly realistic game surfaces where “we” become the bad guys. I’m sure U.S. politicians will have a field day when that happens. Can you say Patriot Act II?

The Evildoers Do Super Mario Bros. — Slate.com

Top 10 Tech Near Hits

August 8, 2005

This is pretty cool - a top ten list of technological achievements and products that should’ve succeeded but didn’t. More importantly, these are examples where we have suffered to some degree because these technologies faded away. OK, maybe you could argue that we’re doing OK without the Apple Newton but I so wish there was a Kozmo.com delivery service near me. I hate going to the grocery store!

Top 10 Tech We Miss — CNET.com

Life, Death, and Home Depot Stock

August 8, 2005

File this little project under the “too much time on their hands” folder but get a chuckle before you file it. A couple of digital “artists” created Spore 1.1, which is a real rubber tree plant whose life is at the mercy of a watering system that is controlled by variations in The Home Depot stock price. If the stock improves, the rubber tree gets watered; if the stock tracks downward, the poor rubber tree pays the price. A big part of the premise at work here is The Home Depot’s unconditional replacement guarantee on plants in the first year after purchase. So, if the stock tanks and the plant dies, The Home Depot has to provide a new one. The plant is definitely getting the raw end of the deal here - where are the representatives from PETRT (People for the Ethical Treatment of Rubber Trees)?!

Rubber Tree Plant’s Health Tied to Home Depot’s Stock Price — BoingBoing.net

My Car Has a Virus!

August 2, 2005

This is a little disturbing but I suppose it was inevitable - wireless networking technologies are now potentially opening up automobiles to computer viruses. The good news is that this potential has yet to be realized and it may end up being quite challenging for virus developers. First off, prevailing mobile wireless technologies such as Bluetooth have reasonably good security. Perhaps more importantly is the fact that it may be very difficult for a virus to travel from a car stereo to a car’s central controller, which is where it could do the most serious damage. Currently, most Bluetooth devices for cars are entertainment/communication devices, and therefore tend to interact more with the stereo and speaker system. But all this could change. More than likely, automobile viruses won’t become a significant issue until we see a rash of mobile phone viruses. And I feel fairly certain they are on the way.

Car Computer Systems at Risk to Viruses — CNN.com

Being Digital

August 1, 2005

Brad Stone pretty much nails it in this gem of an article about how managing a tech to-do list may in fact be the real point of it all. That probably doesn’t make much sense, and I’ll only confuse things worse if I try to explain it any further - just read the article for yourself.

Our So-Called Digital Life — Newsweek

Smart Personal Objects

July 28, 2005

The technology is a couple of years old and it has yet to catch on in any real sense but I think it has some interesting potential. I’m referring to Microsoft’s SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology), which is currently deployed in several smart watches that are capable of receiving data over a wireless wide area radio network. The service for the watches is called MSN Direct, and isn’t too expensive considering that it provides your watch with its very own one-way wireless data feed. This data feed includes information such as news, stock quotes, weather, movie times, etc. Alarm clocks are next on the horizon for the SPOT team, as well as traffic data feeds.

I don’t know if smart watches will be able to compete head to head with smart phones, which now accomplish many of the same tasks much more effectively. On the other hand, maybe they won’t have to. A watch is intrinsically a more personal object than a mobile phone. That may be enough to give smart watches a fighting chance as they attempt to enter the mainstream.

How Smart Watches Work — How Stuff Works

Digital Pen and Paper

July 25, 2005

Although true digital paper is still somewhere out there on the sci-fi horizon, a group of French companies have joined forces to offer a quite unusual digital pen and paper combination. Their system, called PaperPC, involves an oversized ballpoint pen with electronics packed inside that are able to interpret what is being written. That is, as long as you write on special PaperPC paper that has a nearly invisible grid on it. The pen can store up to 70 pages of handwritten notes, and you can transfer the digital vector-based notes to a mobile phone, PDA, or desktop/notebook computer using either Bluetooth or USB. You can then post the notes online using a special service offered by a company called MetaLinks, and the notes are then available for browsing. What makes the whole PaperPC system so cool is that you can still use the pen to write on normal paper if you aren’t concerned about digitizing the writing.

The End User: This Pen Is Mighty" — International Herald Tribune

How Computers Worked in 1979

July 19, 2005

A good friend of mine sent me this link and I had to share it. It’s a Web page containing the scanned pages from a book published in 1971 (revised in 1979) titled, “How It Works…The Computer.” Although your first tendency may be to laugh and make fun of the monstrous computers shown in the illustrations, this book is actually an excellent introduction to how computers work, including modern computers. Granted, we no longer use punch cards, but few of the concepts in the book have changed over the years. So the next time you fashion yourself as a mod hipster with your iPod and sleek laptop, just remember that some guy back in 1979 was kicking it in a leisure suit seated in front of a computer the size of a dishwasher…and he felt just as cool!

“How It Works…The Computer”

RFID Pajamas

July 18, 2005

Not sure how I feel about this one. A children’s apparel maker in California is set to launch a line of pajamas with RFID chips sewn into them that can be used to track children. More specifically, you set RFID readers around a bounded area to establish somewhat of an invisible fence for your kids. Lauren Scott, the licensee of the RFID technology from SmartWear Technologies, explains how parents want to “do everything to protect them,” in reference to their children. Everything, apparently, except actually keep an eye on them. OK, maybe that was a bit harsh but the fact remains that kids aren’t dogs, and maybe we shouldn’t be looking to technology to further fulfill our parental responsibilities. Have we not already put enough burden on our televisions to properly raise our kids? Ouch, another stinger! Sorry, I’d just like to see more parenting and less gadgetry.

But I could be wrong. Target is set to roll out a line of the RFID pajamas, so we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.

Apparel Maker Tags RFID For Kids’ Sleepwear — Information Week (no archived copy)

Video Game Slaves

July 13, 2005

This is one of the strangest phenomena I’ve heard about in a while. You may be familiar with Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games such as EverQuest and Lineage. Many of these games have virtual economies where gold and other resources are “earned” through hours and hours of online game play. Apparently dirt cheap labor is now being exploited for the sake of generating game currency that can be sold at a profit. We’ve all heard the horror stories about overseas sweatshops for products such as clothing and shoes but it never struck me that a sweatshop could exist for mining video game gold. They’re out there!

Wage Slaves — 1Up.com

Golfing with Girls

July 13, 2005

I’ve resisted commenting on this in the past because it’s so dumb but I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m talking about all the whiner men who play professional golf and are upset over women being allowed to occasionally compete against them. I’m not a serious golfer by any stretch of the imagination, and I rarely watch professional golf on television, but I do love sports of all kinds. Here’s the deal: the PGA is not the MPGA. That’s because it’s not the Men’s Professional Golf Association. The PGA is for the best golfers in the world to compete against each other, regardless of race, sex, age, etc. Yes, I said age. If an old-timer is still playing well enough to qualify, they can play in the PGA.

So what are the LPGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour about? Those are secondary outlets for golfers who aren’t good enough to hang with the best players in the world on the PGA Tour. The former is for women, the latter is for people over the age of 50. If you don’t agree with segregating a special tour just for women, that’s fine. And that’s a valid argument since men aren’t allowed to play in the LPGA Tour. But the reverse simply isn’t valid. The PGA Tour is for the best golfers in the world. Period. If a woman or a 70 year-old can qualify, they can play.

And for those men who feel threatened or offended by this, get used to it because it’s not going away. You should’ve chosen a more physical sport if you didn’t want women to have a chance. Physiological differences will likely always keep women out of sports such as football and hockey. So if it really bothers you so much that you have to share the course with a woman, maybe you need to strap on some pads and play a full contact sport.

Wie Rallies to Advance at Men’s Publinx — FOX Sports (no archived copy)

Manage Your Lies

July 1, 2005

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. You tell a little lie and forget about it, and then later find yourself in a situation where you struggle to get your story straight. Yeah, I know, we should never lie. While that may be true, a fellow by the name of Angus Chan envisions a service called True Lies that assists in “relationship lubrication,” which is essentially the management of white lies through technology. Although the service isn’t actually real yet, it sounds pretty neat. The idea is that the service sends you messages based on your schedule that help you to keep all of your lies straight. I have some friends in tech sales who would probably kill for this service. I won’t even mention my attorney friends!

True Lies

This Land is Your Land…Kinda

June 23, 2005

Seeing as how private property forms the foundation of individual freedom in America, the U.S. Supreme Court just dealt a crushing blow to private property owners, and therefore to those of us who still value individual liberty. The Court ruled that local governments may seize your private property for the sake of private economic development. Prior to this ruling, the Fifth Amendment provided for governments to take private property through eminent domain but only in extreme situations that were considered “public use,” such as a major highway cutting through your backyard. Now, the concept of eminent domain has been relaxed so that shopping malls, office buildings, and health clubs are considered important enough to warrant taking your private property against your will.

So why no talk of “activist justices?” Does it not bother anyone that the economic interests of large businesses now trump your private property rights? Is a shopping mall truly so important to the public good that it’s worth forcibly removing people from the homes that they’ve worked to pay for with their own hard-earned money? This is yet another example of how large business interests have more say in how our government is run than we the people do. Sooner or later we may see armed standoffs where American citizens are forced to defend (and ultimately still lose) their property at the point of a gun.

Power House Kit

June 23, 2005

You don’t have to be a card-carrying Greenpeace member to appreciate this little hobby kit. It’s called Power House, and it provides an awesome introduction to physical sciences and renewable energy for kids (and adults) aged 12 and up. The kit includes all kinds of cool projects such as building a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system. The kit includes everything you need for 70 experiments and 20 construction projects. Whether you want to build a sail car or learn how to make chewing gum, it’s in here!

Power House Kit - Experiments in Sustainable Alternative Energy — DiscoverThis.com

When Virtual Sports and Real Sports Collide

June 22, 2005

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this but it’s a neat marketing gimmick if nothing else. Two minor league baseball teams are planning to incorporate two virtual innings of baseball at the start of their game on July 16th. The Kansas City T-Bones and Schamburg Flyers will sit on the bench while two video game players duke it out for two innings in an Xbox baseball game. When the two innings are up, the Xbox score carries over to the real game as they finish the remainder of the game like normal. I don’t think we’ll see this merger of virtual and real baseball in the big leagues any time soon, but like I said, it makes for a neat marketing gimmick.

Minor League Teams to Play ‘Virtually’ — FOX Sports

I’m Somebody!

June 20, 2005

As Steve Martin said in The Jerk, “first the phone book and now this!” I too am finally somebody. I now have a Wikipedia entry - check it out via the link below if you’re interested. If you’ve never explored Wikipedia, do it now. It’s an incredible online resource. I’ll try to beef up my entry with more background information as I find the time.

Michael Morrison — Wikipedia

Happy 25th Birthday Pac-Man

June 16, 2005

Pac-Man, the enduring arcade classic that bridged both gender and age gaps in turning people onto video games, reaches the age of 25 this month. I once attempted a Pac-Man remake on my TI-99/4A computer, although I was woefully underskilled at the time when it came to game programming knowledge. Anyway, below is a story with a little history about the game, along with some information about new Pac-Man games. Happy Birthday Pac-Man!

Pac-Man Chomps Up Milestone — CNN.com

JavaScript Lemmings

June 11, 2005

If you aren’t familiar with it, Lemmings is a clever little game developed originally for the Commodoreo Amiga that became a big hit in the early 90’s. The idea behind the game is that the little lemming creatures in the game mindlessly march forward, and are susceptible to being killed by any number of dangerous obstacles in their path. Your job is to designate certain lemmings as workers to build stairs, dig tunnels, etc., and guide the others to safety. The game can be surprisingly difficult, and often requires quick thinking and creative solutions to save as many lemmings as possible. Below you’ll find a link to a new JavaScript version of Lemmings that runs entirely in your Web browser with no special plug-ins or add-ons required. Impressive!

DHTML Lemmings

Death Clock

June 11, 2005

Ah, what better way to get a renewed lease on life than to check in on when exactly you’re going to die? Thanks to the online Death Clock, you can now find out exactly when you’re going to die, and track your “progress” to the precise second. Forget about motivational speakers and books, if you really want to get motivated to do some living, take a look at when you’re dying! So visit the Death Clock via the link below, and then get out there and have some fun…

Death Clock

Real-World Gaming

June 9, 2005

Technology is finally making it possible to blend video games with the real world in ways never previously imagined. I’m not talking about VR games with the clunky headsets and gloves. I’m talking about full-scale real world games where you navigate around large areas using GPS-enabled wireless mobile devices. Pac-Manhattan is one of the earliest Big Games I heard about, and it was somewhat ground-breaking even if it was a bit lower tech than some of the newer games like ConQwest. Maybe one of these days I’ll figure out a way to write a book about how to host your own Big Game. In the meantime, to learn more about Big Games check out the area/code Web site below.

www.playareacode.com

Bluetooth Headphones, Finally!

June 6, 2005

I finally got around to getting a notebook computer so I can actually start working a little when I travel. I’ve recently been tinkering a fair amount with Bluetooth, and it has annoyed me that no one makes Bluetooth headphones. Having to stay tethered to a computer to listen to music on headphones is a serious annoyance when there exists a technology to elegantly solve the problem. After doing a little snooping, I found out that a few companies manufacture Bluetooth headphones, and one of them is HP. Below is a link to a review of HP’s Bluetooth headphones. I’m anxious to try them out with my new laptop.

HP Bluetooth Headphones — Dave’s iPAQ

Where’s the Techie Talk

June 1, 2005

Some of you might be wondering why I spend so much time on here talking about politics and social issues when my day job is about technology. The reason is simple: everything I do in my day job requires ruthless logic and reason. Yet many things I see happen in the real world are entirely devoid of logic and reason. So I use the same critical thought process that is required to develop software and write books, and I apply it to everything else. One of the key characteristics of nerds is that they typically can’t see beyond their immediate interests. I may still be a nerd but I thrive on looking beyond my interests.

In addition to my natural tendency of looking at the world with a critical eye, I also have an incredibly strong belief in the ideals of my country, the United States. And I’m not talking about mindless flag-waving and hokey bumper stickers. I’m talking about the fundamental concept of a place where everyone is free to live their life with minimal outside interference. Live and let live. Period. Freedom implies responsibility, and part of my responsibility as an American citizen is expressing my opinion when I see my country being steered away from its ideals. I may not always be right and you may not always agree with me, but I can assure you my motives are only to further the cause of both my freedom and yours.

Ford in the Crosshairs

June 1, 2005

I can’t figure out why the premise of “live and let live” is so utterly difficult for some people to understand. The book-burners are at it again with a boycott against Ford Motor Co. for supporting organizations who are working to stop discrimination against gays. Head book-burner Randy Sharp is angry because he thinks Ford is “redefining the definition of the family to include homosexual marriage.” What he doesn’t realize is that the definition of family has already been redefined, and the new definition says that most kids live in divorced households. So I’m not even going to challenge the Christian interpretation that says gay marriage is bad. Instead, I want to take a more pragmatic look at this issue.

Think about how many families you directly know where there are gay parents raising children. Now count how many families you know where children are living out of suitcases between multiple households thanks to divorce. As someone who knows how wonderful it is to grow up in a stable household that wasn’t ripped apart by divorce, I can tell you I would’ve gladly taken gay parents over divorce if the option had presented itself. Fortunately, I had awesome parents who stayed together. My point isn’t to judge people who have gotten a divorce. My point is to simply state that the whole gay marriage issue isn’t about saving traditional family values - it’s a hate movement aimed at persecuting people who are different. If the book-burners were serious about reforming the American family, they would start by trying to improve the divorce rate. Gay parents are an incredibly small minority of the overall parenting picture, and the book-burners are just being bullies. Hypocritical bullies at that.

Another Swing of the Pocketbook — MSNBC

The Gift of Fire

May 24, 2005

This year is the year to stop screwing around and finally make a statement on Father’s Day. Forget the lame ties and handkerchiefs, my Dad is getting the gift of fire! I’m talking about the Red Dragon Economy Vapor Torch Kit, which is essentially a residential blow torch. Connect it to a propane tank and unleash hell on weeds, leaves, and anything else around the yard that you feel like incinerating. Just be careful around humans and animals.

Red Dragon Torch Kit — Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools

Unlikely Buddies

May 23, 2005

Even I can’t resist a feel good story every once in a while. Below is a link to a story about an orphaned rhino who has taken up with a goat in a nature reserve in South Africa. Although they are dramatically different species, the two animals have become friends and even playfully butt heads with each other. All that’s missing is an Elton John or Phil Collins soundtrack!

Rhino, Goat Strike Unlikely Bond — CNN.com

Tillman Still a Hero Despite the Army

May 23, 2005

So apparently the U.S. Army thinks that public relations is more important than honestly reporting the tragic loss of a heroic soldier. I don’t use the word hero much but in this case I think it applies. I’m talking about Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who gave up wealth and fame to act on an ideal he believed in by joining the Army to fight against terrorism. Whether or not you agree with Tillman’s motives, or our military’s for that matter, Tillman acted heroically by carrying through on an ideal he believed in, and ultimately paying for it with his life. Few people in this world have the convictions to do such a thing.

We now know that Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire, which is unsettling enough on its own. However, the Army felt the need to cover up that fact and create its own fictional version of how Tillman died heroically in battle against the enemy. The Army tarnished the legacy of Tillman by lying and ultimately confirming the skepticism of those of us who don’t entirely trust our leaders and their motives. If you’re going to ask a person to potentially pay the ultimate price of giving their life to your cause, you have to uphold your end of the deal and honor their loss by reporting the truth, even if it doesn’t necessarily serve your own public relations needs. Pat Tillman is still a hero in my mind based upon the decisions he made in his life, regardless of how the Army tries to spin it.

Report: Tillman’s family critical of Army investigation — SI.com

NFL Cans Formal Sunday

May 9, 2005

Geez, I thought NASCAR had cornered the market on incorporating shameless marketing into every nook and cranny of their “sport.” It seems as if the NFL wants to give them a run for their, well, for their money. San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan petitioned the NFL to allow him to wear a suit on the sidelines, and he was flatly rejected. The NFL cited “marketing issues” as the reason for the denial. Now I’m not a guy who is big on dressing up, but I kind of like the idea of a head coach looking sharp if he wants to. I remember thinking Tom Landry always looked cool in that hat of his. I enjoy watching professional football, but the NFL’s heavy-handed tactics toward just about anything that isn’t rigidly spelled out in their handbook is a huge turnoff.

NFL Won’t Let Nolan Suit Up On Sidelines — FOX Sports

Character on the Court

May 6, 2005

I strongly agree with the notion that your character and convictions only matter if you are able to uphold them during adversity. While a professional tennis match might not exactly qualify as adversity, Andy Roddick showed loads of character in correcting the line judge on an ace by his opponent, Fernando Verdasco, that was incorrectly ruled out. Roddick pointed to the mark the ball made on the clay line, and the judge reversed his ruling, giving Verdasco the ace. Verdasco went on to save two more match points and eventually win the last two sets and the match. Roddick’s show of sportsmanship and character is rare in the era of modern professional sports, and it shouldn’t go unnoticed. He may not have won the match but he won the respect of at least one person who doesn’t even consider himself a tennis fan. Well done, Andy.

Good Sport, Bad Finish — SI.com

Feeling Magnetic

May 5, 2005

So you think you’re cool because you have a new body piercing? If you must puncture your body with foreign objects, here’s an interesting idea - use a magnet. “Body artist” Steve Haworth recently had a magnet implanted into one of his fingers, and now claims to be able to sense magnetic fields from within a few feet away. I’m not exactly a fan of “body modification” personally, but it’s interesting in this case to learn about the effects an implanted magnet has had on Mr. Haworth’s perception. And I have to give him credit - he really appears to have thought through this experiment, and is careful to drive home the issue of personal responsibility when it comes to tampering with your body.

The Gift of Magnetic Vision — BMEzine.com

Devolving in Kansas

May 5, 2005

This is the topic that just won’t go away. Hearings begin today in Kansas in what amounts to a modern day Scopes Monkey Trial, as anti-evolution advocates debate the merits of the scientific process. I honestly don’t mean to sound anti-religion when I write about this, but there are some serious implications if Kansas schools decide to give creationism equal coverage as evolution in science classes at public schools. Here’s the problem: the foundation of science is forming theories and then putting them to the test. We can’t always prove a theory to be conclusively true but we can at least take it a step beyond faith and establish concrete reasons for why one theory makes more scientific sense than another.

Enter creationism. Creationism is not a scientific theory. It is a belief based entirely upon faith derived from a religious text. Although this has been debated many times before, science is not based upon faith. Therefore, science classes should not give equal credence to faith-based theories as compared to scientific theories. I have no problem with clarifying that evolution is just a theory and that someday we may find or prove a better one to be true. But to say that creationism (or intelligent design, as some advocates now cleverly disguise it) is a legitimate scientific theory on the level of evolution is simply false.

If we give in to the creationism argument, who is to say where the next “theory” comes from. And what if a group of people sincerely believe that we were all created by two Gods, or a hundred Gods? Would this pluralistic creationism theory also get added to science textbooks? I seriously doubt it since Christianity allows for only one God. Which finally gets to my main point: creationism is about letting an overzealous group of people in this country write their religious views into the science books for all of us. That’s fine for private Christian schools, but please leave public textbooks so that they must answer to the scientific process. I know, we’re supposedly a Christian nation because the majority of people are Christians. The numbers may bear that out, but keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution is there to protect us “of and from religion.” Imposing the views of many onto even one person is simply unconstitutional.

The evolution of a fight to the end — MSNBC.com

Cash and the Constitution

May 4, 2005

I don’t use much cash, preferring the convenience of a debit card for many daily purchases, but I’m seriously rethinking that approach. Apparently the U.S. government is raising the bar in terms of how much they watch and scrutinize our financial transactions. Just a little reminder for those of you who have forgotten how our country came to be: we the people created the government, and it answers to us. We have the right, and more importantly, the responsibility to change it if it violates our inherent rights as citizens.

Yes, terrorism is a big concern to all of us and we should be vigilant when it comes to stopping it. But giving our government carte blanche to spy on our private financial transactions in the name of protecting us is a complete and total joke. Except it’s not funny, and it also happens to be unconstitutional. Then again, just about everything about the Patriot Act is unconstitutional, but we’ve been scared into going along with it. I don’t care what political affiliation you have, as an American you owe it to yourself to speak out against these decidedly un-American policies. It’s time to put politics aside and support the U.S. Constitution. Now.

Your Money Under More Scrutiny — Wired Magazine

Pay Them to Stay Home

May 3, 2005

I honestly thought this was a joke, but no, Seattle Supersonics guard Ray Allen recently suggested that American NBA basketball players should be paid to help encourage them to represent the USA in the Olympics. So it’s not enough that NBA players already show up at the Olympics as the wealthiest athletes at the games, but now they want to be paid to make it worth their while. I have no problem with a guy who decides it’s not important to him to represent his country in an athletic event. Fine. But to even consider paying NBA players to play in the Olympics is beyond offensive to all the other Olympic athletes who train and work for years just to compete for the love of the sport and the chance to represent their country. Yeah, I know, at some level everything is a business, but leave the Olympics for athletes who want to be there without any financial incentives.

Allen: Paying Players Could Help Team USA — FOXSports.com (no archived copy)

Zombie Parasite

May 2, 2005

As if there isn’t enough to worry about with terrorism, global warming, and “activist judges,” now I have to worry about being turned into a zombie. I can’t believe I missed this one back when I posted a few April Fool’s articles. Oh well, check out this BBC News story about a parasite in Cambodia that kills in less than two days and then restarts the heart of its victims for up to two hours. I’ll be brushing up on my Resident Evil zombie combat skills…you should too!

Cambodian Troops Quarantine Quan’sul — BBC News

Hand and Foot Preemptive Multitasking

May 2, 2005

My hockey buddy Big T recently shared this gem with me. Go ahead, try it yourself:

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number “6” in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction…and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Share Your Gaming History

April 21, 2005

Want to share your personal gaming history? The Institute for the Future (IFTF) would like to hear about it. The IFTF is an organization that studies technology and its impact on society, and they’re interested in learning about how electronic games have shaped people’s lives. Share your thoughts by visiting the link below.

What’s Your Personal Video Gaming History? — IFTF.org

Reason Accepts No Commandments

April 21, 2005

This is a little late but I suspect the political battle over the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings isn’t going away anytime soon. Rather than argue about the Constitutional issues, which are entirely valid by the way, I like the approach taken by Harry Binswanger of the Ayn Rand Institute. Mr. Binswanger examines the Ten Commandments from the perspective of the American ideal. In other words, are the Ten Commandments truly representative of what America was intended to be? Can we honestly proclaim to be rugged individualists who are lovers of freedom yet insist that everyone bow down to such a list of commandments? Freedom is a word we throw around far to casually, in my opinion. Most Americans want freedom with an asterisk, a footnote, and a set of rules that they can apply to put some kind of limit on everyone else’s freedom. The Ten Commandment issue is one of many where we show how we aren’t really serious about freedom, or at the very least we don’t understand it.

The Ten Commandments vs. America — Ayn Rand Institute

Mad Lib Scientific Paper Accepted

April 21, 2005

A group of graduate students at MIT recently created a computer program that generates random scientific papers by inserting computer science buzzwords into blanks in sentences taken from real papers. The idea was to see if randomly generated scientific papers could be accepted for presentation at an academic conference. And sure enough, the Ninth World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics accepted their bogus paper, which was titled, “Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy.” This isn’t quite on par with allowing a room full of monkeys hack out a novel but it’s not too far off.

MIT Prank Paper Accepted for Publication — CNN.com

Make Your Monitor Transparent

April 13, 2005

It sounds crazy but it is indeed possible to make your computer monitor transparent. Or at least it’s possible to make it look transparent. Just take a digital picture of the area immediately behind your monitor, carefully crop and size it to real world dimensions, and then turn it into wallpaper for your desktop. Viola, a see-through monitor! Check out the link below if you’re still having trouble with the visualization.

Transparent Screens — flickr.com

Mac Mini Holster for Home Networking

April 7, 2005

In addition to working on BlackBerry and Treo projects recently, I’ve also been busy designing a house. I’ve pretty much decided to steer clear of most of the smart home gadgets and primarily rely on a WiFi network for my home/office computing needs. However, I saw an interesting merger of computer and house in the UStec Mac mini holster, which is a built-in wall unit for routing wires to a Mac mini that serves as a home server. I’ve wondered how to conceal a server, and up until now I had just planned on using a closet somewhere. The Mac mini holster is a great idea for concealing an entire server in a somewhat traditional electrical wall cabinet. Check it out.

UStec Mac Mini Holsters For Home Network Enclosures — engadget.com

Fixed Gear Bikes Become the Rage

April 7, 2005

As a longtime off and on cyclist in one form or another, I’ve always thought fixed gear bikes were neat, even though I’ve never owned one. Unlike single- and multi-speed bikes, which both have freewheels that allow you to coast while the wheels are turning, a fixed gear bike directly links the cranks (front sprocket) to the rear wheel, so when the rear wheel spins, your legs spin. Wouldn’t you know it, fixed gear bikes are now becoming quite the cool vehicle to tool around town on, at least if you live in a hip town such as San Francisco. I wouldn’t rule out owning a fixed gear at some point, but it will be hard to beat my single-speed mountain bike. When I ride these days, I ride it exclusively. It’s a fairly tricked out Surly 1x1 - check out the Surly site for more info: www.surlybikes.com. Surly is my kind of bike company.

Fixed-Gear Bikes an Urban Fixture — Wired Magazine

Opera SoundWave

April 1, 2005

If any of you have kept up with the browser wars, you know that Opera has always been relegated to the background behind mainstream browsers such as Internet Explorer and Netscape/Firefox. All that is about to change. A new technology called Opera Soundwave aims to make it possible to communicate wirelessly via a peer-to-peer network without using computers or even mobile phones. Sounds impossible, but Opera researchers seem to have the technology worked out. Click the link below to learn more.

Opera Announces Platform-Independent Real-Time Speech Technology — Opera.com

MegaMags

April 1, 2005

Just in time for the spring shopping season, check out MegaMags! They are a lifesize version of the popular desktop magnetic ball and rod construction sets. Although they look a little unwieldy, who could refuse the equivalent of a Russian kettlebell workout while flexing your creative brain muscles too? Check ’em out!

Great Big Balls and Rods — ThinkGeek.com (no archived copy)

The Inconsistent Sanctity of Life

March 23, 2005

Unfortunately, our media has yet again failed us in refusing to paint the complete picture of the Terry Schiavo case. I honestly don’t know how I feel about what should happen in the case, but I do know that politicians who have stepped in are only acting in their own political self-interest. Both the parents and the husband are in an unbelievably difficult position, and without knowing them personally it’s hard to question the motives of either side. What I don’t understand is how our media is only willing to show one side of the story, which is the one that tugs at our emotions the greatest.

Since politicians have willingly turned the Schiavo case into a political issue, the media needs to step up and take them to task for their inconsistencies. For example, did you know that as governor of Texas President Bush signed into law the Texas Futile Care Law, which on Thursday directly led to a baby being removed from life support against the wishes of his parents? The law allows medical institutions to remove life support from a terminal patient, and the only recourse is for the family to come up with money to pay another medical institution to take the patient. How is that case not relevant to Schiavo, and at least worthy of a mention in the news? Life is either precious or it’s not, and we deserve to know when politicians are grandstanding - I’m sick of having to comb the Web just to find out basic news minus the shallow sensationalism.

No Life Support for You — AlterNet

Defining Libertarians

March 23, 2005

I stumbled across this article and thought it was worth sharing because I too hear conservative wolves dressing up in libertarian sheep’s clothing in a lame attempt to sound contrarian. Just because you want lower taxes and you think Al Gore should stay away from your shotguns doesn’t mean you are a libertarian or a true lover of freedom and individual liberties. Taxes and guns are easy. Tackle some tougher issues like drugs, prostitution, and American imperialism, and then maybe you can get closer to proclaiming yourself someone who favors liberty over tyranny. Anyway, here’s an article that neatly and cleanly defines what a libertarian is.

Libertarians: Defined — LibertarianUnderground.com (no archived copy)

Yeti Expedition Begins

March 18, 2005

I so wish I was part of this! Seven Japanese climbers are heading to Nepal to look for the legendary yeti creature, also known as the abominable snowman. This is actually the second yeti search for the expedition leader, Yoshiteru Takahaski, who found humanlike footprints made by a “rather large animal” in 1994. This time around, Takahashi and company are doing what I’ve thought was a good idea for years: they’re setting up several remote motion-sensitive cameras to passively monitor areas where the creatures are thought to live. In all honesty, I’m still somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to hidden creatures in general (Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Jersey Devil, etc.), but there is just enough evidence to make their possible existence an extremely intriguing idea. Count me in for the next Bigfoot expedition!

Expedition Sets Off To Find Abominable Snowman — Ananova

The Battle for Reason

March 15, 2005

I’ve written about this before but I’m not going to let it go until the assault on reason ends. For some reason it isn’t enough for some people to practice religion privately and leave everyone else to practice or not practice however they see fit. I’m referring to the ongoing battle to inject creationism into public schools, which represents an assault on reason. By all means believe whatever you want, and I’ll fight in the streets to defend your right to believe it. But don’t think that just because you organize that it makes it OK to challenge the progression of science that we’ve all benefited from. Scientific theory is what allows us as proud Americans to pimp our rides, shoot missiles at random Muslim countries, and print all those bibles.

It’s not the government’s job to reconcile prevailing scientific theory with the beliefs of a group of people just because the belief doesn’t neatly fit with the science. Call it the “mystery of the bible,” or “part of God’s plan,” but don’t work backward just to tidy up inconsistencies in your beliefs. We’ll never be able to reconcile parting seas, burning bushes, and immaculate conception scientifically, and it’s not the job of our scientists to do so. Besides, it’s a waste of our courts’ time to debate it. Explain it to your kids however you want. They don’t have any trouble believing a fat bearded guy can somehow land a sled on your roof and get down your chimney to deliver gifts, so I doubt they’ll challenge you on the carbon dating of dinosaur bones.

One more point and I’ll let it go for now. If for whatever reason I develop my own personal creation theory, does that mean I get to add it to our school textbooks? The whole intelligent design issue is supposedly predicated on “hearing all possible viewpoints.” OK, I have one. I believe that all of creation began with a group of divine brine shrimp – I call it the Sea Monkey Council. This council proceeded to add water to some divine powder of life, and they stirred, waited a few days, and before you know it we all sprang up. Science doesn’t support my theory, but so what, I believe in it so it should be counted as another viewpoint. But we know it wouldn’t. And that’s because the intelligent design agenda is really about promoting exactly one viewpoint, and only one viewpoint. And that’s why there will be a special place in their hell for the people who want to turn America into a theocracy. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but we should not stand idly by while the “land of the free” continues to be undermined by people who want to gain spiritual brownie points at our expense.

Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens — Washington Post

Jumping the Great Wall

March 15, 2005

In a move reminiscent of Evel Kneivel in his heydey, professional skateboarder Danny Way has announced plans to jump over the Great Wall of China…on a skateboard. The jump will involve a 120-foot tall ramp, and will ultimately break three world records if successful. As a fellow skateboarder who regularly rides fairly large “traditional” vert ramps, I can attest to the fact that Danny is nuts. He operates on a completely different plane than other skateboarders, but he’ll probably pull off the stunt just fine. Good luck, Danny!

Danny Way to Jump Great Wall of China — EXPN.com

Microchip Graffiti

March 8, 2005

You always hear about “easter eggs” that are included in software where you enter some unusual key combination to find a secret message from the programmers. A similar “signature” can be found in many microchips in the form of tiny pieces of artwork known as microchip graffiti. While the average person would have a difficult time seeing this artwork without a microscope, some people have done the work for us. Check out the article below to learn more about microchip graffiti, and also view a few different galleries of micro artwork.

The Smallest Dying Art of All — Fortune Magazine

American Varmint Idol

March 8, 2005

And here I thought I was crazy for thinking that trained hamsters could write most of the crappy hip-pop music we hear today. As it turns out, a student project by Levi Lorenzo at Cornell University consists of several hamsters interacting with a MIDI sequencer to create their own music. The article below contains more information, including sample clips of the hamster-generated music. I’m telling you, animal-created music is going to be the musical equivalent of reality television…think of the production savings!

Intelligent MIDI Sequencing with Hamster Control — Cornell.edu

Keep Your Worms to Yourself

March 3, 2005

Arm yourself with a little reason the next time someone tells you about definitive evidence of life after death. Before you get all worked up, understand that I’m not arguing against faith in life after death, I’m arguing against evidence of life after death. That’s a big distinction. John Reese at SkepticReport.com does an excellent job of breaking down the life after death debate in scientific terms, but without eliminating the faith component that many people feel so strongly about. But you don’t have take my word for it when there is an excellent article that lays it all out for you. Click the link below.

A Bottomless Can of Worms — SkepticReport.com

Build Your Own Apple

March 1, 2005

I don’t mean buying a hard drive, a case, and a power supply, and putting them together. I mean build your own Apple! A new book titled Apple I Replica Creation: Back to the Garage guides you through the detailed steps required to build an Apple I computer from the ground up with breadboards and basic electronic components. For anyone who truly wants to learn how computers work from the inside out, this book sounds like an awesome way to do it. Learn the skills of the old school hackers: wire wrapping and assembly language. And when you’re finished building your custom Apple I, make sure you take it into CompUSA and tell them you’d like them to upgrade the memory on it!

Grow Your Own Apple I — Wired Magazine

Semi-Submerged Dwelling

February 27, 2005

This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. Despite my previously blogged irrational fear of sharks, I have to admit that if I had $4 or $5 million to blow I would definitely be in the market for a Trilobis 65. It is a “semi-submerged dwelling environment,” which means that it’s somewhat of a cross between a luxury yacht and an ultra-modern house. In many ways, the Trilobis 65 could be compared to the luxury yachts you hear about famous tycoons and celebrities tooling around on. However, this luxury vessel adds an underwater observation bulb, which gives it the feel of a submarine with incredible 360 degree underwater views. Unfortunately, the Trilobis 65 is still just a concept, as none have been built or sold yet. Even so, it maybe provides a glimpse as to where the future is headed in terms of what we think of as “house boats.”

Trilobis 65 Semi-Submerged Dwelling Environment

Bumping the Bass in Your Teeth

February 25, 2005

Apparently a few geniuses at Hasbro have never experienced a throbbing toothache. Otherwise, they maybe would’ve thought twice about developing a toothbrush that plays digital music through your teeth. Actually, it sounds like a neat device. The idea is to entice kids to brush for the proper amount of time (two minutes) by playing a two-minute song while they brush. The twist is that the sound waves for the song are transmitted through a transducer on the toothbrush, traveling from the teeth to the jawbone and on to the middle ear. In other words, the music plays in your head - no one else can hear it! This hygiene gadget is called Tooth Tunes. No official word on when it might be available.

Hasbro’s ‘Tooth Tunes’ — we-make-money-not-art.com

Virtual Girlfriend

February 24, 2005

For you lonely hearts out there, you can now breathe a sigh of relief because you can forego single life and start a relationship with a virtual girlfriend. A company called Artificial Life has released a mobile phone “game” called V-girl that serves as a virtual girlfriend. Her name is Vivienne, and she reportedly carries out many of the same social interactions via mobile phone that you might expect from a real person. Much like a real life girlfriend, a virtual girlfriend isn’t free, requiring a monthly subscription fee through most wireless carriers. Lest some of you girls feel slighted, a virtual boyfriend is supposed to be in the works.

V-girl by Artificial Life

Shark Deflector

February 22, 2005

So I’ve had an irrational fear of sharks ever since seeing the movie “Jaws” at a very early age. Fortunately, I live in Tennessee, a state which has recorded very few shark attacks over the years. Actually, zero shark attacks to be exact. Yet I’m still a bit nervous about a great white getting frisky, adjusting to fresh water, and swimming up river to get me in a fresh water lake. Like I said, it’s an irrational fear. Anyway, a device made by an Australian company is quickly gaining in popularity as a means of protecting divers, surfers, and anyone else against sharks. It’s called Shark Shield, and it sends an electrical current through the water that causes severe discomfort in sharks, causing them to swim away before attacking. According to the makers of Shark Shield, it affects no other marine life and does no lasting damage to sharks. I haven’t decided if it’s worth the investment in a Shark Shield to deal with my fears here in Tennessee. Besides, it’s not designed to repel alligators, and I saw the movie “Alligator” at an impressionable age too. Maybe I just need one of those bear suits…

Divers Embrace Anti-Shark Device — CNN.com

The Promise of Network Magic

February 21, 2005

Anyone who has set up and maintained a home network knows how much of a pain it can be getting several computers with potentially different operating systems, or at least different versions of the same operating system, to get along and behave with one another. Your average computer user who simply wants a wireless Internet connection doesn’t necessarily want to have to learn or worry about WEP keys and port settings. Enter Network Magic, a promising new software package that aims to take the drudgery out of home network administration. Right now Network Magic appears to be limited to Windows PCs, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see multi-OS support in the near future. Sounds like a promising product!

The Family is the Network — engadget.com

Tetris Enters the Real World

February 18, 2005

For all you Tetris fans out there, now you can play the addictive puzzle game in the real world. Tetris Tower 3D is a vertical table-top game roughly similar to Connect 4 in that you drop puzzle pieces from the top of the game where they slide down to interlock with other pieces. Porting a purely software game to the physical world can be tricky, but it sounds as if they got it right with Tetris Tower 3D…check it out!

Tetris 3D — Firebox.com

Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard

February 10, 2005

OK, this is one of the coolest gadgets I’ve ever seen. It’s a little Bluetooth device about the size of a cigarette lighter that projects an image of a keyboard onto a surface, and allows you to tap on the virtual keys to type. In other words, you can turn any flat surface into a wireless “keyboard” for your handheld device. Check out the full review by following the link below.

iTECH Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard — A Real Taste of Virtual Reality!! — Dave’s iPAQ

Low Rider Ban

February 9, 2005

And you probably thought I was talking about cars. Wrong! In a bold move to show just how concerned they are at solving the tough problems that plague the state of Virginia, the state’s House of Delegates just passed a bill to ban low-rider pants that purposely show your underwear. Violators of the new law will have to pay a $50 fine if caught wearing low-rider pants. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the goofy pants that typically reveal a few inches of underwear, but I’ve never thought of them as “lewd or indecent,” as the Virginia lawmakers have determined. I’ve seen worse. Can you truthfully say that low-riders are any more fashionably offensive than the parachute pants of the 80’s? I think not. Just as I’d like to see a national crackdown on frivolous lawsuits, I’d also like to see a crackdown on frivolous legislation. Virginia lawmakers should be flogged for wasting the taxpayer’s money passing such a bill. You can’t legislate fashion or fads.

Bill Sets Fine for Low-Riding Pants — CNN.com

The World’s Smallest Web Site

February 7, 2005

If you’ve never seen this, take a look. It’s guimp, the “ORIGINAL world’s smallest web site.” Every screen on the site is 18x18 pixels. To give you a feel for how small this is, standard icons in Windows are 32x32. What makes the site particularly interesting is how it includes numerous arcade games in the unbelievably tiny 18x18 format. For example, there are without a doubt the tiniest Space Invaders and Pac-Man games you’ll ever see, and you can actually play them in your Web browser. There is also a blog, a Web cam, and other goodies. Check it out!

guimp : The Original World’s Smallest Web Site

Losing an Accent

February 7, 2005

This is an issue I’ve struggled with to some degree my whole life, and only as an adult did I finally reconcile that a person’s accent tells a part of their personal history that they shouldn’t necessarily try to hide. Born and raised in Tennessee, I’ve had a southern accent that fluctuated from very strong to almost unnoticeable at times throughout my life. Several of my close friends in high school and college were from other places, and in hanging around them I adopted somewhat of a neutral accent. I doing so, I learned how to turn my southern accent on and off. It wasn’t until I moved to Arizona for a couple of years and returned to Tennessee to visit that I truly realized how strong my accent had been. Now that I’ve moved back to Tennessee I’ve stopped worrying about it so much, although I have to admit to toning down my accent when traveling outside of the south.

I bring this up because a new class taught by a Kentucky theater group offers to teach kids from Appalachia how to lose their accents. Fortunately, the class is designed to teach kids how to speak without an accent for acting purposes, as opposed to trying to rid them of their accents in general. While it can be valuable to minimize an accent in some scenarios, I like the fact that our personal histories are reflected to some degree in our speech patterns. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!

Class Seeks to Rid Kids of Appalachian Accents — CNN.com

$100 Portable PC

February 5, 2005

No, it’s not a reality yet, but the founder and chairman of the MIT Media Lab, Nicholas Negroponte, wants to see it become one. Mr. Negroponte is planning to start a company that produces a $100 portable PC initially for educational purposes in emerging markets such as China. He plans on requiring a minimum order of one million PCs, so don’t expect to pool together a few friends and buy in bulk. Even if the $100 PC doesn’t show up in CompUSA in the near future, the technology that ultimately makes it possible will likely trickle down to traditional PCs at some point. It will be interesting to see what kinds of tradeoffs have to be made to reach such an aggressive price point.

The Hundred-Buck PC — Red Herring

Mobile Phone for Pets

February 4, 2005

I realize I’ve been posting a lot of serious stuff lately, so allow me lighten things up a bit. I’ve witnessed firsthand how crazy people can get treating their pets like humans but even I was a little surprised at PetsMobility, the first mobile phone service for pets. That’s right, a mobile phone service for pets! You strap a compact, specially designed little phone onto Spot’s collar, and the phone auto-answers when you dial it. Then you can talk away to your pet and hear them bark/growl/meow/drool/etc. in return. There’s even a “Call Owner” button on the device, which presumably allows your pet to call you back. Getting away from the conversation part of the PetsMobility service, they also have plans for a device with a GPS tracking chip and a fiber optic camera. Now they’re starting to make some sense!

PetsMobility

The Death of Tolerance

February 3, 2005

“What is tolerance? – it is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly – that is the first law of nature.” – Voltaire

Somehow in recent years the concept of tolerance has been turned on its head and deemed a negative. Make no mistake - tolerance is the key to any civilized society; the oil in the sprocket of humanity, if you will. Apparently some people have come to believe that tolerating another person is somehow equivalent to agreeing with or endorsing that person’s lifestyle. This is in no way what tolerance is about. Tolerance is about following the age-old credo, live and let live.

It is absolutely possible to explain to your children that you may disagree with another person’s lifestyle but as a participant in a free society you owe it to that person to allow them to live freely without intrusion from you or the government. When I talk about disagreeing with someone’s lifestyle, I’m obviously not suggesting for anyone to be tolerant of criminal activities. However, to get right to the point, I am suggesting a heavy dose of tolerance for homosexuals, since they seem to be the group that receives the most intolerance of late. You say you disagree with homosexuality. Fine. More power to you. But that has nothing to do with tolerance and letting a person live their life in a free society.

The real issue here is self-righteousness, in that some people feel the need to demonize others so that they appear more holy. They do this under the lame banner of “family values.” If you want to come out against an issue that is truly a problem for “family values,” come out against divorce. So many people are expending energy to stop gay marriage when they should be working to keep heterosexual marriages together (the 50% divorce rate in America is an embarrassment). Gay people are not a threat to anyone’s family, and tolerating them won’t make your kids turn gay.

In closing, the beautiful thing about tolerance is that you get what you give. If you’re struggling with the concept of letting someone live their life as they see fit, keep in mind that by freeing them you are ultimately freeing yourself. Yeah, I know that sounds hokey, but try it and you’ll see what I mean. And while you’re at it, please leave the innocent cartoon characters alone!

Tolerance Talk Flares After Cartoon Flap — CNN.com

Mambo

February 3, 2005

A few people have inquired about how I built my new Web site, and the answer lies in a content management system (CMS) called Mambo. I got tired of my pure HTML/CSS site getting stale, so I started investigating CMS options. I used PostNuke and e107 to help build sites for some friends of mine, and finally settled on Mambo as my favorite option for my own site. If you’d like to learn more about Mambo, here’s the link: www.mamboserver.com. Mambo is open source, and therefore entirely free. It’s also relatively easy to setup and get started with a new site; all it really requires is mySQL and PHP on your Web server. If you’d like to investigate CMS software in general, check out www.opensourcecms.net - it is an awesome site where you can actually try out each different CMS application.

It’s Fun to Shoot People

February 3, 2005

I realize that the military has an incredibly different mindset than the civilian world, and most of us who haven’t experienced it will never fully understand what it means to face the reality of death on a daily basis. However, you have to at least expect that our more rambunctious soldiers, especially generals, don’t blurt out incredibly callous things at press conferences such as, “it’s fun to shoot some people.” Especially when we are in the midst of a messy war that we started under sketchy pretenses, and our desired image as liberators has suffered serious blows.

I don’t expect soldiers to be PR savvy, and in all honesty I’m really not that offended by what Lt. General James Mattis said. If he truly enjoys killing people, then I want him in the military. I’m thankful he’s in the military! People say you should enjoy your work, and it sounds as if he’s found a good fit. It’s unfortunate timing, however, to make a flippant remark like that given the fact that we already look more like aggressors rather than liberators in much of the world’s eye. Stating publicly that it’s “a hell of a hoot” killing Iraqis and Afghans is just dumb. Even if it’s true.

Marine General: It’s ‘Fun to Shoot People’ — CNN.com

Learning from History

February 1, 2005

I realize that history is often considered a bad word in today’s political climate, but there are remarkable parallels between a news story from 1967 and the similar story unfolding in Iraq right now. Granted, history doesn’t ALWAYS repeat itself, but this should make us a little wary of how fast we deem the Iraqi elections a smashing success. I think guarded optimism, at best, is in order.

U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote — Washington Monthly

Open Source Board Game

January 31, 2005

As someone who has an interest in designing games of all kinds, I found it interesting that someone has now offered a board game under an open source license. Granted, games like Checkers and Chess are already probably considered open-source by definition, but I’m not aware of anyone creating a new game under an open source license. The game is called Dugi, and it’s somewhat of a cross between Checkers and Chess. It sounds very simple to learn and play, but differs from Chess and Checkers in some unique ways that could make the strategy tricky. The game’s creator, Andrew Dubber, includes information about how to create the Dugi game board and what to use as game pieces. Have fun!

The First Open-Source Board Game — The Wireless Blog

Gospel Music According to John

January 31, 2005

Oh my, this is shocking. I’m not even going to waste your time with a smart comment of my own. Just play the song and read along with the lyrics. When you’re finished, contemplate the fact that this man rose to become the Attorney General of the United States. That’s right, Lawyer #1 for the whole country. Everybody has a right to pursue a hobby or career no matter how kooky they are or bad they suck at it, but John Ashcroft’s music really pushes the envelope on this theory. I’ve heard a consistent message from the neo-conservatives that tolerance is now a bad word. I’m starting to understand why!

‘Blessed Be That City’ by John Ashcroft — The Smoking Gun

An Impressive Survival Story

January 28, 2005

“Urination and a carload of beer saved my life.” Not many people can say that with a straight face. In fact, I’m only aware of one guy who was crafty enough to escape from a precarious situation by consuming 60 bottles of beer and urinating his way out of his avalanche covered car. It happened in the Slovak Tatra mountains in eastern Europe, where some places were hit with over 10 feet of snow in 24 hours. Simply digging out the snow wasn’t enough, so Richard Kral started downing beer and melting snow the natural way. He was found drunk and staggering four days after being buried in his car by the avalanche. So the next time a bartender cuts you off and tells you that you’ve had enough, politely explain that you’re drinking in case of an emergency.

Man Peed Way Out of Avalanche — Ananova.com

The Media and American Credibility

January 24, 2005

I ran across an interesting article about how the American media has essentially abandoned the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prison abuse story, and instead focused on significantly less important stories such as Britain’s Prince Harry wearing a Nazi costume to a party. Don’t get me wrong, Prince Harry was a fool for wearing that costume. And I’m not suggesting that wallowing in our mistakes day in and day out is somehow fulfilling. But the Abu Ghraib torture and abuse situation did unbelievable damage to our credibility around the world. Burying the story and pretending it was all about a handful of rogue soldiers does nothing to rebuild that credibility

This has nothing to do with you being for or against President Bush or the war in Iraq. It has to do with you caring about the general perception of the U.S. Maybe you don’t care about that either, but if that’s the case, then don’t get upset when other countries refuse to back us in the future. We cannot talk about flying the banner of freedom and democracy around the world while turning a blind eye to our own transgressions. It requires very little effort to do a little reading and find that Abu Ghraib was much worse than a few soldiers “having a good time,” as one popular radio host has alleged. Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr. is the tip of the iceberg in these events, but he will likely be one of the only people punished. You and I will suffer as our stature as defenders of freedom continues to erode.

On Television, Torture Takes a Holiday — The New York Times (no archived copy)

$1 Million Fairy Tale Treasure Hunt

January 24, 2005

Man, I should’ve thought of this. The perfect marketing plan for making any book instantly successful: make a million dollars worth of custom jewelry, hide it around the country, and place clues to its whereabouts in the pages of your book. If anyone would like to donate a million dollars in custom jewelry for my next book, please inquire. In the meantime, Michael Stadther wrote a fairy tale children’s book titled, “A Treasure’s Trove,” that uses precisely this sales strategy. Mr. Stadther oversaw the creation of a dozen custom jeweled pieces worth a total of one million dollars. Within the pages of his book lie hints to a puzzle that leads to each of the prized valuables. So far his strategy has worked brilliantly. Pretty neat way to get a self-published book on the map.

$1 Million Treasure Hunt Hidden in Pages of Fairy Tale — CNN.com

Most Depressing Day of Year Arriving

January 19, 2005

I bet you thought this was going to be a political statement. Well, think again. According to a formula by a researcher at Cardiff University, Monday, January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. While January is widely regarded as the most depressing month of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere, this new formula pinpoints January 24th as the single most depressing day. Factors accounted for in the formula include bad weather, post holiday blues, post holiday debt, and failed resolutions, to name a few. Mark this day on your calendar and plan on getting outside and doing something fun, even if it’s cold and depressing.

‘I Don’t Like Monday 24 January’ — BBC News

Darth Tater

January 19, 2005

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. It was inevitable that Darth Vader would be combined with Mr. Potato Head to form the most sinister starchy vegetable the universe has ever known. Hasbro just unveiled Darth Tater, a Darth Vader version of its popular Mr. Potato Head toy that will be released to stores next month. Darth Tater is being rolled out to help promote the upcoming and final installment of the Star Wars double trilogy, “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.” No word on whether Yams Solo, Spud Skywalker, or Parsnip Leia toys will come to fruition to challenge Darth Tater’s dark powers.

Darth Tater: The Dark Side of Mr. Potato Head — CNN.com

Martin Luther King on War

January 17, 2005

Almost forty years after a Martin Luther King Jr. speech on the Vietnam War, the words seem as if they could have been spoken today. Most of us understand that a world without war is in all likelihood an ideal that humankind will never be able to attain. But we must be vigilant in making absolutely sure that war is avoided in all but the most extreme circumstances, and that we enter into conflict for just reasons. Dr. King understood that we have the power to change our priorities, and in turn the world’s priorities, but we must lead by example.

MLK Jr. In His Own Words — AlterNet.org

Canadian Politics & Pizza

January 17, 2005

As if Canada doesn’t already seem to be an order of magnitude more laid back than the U.S., even their political scandals are uniquely different. Here in the U.S., our politicians get run out of town (sometimes) for accepting bribes, organizing call girl rings, murdering opponents, and tinkering with election results. But Canada’s latest seedy political scandal involves something much more shocking - Italian food. Canadian immigration minister Judy Sgro recently resigned over allegations that she agreed to help a pizza shop owner avoid deportation in exchange for “pizza, garlic bread, etc.” Come on Ms. Sgro, you’ve gotta match the reward with the risk! Any American politician worth her salt would’ve turned the guy’s entire family into indentured servants and figured out a way to get some pharmaceutical kickbacks thrown into the deal, not to mention tiramisu for life. If you’re going to be dishonest, please learn from your neighbors to the south and make it count - we’re here to help.

Canada minister in pizza scandal — BBC News

Killer Whale Lands on Kayak

January 14, 2005

You’ve gotta love those Powerade commercials where they pull a few visual tricks to show an athlete performing a crazy, usually impossible stunt. The latest, which I think is only airing in Japan, shows a killer whale landing on and capsizing a kayak. Obviously, there’s little chance of survival from such a brutal blow, but sure enough, a few moments later the kayaker resurfaces and rights his craft to the disbelief of onlookers. The effect works perfectly in the video, just don’t expect a swig of Powerade to really save you from a 15,000 pound breaching killer whale.

Kayak Attack — Snopes.com (no archived copy)

Feds Crack Down on Ghettopoly

January 12, 2005

If you haven’t heard of it, Ghettopoly is a board game similar in many ways to Monopoly except themed around inner city crime. You can think of it as gangsta Monopoly. Not surprisingly, minority leaders have been against the game from its inception because of racial stereotypes and other potentially offensive content. Of course, this gave the game immediate press coverage and it has actually sold fairly well. I watched all this unfold with frustration after creating two games (Inc. and Tall Tales) that don’t play on shock value, and personally finding out how difficult it is to market a game in an era where toy and game companies are slaves to branding. But that’s another story.

What is interesting about the Ghettopoly game is that its creator is now being sued by Hasbro for a trademark violation. This is surprising to me because Monopoly itself has a shady history all its own, and I was under the impression that it had entered the public domain after it was revealed that the game was stolen from its original creator decades ago. Hence all the goofy localized YouNameIt-opoly games you see everywhere. It should be interesting to see if Hasbro has a leg to stand on in attacking Ghettopoly.

For more information on the sordid history of Monopoly, check out the Anti-Monopoly Web site at www.antimonopoly.com. The creator of the site and the game Anti-Monopoly, Ralph Anspach, has a great book for sale on the site that chronicles the history of Monopoly - it’s called “The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle.”

Feds Seek To Destroy ‘Ghettopoly’ — The Smoking Gun

American Red Cross Tsunami Disaster Relief

December 29, 2004

If you’re interested in helping contribute to and support the victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in East Africa and South Asia, Amazon.com is making it possible to donate directly through them to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. So far Amazon.com has collected over $2.5M to support the tsunami victims, which is going toward providing medicine, clothing, food, and shelter.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief — Amazon.com

It’s a Wonderful Life in 30 Seconds

December 27, 2004

This is one of the coolest Flash animations I’ve seen in a while. Angry Alien Productions makes 30 second versions of famous movies, and replaces all the actors with bunnies. I know, it sounds a bit strange, but trust me, the end result is awesome. They now have Frank Capra’s holiday classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” up for viewing, but I also highly recommend watching the Angry Alien version of “Jaws,” which is also available on their site. Enjoy!

It’s a Wonderful Life in 30 Seconds — Angry Alien Productions

Documenting the Fear of Santa

December 25, 2004

What better way to celebrate Christmas than to laugh at the misery of children? Not really, but this gallery of kids who are scared of Santa Claus is nevertheless a funny little diversion. Merry Christmas!

Scared of Santa Photo Gallery — SouthFlorida.com

Goats and Chickens for Christmas

December 23, 2004

If you thought Halo 2, an Epson PictureMate printer, or a shiny new iPod was the ultimate Christmas gift, think again. Oxfam Unwrapped is an initiative based in London that allows people to purchase goats, chickens, tree seedlings, and education to assist people in areas of famine around the world. It’s a powerful and unique way to give an original gift and make a practical donation. The gift recipient receives a card explaining the gift, and the gift itself is a goat, a brood of chickens, tree seedlings, or teacher training for needy people in various parts of the world. Unfortunately, Oxfam Unwrapped is not accepting any additional Christmas gifts at this time, but you can still donate directly to Oxfam by clicking here.

This Year’s Must-Have Gift: A Goat — CNN.com

Turkey Waste Power Plants

December 17, 2004

Talk about breaking our dependence on oil for power generation, a power plant in Minnesota will soon begin burning turkey excrement to generate power for 55,000 homes. So as you carve up that gobbler at Christmas dinner, think about how that same turkey could also be powering your home in the near future!

Clean Power From Turkey Droppings? — MSNBC News

An Excellent Gift Idea

December 14, 2004

Looking for a “comfort” gift for that special single man in your life? Then look no further than the “lap pillow,” which simulates the bottom half of a kneeling woman. It’s not as kinky as it sounds. The idea is to recreate the primal need that kids have to lay their heads on their mothers’ laps. Except in this case, we’re talking about full-grown single men, not kids. Apparently it’s a hit in Japan. But then again, what isn’t?

Japanese Men Lap Up New Comfort — BBC News

The Society for Handheld Hushing

December 9, 2004

Oh man, have I been waiting for this! No longer will you have to settle for nudging your friend/spouse and just rolling your eyes the next time some loudmouthed fool insists on talking on their mobile phone like it’s a megaphone. Not too long ago I was in the waiting room of a doctor’s office and got to enjoy hearing a woman discipline her kids remotely for 20 solid minutes. And then on a flight recently some moron was going on and on about where he should eat once he landed and met up with the moron on the other end of the phone. Thank the sweet heavens for The Society of Handheld Hushing! I’m printing some cards right now to bust out on my brother because he’s a terminally loud walk and talker. The link below takes you straight to a PDF file for printing.

SHHH! - The Society for Handheld Hushing

Sun CEO Tricked by Hoax

December 9, 2004

Just a few days after I received the same photo and forwarded it to a few friends, Sun CEO Scott McNealy showed a photo during a speech, and the photo turned out being a hoax. It’s a black and white 1950’s era photo with a man standing in front of a huge electronic gadget with all kinds of big gauges and a huge steering wheel. The hoax comes into play because a caption was added to the photo that stated it was the home computer of the future as envisioned in “Popular Mechanics” magazine in 1954. In reality, the picture shows a mock-up of a nuclear submarine control room. It’s a great hoax, and still funny even when you find out the truth.

Internet Hoax Hoodwinks McNealy — CNET News

Why College Football Sucks

December 6, 2004

Any team sport that doesn’t culminate in a tournament to determine the best overall team is a suck sport. Period. It seems as if this time of year every year there is a team or two and a bunch of fans whining about the BCS system and how unfair it is. The BCS calculation isn’t the problem, it’s the lack of a playoff tournament system in college football.

I realize I’m far from the first person to share this piece of wisdom. But I may be one of the few people to say that it’s ultimately the fault of all the fans who continue to support a sport whose governors refuse to do the right thing. All it would take is an extra week or two on the schedule to add a four game playoff. Then the margin of error on the BCS calculation can only screw over the fifth or sixth place team, not the third or fourth. In other words, you’d probably eliminate the scenario of an undefeated team ending up on the outside looking in. How many times have five or more teams finished undefeated? No one would cry too much over a team missing out on a shot at the championship if they’re sitting in fifth place with a loss or two.

For some reason the geniuses in charge of college football insist on maintaining the idiotic history of a bunch of random bowl games as opposed to a legitimate playoff system. I think a good solution is to apply the same football system to basketball. Imagine a March Madness like this: 64 teams play in 32 random games around the country, and the winner of just one of the games is designated as the national champion. No more of those messy brackets and Cinderella stories. No more Sweet 16, Elite 8, etc. Just one weekend where every game is meaningless except one. I think this idea has some potential!

BCS Leaves Cal and Auburn Feeling Unfulfilled — FOXSports.com

Biodegradable Mobile Phone Covers

December 6, 2004

This is one the neatest technological achievements I’ve heard about in a while - a polymer that looks like any other plastic but biodegrades into soil when thrown away. What is so cool about it is that scientists at the University of Warwick in Great Britain have already designed a mobile phone cover out of this plastic that includes a a built-in sunflower seed. So when you’re done with the cover, bury it in the ground and it turns into a sunflower! How cool is that? Motorola and other mobile phone makers are looking into using the polymer in their phones as early as next year. Could we eventually see a BlackBerry device that actually turns into blackberries when you retire it from service?

From Cell Phone to Sunflower — CNN.com

Drunk Talk Blocker

December 3, 2004

OK, this is cool. For those of you who routinely get soused and then make embarrassing drunken phone calls to ex’s, the boss, etc., there is now a new service to eliminate the problem. Australia’s Virgin Mobile offers a service that allows you to block calls to a particular number until 6:00am the following day. So before a night of heavy drinking, you dial 333 plus the number of your annoying boss, and you won’t have any risk of losing your job the next day thanks to an aggressive late night drunk talk call. The 25 cent fee is a small price to pay for job security!

Cell Phone Hangs Up On Drunken Dialers — CNet News

Blogging for the Masses

December 3, 2004

Apparently Web logs (blogs) are no longer limited to nerd authors and political pundits. Microsoft has a new service in the works called MSN Spaces, which allows MSN users to share photos, text journals, and favorites lists. One of the neat things about MSN Spaces is how it ties in to MSN Messenger, alerting people in your Messenger contact list when a new blog entry has been posted. If you’d rather not have the Microsoft brand tied to every bit of computing you do, other blog services abound, such as Google’s free Blogger.com service.

Microsoft Joins the Blogging World — CNN.com

High Times in D.C.

November 29, 2004

Don’t expect the Constitution or common sense to prevail in the rethinking of marijuana prohibition as it goes before the U.S. Supreme Court. Never mind that study after study has proven that marijuana is one of the least dangerous recreational drugs, and more importantly, one of the most effective medicinal drugs. Also ignore the fact that we are inundated with beer commercials on television, while alcoholism and drunk driving deaths remain enormous social problems in this country. And please don’t take into consideration the zillions of Americans, including children, who are addicted and/or otherwise overprescribed “mood enhancing” drugs.

Since I’ve asked you to ignore all those other things, let’s look at marijuana use from another perspective. If you limit the discussion to adults, which is all I’m suggesting, marijuana use is a personal decision that only affects the user. While it’s true that you could become a raving addict of any drug and go on a robbery spree, we already have laws against robbery. And yes, you could emotionally hurt people who are close to you and who care about you. But alas, we can’t write laws to punish breaking someone’s heart - think of all the high school dating arrests if this was possible! My point is that we shouldn’t attempt to legislate behavior where an individual can only hurt him or herself. In the case of marijuana, the situation is even stranger because the individual could absolutely be helping him or herself in dealing with pain, nausea, etc. from a disease.

And finally, before you go getting self righteous on me, the only drugs I’ve ever done in my life are alcohol (my wife makes awesome martini’s) and caffeine. I’ve seen all kinds of drug use up close and personal in my family, so I’m far from ignorant of the potential negative effects. I just don’t think we’re solving anything with the naive, puritanical, inconsistent, and heavy-handed policies we currently have toward illegal drug use, especially in regard to marijuana.

Supreme Court to Weigh Medical Marijuana Laws — CNN.com

Answering the Tough Questions

November 29, 2004

A true deconstruction of racially divisive issues could be underway thanks to a humorous Web site that attempts to answer very politically incorrect questions such as why old people drive big cars and why white guys can’t pull off wearing purple suits. This is the kind of research I’d be targeting with federal grant money!

Politically Incorrect Questions Tackled — Yahoo! News (no archived copy)

Science Textbook Disclaimers

November 25, 2004

I may do an essay to dig further into the whole creationism versus evolutionism issue, but for now I’d like to share some helpful stickers you may want to print and adhere to all of your favorite science books. Make sure to send the link below to your local school board officials so that they may benefit from the wisdom and place some of these on science textbooks. Be sure to read past the first couple of stickers or you’ll miss the point.

Disclaimer Stickers for Science Textbooks

Happy Thanksgiving

November 25, 2004

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! To celebrate the occasion, below is a link to an urban legend relating to the holiday. So kids, sneak a turkey neck out of the Thanksgiving feast, carefully place it on an unsuspecting napper, and then watch bedlam ensue. Fun for the whole family!

The Gobbler — Snopes.com (no archived copy)

Our Embarrassing Leaders

November 22, 2004

Just how bad is our American leadership when a ridiculously intrusive provision is included in a major piece of legislation and no one knows how it got there? The legislation is an omnibus spending bill that is necessary to keep the federal government functioning since our elected officials are apparently incapable of drafting a reasonable budget in a normal timeframe. The provision in question allows for two committee chairmen to view the tax returns of any American. That’s right, two of our elected civil servants, or their agents, will have the ability to take a peek at any of our tax returns without any legitimate IRS provocation.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, everyone is suddenly confused as to where the provision came from. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, from my home state of Tennessee, calls the provision “indefensible.” If you felt so strongly about it, why did you pass it? Hmmm, could it be that you don’t read half the legislation that you pass? Come on idiots, bills don’t write themselves. Maybe you could pin the old check bouncing scam on your wives, but this time that approach isn’t going to work. This whole situation is likely a combination of a J. Edgar Hooveresque attempt to pry just a little deeper into our private lives combined with pure laziness. I think our elected officials need to start writing book reports on the bills they pass. Or at least read the CliffsNotes.

Frist: Tax-Returns Measure Indefensible — CNN.com

Afghan Opium Trade

November 19, 2004

I never knew that Afghanistan accounted for 87% of the world’s opium supply, up from 76% in 2003. At least we’re helping their economy expand. So now all the talk is about how to put a stop to Afghan opium production because “fighting narcotics is equivalent to fighting terrorism.” Talk about a buzz kill - think of all the patriotic Americans who enjoy capping off a freedom fry binge with a heroin shooter. I suppose they’ll have to switch to a good old American alternative such as crystal meth. But I digress.

My real point is why we don’t help the Afghans organize and profit more from their drug trade? Narcotics are every bit as important to the functioning of the modern world as oil. If you don’t believe me, just ask your doctor. At least that’s what my television has been telling me. Anyway, I’ll admit to being a little fuzzy on the details, but my guess is we might be able to dice up the bandwidth on that Taliban oil pipe to make room for a little opium. Picture a tube of swirled toothpaste if you’re having trouble envisioning this. Then it’s just a matter of convincing the rest of the world that opium can lift your mood, improve your erection, and make your kids pay attention. Problem solved.

Afghan Heroin Production ‘Boom’ — CNN.com

Clinton’s Trailer Architecture

November 18, 2004

I was never a Bill Clinton fan, but I’ve grown to appreciate the guy a bit more in recent years. At any rate, I hate to give the Clinton bashers any ammunition, but this one is just too obvious to pass up. Today I checked out the Web site for the new Clinton Presidential Center and Library in Little Rock, AR, and the building looked very familiar. I knew I had seen something very similar before. A quick Google search later, and I found the photo I was thinking about. Check out the two links below and tell me there isn’t a connection!

The Clinton Presidential Center — ClintonPresidentialCenter.org

Redneck High Rise — Dave’s Redneck Photos

Internet Hunting - Really

November 17, 2004

Wow, this one is juicy - a gun connected to a computer on the Internet that allows remote visitors to aim it and fire at animals. It’s remote controlled hunting, and the owner of a ranch in southwest Texas is about to make it a reality. There will no doubt be some legal wrangling over this, but I’d rather approach it from a different perspective. Putting safety issues aside for a moment, I have to ask why a video game isn’t good enough if all you’re going to see is a grainy, choppy video feed of something moving in the brush, and then suddenly not moving. I am not at all comfortable with the notion of taking the reality out of something so intensely real…killing. There are plenty of video games that simulate killing if you feel the need to experience the rush virtually. Otherwise, go ahead and get your hands bloody with the real thing.

Then there’s the whole safety issue. I know we rely on technology every day for all kinds of things that could be dangerous, but do we really want guns to be remotely operated from thousands of miles away? Maybe this is a privacy issue and you can have as many remote control guns on your own property as you want, but I for one would not get near one. I saw Robocop - I know how this stuff turns out!

For my whole expanded theory on hunting in general, check out this essay I wrote many years ago: An Honest Look at Hunting. In the meantime, keep your safety on and watch where you click!

That Moose May Soon Be Just a Mouse Click Away — CNN.com

Homeland Security Secrecy Pledge

November 16, 2004

Ah, the government secrecy picture just keeps getting cloudier. The Department of Homeland Security is now requiring thousands of employees and contractors to sign an extremely rigid nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that protects a broad range of information that was previously open to public scrutiny. Should it not be a warning flag when people go out of their way to hide information that would otherwise be publicly accessible? Look, if information is sensitive to our national security just make it classified. Otherwise, keep it accessible. I think the real underlying question is this: will federal employees be able to talk about their fantasy football teams under this new NDA?

Homeland Security Employees Required to Sign Secrecy Pledge — WashingtonPost.com (no archived copy)

Maybe Madden Is Right

November 15, 2004

Many people know that Monday Night Football co-host John Madden isn’t big on flying. In fact, he doesn’t fly, and instead chooses to cruise around the country on a bus. Although Madden has his own reasons for not flying, there appear to be more reasons to justify taking a similar stance as the former Raiders coach. New secret laws add to the risk of terrorism the risk of being searched, detained, and potentially arrested by your own government for violations they don’t have to divulge. Let freedom reign!

The Arrival of Secret Law — Secrecy News, FAS.org

Fuzzy Voting

November 11, 2004

Forget about who won this election - I think it’s about time we demand a tangible record of every individual vote. Maybe we never expected elections to be as close as 2000 or 2004, but accuracy obviously matters a great deal. How can we ever trust an election when votes can’t be validated? And now there is apparently evidence that the encryption used in the source code for some of the voting machines can be easily hacked.

Back to the counting issue, imagine if the money in your bank account was considered “uncountable” at any time past the moment of deposit. There is no lack of technology for matching a vote with a unique person and securely storing it. I personally would like a printed receipt of my vote that I can use later to verify that it was counted. In fact, it’s crazy that we all can’t somehow access our complete individual voting records. I know, there are privacy issues, but all the same privacy rules apply to money. It’s no accident that we’ve mastered technologies to manage, access, and secure money, yet we vote by carving our candidate’s initials on a cave wall.

And don’t even get me started about private companies that make the voting machines and have clear partisan ties. You know, there’s a reason an umpire or referee never comes out and states who their favorite team is. If an NFL referee said which team he was for before the SuperBowl started, there would be an outrage. But let the CEO of the vote counting company come out for a candidate and we all go about our business like it’s no big deal. Priorities anyone?

No Appeal — Harper’s Magazine

Spanking in the Workplace

November 10, 2004

Yeah, I’m from Tennessee so I feel as if I can safely come out against the owner of Tasty Flavors Sno Biz for spanking his female employees when they made mistakes on the job. The owner actually required them to sign a statement giving him permission to “bust my behind any way he sees fit.” Now I like a good Sno-Cone as much as the next guy, but I don’t believe I’ll be doing business with Tasty Flavors if I happen to pass through Red Bank, TN. Of course, a sales manager at Sno-Cone HQ was quick to point out that the spanker in question was a “very Christian person.” Whatever.

Women Allege Boss Spanked Them for Errors — Yahoo! News (no archived copy)

10x10

November 10, 2004

Taking a brief departure from politics, a friend of mine put me onto a very innovative an unusual news site. It’s called 10x10, and the idea is that every hour the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale are posted. The words and pictures change every hour, so they result in a historical trail of important words and images. It’s a very unique approach to mining the Web for news and current events.

www.tenbyten.org

War Gaming with Iran

November 9, 2004

In an attempt to figure out viable options for dealing with Iran’s rapidly unfolding nuclear weapons program, The Atlantic magazine arranged a mock war game. The war game simulated various U.S. military options against Iran, and didn’t reveal any particularly positive outcomes. The consensus among experts is that we currently don’t have enough intelligence to realistically gauge options against Iran. Of course, lack of intelligence hasn’t stopped us from making rash military decisions in the past.

It’s important for all Americans to understand that Iran is a country with significantly more complex problems than Iraq. Not only that, but Iran is a country poised for a revolution from within, as their very young population continues to buck the heavy-handed Islamic government. A U.S. military offensive in Iran that is anywhere similar to the one in Iraq would likely have devastating consequences for both Iran and the U.S. Somehow, we as Americans need to remember that not every war is won on the battlefield. Unless we are prepared to militarily engage the majority of the Middle East, we simply must look at other alternatives to deal with Iran’s nuclear plans.

Mock War Game Shows Limited U.S. Options on Iran — NPR.org

Secede with Caution

November 9, 2004

In an attempt to rally against President Bush’s re-election, some outspoken members of the losing side have suggested that the blue states secede from the Union. It’s worth clarifying that some people, including Bill Maher, have made this suggestion in a humorous way. Apparently others are taking it a bit more seriously. Although I can understand the impulse to want to leave or otherwise sever ties with the portion of America that chooses fear over hope, blind faith over rational thought, etc., it’s time for those of us who truly love this country to get back to its roots…the Constitution.

First off, the Constitution makes no allowance for secession - that war has already been fought. Secondly, we already live in a country with a near perfect document that guarantees our individual freedom. The challenge is to make a bold and aggressive return to the principles of the Constitution, principles which both major U.S. political parties have largely forgotten. For this reason, and more, I am against both sides - we don’t need to slice the country in half nor do we need to strengthen “states rights.” If we ruthlessly applied the principles of the Constitution on a federal level, a great many of our issues would be resolved. Pre-emptive wars, gay marriage, abortion rights, the war on drugs, excessive taxation, political correctitude - these are all issues that have clear Constitutional answers. So stop all this secession talk and get to defending the real principles upon which this country is already based.

Blue States Buzz Over Secession — WashingtonTimes.com

Arctic Threatened

November 8, 2004

OK, so I know it’s now politically correct to say that global warming is all a bunch of bunk dreamed up by the tree-hugging left to limit American business expansion and pollution reform. But can we honestly continue to bury the issue as if it has zero merit despite significant evidence to the contrary? If we continue to stubbornly assume that there is no cause and effect between our lifestyles and global warming, we may miss an opportunity to start correcting the problem before it’s too late. Understand that I’m not saying I entirely buy into the idea of global warming myself, but I’ve heard enough to want to know more. And in a country that constantly talks about how precious our children are, you’d think we would care enough about their future to fully explore global warming and its potential ramifications for them.

Global Warming ‘Threat to Arctic’ — CNN.com

Clouding the Science of Evolution

November 7, 2004

Every so often the issue resurfaces. A group of religious zealots decides to challenge the teaching of science in a science class at a public school. I’m talking about evolution, which is a widely accepted scientific theory about how mankind evolved from simpler organisms over billions of years. This concept rubs some religious fundamentalists the wrong way because it doesn’t jive with their biblical explanation for the creation of man. It is not the job of the government in a free society to reconcile established scientific theory with the beliefs of a religious group.

The common argument is that evolution is just a theory, but in scientific terms a “theory” is a very serious thing. More specifically, it is a belief that has been verified by actual experimentation and/or observation. Can a scientific theory be questioned? Absolutely, but only on scientific terms. For example, some scientists disagree about whether dinosaurs were the distant ancestors of birds. The key here is that you can only question science with science. If an alternate scientific theory emerges that challenges evolution, then by all means let’s get it in the text books. But injecting a religious theory into a scientific text book is a disservice to the education of science.

For the record, there is an attempt to explain creationism in scientific terms but it requires several scientific leaps of faith, pardon the pun. It isn’t intellectually honest to work backward from a foregone conclusion to attempt to make the biblical story of creationism fit with science as we now understand it. Creationists are absolutely free to believe in creationism and denounce evolution in their personal lives, but they need to understand that the rest of us are striving for a public educational system that is based on rational thinking and the scientific method.

Wisconsin District to Teach More Than Evolution — CNN.com

The Pocket Constitution

November 4, 2004

As our re-elected President begins lavishly spending his newly earned “political capital,” keep tabs on policy changes with this handy Pocket Constitution. Far be it for me to make judgments on the constitutionality of Bush policies when you can take matters into your own hands. Enjoy!

The Pocket Constitution — Cato.org

Brain in a Dish Plays Game

November 4, 2004

Florida may struggle to figure out a voting system that is reliable, but they aren’t deficient in all areas of science. A Florida scientist has successfully created a “living computer” by arranging thousands of neurons extracted from a rat’s brain in a Petri dish, and then wiring them to a flight simulator. The brain cells began forming interconnections and were eventually able to learn how to control the F-22 jet in the flight simulator. This experiment holds a lot of promise for learning how the human brain carries out computations.

‘Brain’ in a Dish Flies Flight Simulator — CNN.com

Good To Be King

November 3, 2004

With the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election apparently in the books, I’d like to point out a book that every American should read. It’s called Good To Be King: The Foundation of Our Constitutional Freedom, written by Libertarian candidate for President Michael Badnarik. When asked about his motivation to write the book, Badnarik said, “I would like to thank our Founding Fathers for establishing a place where Liberty could flourish, and for documenting their revolutionary ideas in a way that speaks to me across two centuries.” Unfortunately, too many Americans are ignorant about the document that forms the foundation of our freedoms.

Good To Be King — Amazon.com

The Significance of Pain

November 1, 2004

There is a tendency in our modern culture to shield our children, and ourselves, from pain at every possible moment. While this certainly makes sense a lot of the time, we shouldn’t discount the significance of pain in helping us learn and ultimately shaping who we are. I strongly believe in the old adage, “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” As evidence, consider the article below about a 5 year-old girl who has a rare disease that prevents her from feeling physical pain. She faces some surprising challenges in life that should make us all appreciate the pain we suffer. Whether physical or emotional, pain and how we respond to it are often the building blocks of our character. I’m not saying this little girl can’t develop character, she will probably face her fair share of emotional pain, I’m just saying that she will have to work hard to overcome the lack of experience of physical pain - experience the rest of us mistakenly wish we didn’t have.

Girl with Rare Disease Doesn’t Know Pain — CNN.com

Beheaded Japanese Hostage & Article 9

October 30, 2004

You might have heard about a Japanese hostage, Shosei Koda, who was recently beheaded in Iraq. His killers claim the presence of Japanese troops in Iraq as their reason for kidnapping and killing the hostage. What you probably haven’t heard is that according to Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution, Japan has no business sending troops to Iraq. Here it is:

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

Why should Americans care so much about Japan’s Constitution? Because we wrote it! In 1947 the development of Japan’s Constitution was overseen by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur. At the time, the U.S. apparently believed in the notion of only going to war as a means of self-defense, so this concept was written into the new Japanese Constitution. Now over 50 years later, we have pressured Japan into breaking the rule we wrote for them by forcing their hand in joining the preemptive war in Iraq. And they have a beheaded hostage to show for it. I’m not taking any heat off the insurgents for actually killing Mr. Koda, but the U.S. has some responsibility in pressuring Japan’s involvement in Iraq despite their Constitutional restriction that we originally imposed on them.

Beheaded Japanese Hostage Found — CNN.com

Missing Explosives in Iraq

October 27, 2004

This week it was revealed that hundreds of tons of explosives are missing in Iraq. My question is, were we not just a bit safer with Saddam carefully guarding this stockpile, as opposed to it being in the hands of unknowns who are likely much less restrained? I know, that’s a traitorous statement to make in today’s political climate, but I don’t understand why these kinds of things aren’t challenged publicly every time the current administration talks about how much safer we are after destabilizing Iraq. Until the moment that Iraq is legitimately self-governing again, which may not happen for years, we are all less safe.

Disappearance of Explosives in Question — CNN.com

New Tom Waits CD

October 5, 2004

Where to begin? It’s so difficult to describe Tom Waits’ music to someone who has never heard it. So I won’t try. What I will try to do is to convince you to buy his new CD, Real Gone, because it doesn’t disappoint. Tom Waits figures out a way to push every one of his recordings in new and different directions. And for perhaps the first time in his music, he even recorded somewhat of a protest song with “Day After Tomorrow.” To learn more about Tom Waits, check out the Tom Waits section of this Web site.

Tom Waits - “Real Gone” — Amazon.com

When Does Life Begin?

October 4, 2004

Folks, this is one of the most important questions of our time. It undermines so many important issues, most notably abortion and stem cell research. I have long held the view that the abortion debate boils down to this one question: when does life begin? And very few people have seriously considered it our developed a reasonable answer. The main issue is to dispel the notion that the potential for something is the same as that thing. The potential for life is not the same as life. Nor is the potential for death the same as death. Otherwise, we’d all be walking corpses. I agree with the notion that life begins when a human can live on its own outside of the mother. Up until that point, the fetus is living off of its host (the mother), and is therefore afforded no rights separate from the host. A new set of human rights isn’t realized until the fetus can live on its own without the mother, at which point you can start calling it a baby. Now it’s up to the medical community to nail down an exact timeframe for the transition from dependent fetus to independent baby. Good luck! When Does Life Begin? — TechnologyReview.com

Shatner Scams Iowa Town

September 30, 2004

You’ve gotta give it to William Shatner for making the most of his somewhat obscure celebrity status. He recently spent a week faking a film shoot in Riverside, Iowa as part of a reality show about how a small town reacts to a Hollywood movie shoot. Clever idea. We’ll see if the end result ends up being as interesting as the original idea. William Shatner ‘Punks’ Iowa Town — MSN.com

Plummer, Tillman, and the NFL

September 30, 2004

The NFL showed poor judgment in disallowing Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer to keep a small decal on his helmet with Pat Tillman’s jersey number. Seeing as how the entire league made the exact same display a week ago to honor the fallen former NFL player turned Marine, it makes no sense to punish players for keeping the decal on an individual basis. The NFL claims the issue is their longstanding rule of not allowing personal messages on uniforms or helmets. But keep in mind that Cris Carter was allowed to display crosses on the backs of his shoes to promote his Christianity. Granted, this may be a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but the inconsistency of such a rule is annoying and unfortunate, especially in this case. Plummer to Remove Decal, NFL to Honor Tillman — FOXSports.com

The Fog of War

September 23, 2004

I regret that I didn’t see it sooner, but I just watched the documentary The Fog of War, which is essentially one big interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Forget all the partisan trash talking about Fahrenheit 9/11 - we only need to look back at the mistakes made in the Vietnam War to gain a clue as to what’s going wrong in Iraq. Considering that McNamara was the Secretary of Defense during the world’s most dangerous period militarily to date, I think his thoughts have some credibility that cross all political lines. Go see this movie!

The Fog of War — Amazon.com

Here, My Dear

September 18, 2004

As a big fan of both urban legends and Marvin Gaye, I couldn’t pass this one up. Legend has it that Marvin Gaye deliberately recorded the album “Here, My Dear” poorly so that it would sell badly, all because the royalties were going to his ex-wife. Fact or fiction? Snopes sorts it out. Here, My Dear — Snopes.com (no archived copy)

I’m Not Dead After All

September 17, 2004

Here’s a crazy story about a guy who called his daughter on her mobile phone at his own funeral. No joke, he was mistakenly thought to have died in a train accident, and found out about the confusion just in time to rattle his relatives at his funeral. Excellent timing! Who’s That in My Casket? — MSNBC.com

New Trashcan Sinatras CD

August 31, 2004

Stop reading right now, click this link, and buy the CD. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’d like to share with you the most underappreciated band of the last couple of decades, the Trashcan Sinatras. I’ve been listening to them faithfully since their first release, Cake, back in 1990. Their latest CD, Weightlifting, picks up right where they left off eight long years ago when they last released a CD (A Happy Pocket). The band is currently on a U.S. tour - be sure to catch them if you can. They’re so good. To learn more about the Trashcan Sinatras, check out the Trashcan Sinatras section of this Web site.

Trashcan Sinatras - “Weightlifting” — Amazon.com