SPACE

So a few weeks ago, I went into space. Actually, my camera went into space. With a friend from work, we constructed a spaceship out of a styrofoam container, camera and cellphone. We loaded some firmware on the camera to take different exposures on a 5 second repeating cycle, then the cellphone was set up to send GPS coordinates to a website. The first attempt was a failure because we had been short-changed on helium. But the second attempt got very good results. Here is a Google Earth model of our journey. The red indicates our calculated height, since the altitude range capped out at about 18k.
Check out the pics Here

 History with Lego

I was Googling and found the below Lego image, and cracked up. I posted the original (for those of you who with little knowledge of history). I've seen this Lego photography stuff before, and probably from this same photographer. Maybe I just missed this shot and now have renewed interest. Either way, its something I wish I did first. Here's a link to a flicker set that shows how he stages the shots.  Balakov




(The executioner in this image is an officer, shooting the VC leader who earlier that day, allegedly had families of police officers killed)

 Man-Eating Plants

Back in December, I bought a carnivorous plant kit. I thought it would be fun to try growing venus flytraps and whatever else. Those plants have always fascinated me, and I've rarely seen any good examples. So I thought I'd give it a shot.
The kit seems to be marketed to kids. And this is a mistake. I am a patient, technical guy, but realizing after reading the instructions, that I had to prepare the seed packets and wait two months before even planting, was a huge let-down.
So I waited... and then one day (my birthday actually), I was reminded to plant. Then.. I had to wait another month before noticing growth (these things take FOREVER).
I check every day... Looking for some minor sign of life. The seeds are like mustard seeds. Some almost too small to even see. But every day... nothing.

Until this morning! BEHOLD!!!

 Plane Safety

Bird strikes have become another popular topic of media in light of the recent crash of US Airways Flight 1549. Its surprising that we put a man on the moon in 1969, but in 2008 I still can't fly in an airplane without the threat of dying because we hit a fucking bird. So I put my lab-coat on, fired up my computers and started the 5 minute brain-fest that resulted in one of the most important inventions in recent technological history. I have devised an extremely scientific solution, using science, to combat the threat of birds engorging aircraft engines. Did I mention I used science?


I can only surmise that engineers far superior to me, have already come up with such a device. And that this solution is held up in patent-court by Various kitchen-appliance companies and Madonna (yeah, its an old reference.. deal with it).

 Election

So this morning I woke up and drove to work. Guess what? Terrorists weren't attacking. People weren't lining up to get abortions. Iraq didn't bomb us. Black people didn't riot and steal my bike.
I guess people of a certain political demographic were wrong. I wonder what other things they'll be proven wrong on in the coming days.

 New Macbooks!

I would like to take a moment of your time and share some of my hopes and dreams. In two hours Apple will be releasing a new line of Macbooks and Macbook Pros. Here is what I hope to see:
Blu-Ray support
LCD trackpad
GPS
8GB RAM capacity
Better multifunction remote
More USB ports
HDMI
Better graphics cards
Faster processor
Higher resolution display
Pony

The thing is guys, I'm now hearing that they are putting out SLOWER processors in the Macbook line, and compensating that by having a separate GC instead of using shared memory. Also, they are not releasing a 17" Pro model yet. AND are only offering glossy displays on all models. AND they are not upgrading the graphics cards, but stuffing two into the Pros and flipping between the slower/faster one for power savings (WTF?). Also the rumors about the $900 Macbook are apparently false. The cheapest offer is the $1300 one that's got a slower proc than the current model.
So lets see how accurate all this is in a few hours.

 iMilk

I just got a new iPhone. White. I found this app:


Makes me want to write an iHopethatsmilk app.

 South Carolina - Part 2

Georgia was neat, lots of shops and old streets. The humidity was thick. When I walked out of a building, my sunglasses instantly fogged to the point where I couldn't see through them at all. We also went to Charleston. I was very impressed by the architecture, especially the older, more plain looking buildings in disrepair. You can see the construction and materials, showing their authenticity is more than just a facade. The trip was a success. There is so much to see and do, one week isn't enough to satisfy every curiosity. I look forward to my next trip.

 South Carolina - Part 1

I'm in South Carolina this week. Its pretty neat seeing the east coast for the first time. Much different from the southwest. The weather isn't too tough to acclimate to. We lucked out and happened to be here when its pseudo-storming. Perfect for me, since there is rarely any rain, just clouds and wind (so far). Enough to stay cool. The high humidity is surprising, but easily tolerated with the current weather we're having. I kinda like it. We're going to Georgia today. The accents are supposed to be thick. Its strange how all TV and movies have "plain" accented speech, but these people apparently have trouble understanding. Though from what I'm told, not as much trouble as plain-speakers understanding them. In Kentucky, we stopped at the original restaurant of Col. Sanders (I teared up a bit. So.. beautiful). I still have yet to experience a Shoneys and also, Cracker Barrel. And I need to eat grits at some point. So many things in this strange, new land... One thing that is pretty damn awesome is boiled peanuts. They're fucking awesome. Like beans, but better and in a shell. I don't know if I can leave now. I'm addicted. Oh, and Forest Gump was filmed here. I jokingly made a Greenbow reference, and was told it was actually filmed here. How fucking sweet is that? We visited this huge tree that was used in the movie, and I looked up some other scenes. On to Georgia...

 Speeding

I wish people weren't so brainwashed into thinking speed is the only (or most important) factor that defines a drivers threat to others on the road. Drive to Minneapolis from Saint Cloud, and you'll see practically every car speeding. By the accepted logic on traffic safety, most should die in some fiery blaze of un-safety, but they don't.
I see sloppy driving all the time, sometimes right in front of police. No one gets pulled over for it unless the cop thinks they're drinking. So if you're driving a minivan in America during the day, feel free to run stoplights, roll through stops, make improper lane changes, not signal, turn into the outside lane, merge without looking, slam on the brakes when you become aware you need to turn, and park however the hell you want (as long as its in the right area). If you're driving a car perfectly and happen to go 6 mph over the limit you're unsafe and need to be punished by losing a weeks wages, because someone might run a red and you'll cause more damage to them (even though you could be on another road with a higher speed limit and hit the exact same situation).