Saturday August 11, 2007
Artificial Saturday
- Last week we met Blackle, who’s energy-savings claims were brought into question. So, does it save power? Answer: a rather complicated ‘maybe’. On a CRT, probably yes, on an LCD, probably no. (thx mkh)
- mika-rin’s photos. And by the way, you could do this, you know. Polaroid cameras, film, and scanners are really actually pretty cheap.
- My mom was just in a hospital here. Notice the woods right next door? Well, she was awakened every morning by a herd of muflon that hang out on the hospital grounds.
- Terrifying Chinese car crash-test videos: 1, 2.
- I have been reading with some interest Rob Galbraith’s Canon EOS-1D Mark III autofocus odysey. It seems that Canon’s brand new flagship $4,000 camera has some serious autofocus problems, and Canon’s response for the last two months has been silence. You might think that Nikon would take advantage and release that D3X they’ve been sitting on (by some accounts) since 2005, because there must be some pretty frustrated pros out there right about now.
- Ambient devices.
- ‘You can tell that Rudy Guiliani has read his Orwell.’
- “Cheat to Win” bracelet.
- Top secret, but I’ll share: The Myth of ‘perfect pitch,’ and how to get ‘it’.
- Fun with cell phones. OK, it’s overintellectualized fun.
- Let’s have some music videos! The Unicorns, I Was Born A Unicorn. Akon, Sorry (Blame it on Me). Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls (if you stick with this one it will reward you). Ornette Coleman, 1979. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Shimmy Shimmy Y’all. (RIP. True story: during a failed stick-up attempt on ODB and RZA, ODB took the would-be robber’s shotgun out of his hands and pointed it back at him.”) Freddie King, Goin’ Down. Fela Kuti, Teacher Don’t teach Me No Nonsense.
- List of artificial objects on the Moon.
- JM Colberg on perspective distortion. Click everything, especially the Monty Python video behind the “my brain hurt” link.
- Recommended text editors. I’m on a PC, so I don’t get BBEdit. I get by with TextPad, but it’s a little old school for me.
- Fix your scratched CD’s with a banana.
- “Science doesn’t work. No one told you because you’re so cute when you get into something.”
- Something totally shocking: Windows Vista is a complete clusterfuck. Can we all just get macs now please? (Answer: no.)
- Food porn: watermelon steak. Say, don’t I have a food blog around here somewhere? I should really update that.
- Prepare to shudder: 45-minute documentary about men who live with life-sized dolls. More here.
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The Muflon looks like they belong in the Mountains out in Montana or something.
Hi Alesh,
First comment – hope your mom is doing well.
Second comment – in one of those Chinese car crash tests, they had to disassemble the test dummy to get it out of the car afterward. This from a 40 mph crash. Food for thought (unless the food is from China also, in that case better just think twice & go hungry)….
Honzo~
She’s fine; I talked to her this morning. However, fwiw, she’s has most certainly not become a fan of socialized medicine as practiced by the Czechs.
The Chinese have a way to go with this stuff. I am encouraged by the recent demonstration of accountability seen in the execution of Zheng Xiaoyu that China will get its act together sooner rather then later.
好的. 等一会儿. — the blog of a friend of mine living in Beijing right now.
Speaking of socialized medicine, there’s a story in the online herald today about a doctor in N Miami Beach who practices anti-socialized medicine (my label for it). Same day service, cash paid in full, no insurance accepted….
Whoa – - that guy is awesome. I don’t know how his practice relates to a long-term solution for the USA’s health care insanity, but more power to him. “He drives a Honda Accord with an Obama bumper sticker.” Funny — I was all over the Obama website looking for a place to buy a bumper sticker without any luck.
Alesh, my understanding is that at the moment you can only get the stickers at his appearances. That may be old intelligence, though.
Speaking of China… did you hear about the executive in charge of all the Mattel toys (tainted with lead paint, that he bought from a close friend)?
He hung himself this weekend. He was found in one of his warehouses.
Must be strange to hang yourself in a large room filled with Tickle me Elmo’s.
Well, it was either hang himself, or eat a bowl of dog food, or brush his teeth, or just chew on one of his Elmo dolls for a while….