Just another weblog
What are motion cards and how do they work?
Motion cards are appearing everywhere these days. They have been around for some time, but have increased dramatically in the number of images on a card in recent years. Early versions only had two or three images, but new ones can hold enough images to simulate a couple seconds of video!
If you’ve EVER used Canon’s ZoomBrowser you’ll probably want to read this…
It appears that ZooomBrowser has a bug and will save photos with a “temporary” attribute assigned to them. When this happens, certain applications will refuse to load those photos. This is a known bug in Zoombrowser and the patch can be downloaded here. Futhermore, you can fix the “broken” files with this update application you can find here,
Yahoo plans to test RSS technology for its personalization tools, giving people the ability to automatically receive news and information feeds from third parties onto MyYahoo pages.
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has been known to strike a “yeeaaah baby” Austin Powers-esque pose. And on Monday, he’s doing just that in an old photo posted to a page in the company’s online mall.
The key to finding the photo? Type the words “old fart” into Amazon’s search box.
Cosmetic chemicals found in breast tumours
Preservative chemicals found in samples of breast tumours probably came from underarm deodorants, UK scientists have claimed.
Fake fog could defend nuclear plants
Clouds of artificial fog could be used to defend nuclear power stations against airborne terrorist attacks under proposals currently being considered in Germany.
Rackspace hires Gary Kofnovec as company’s new CFO
San Antonio-based Rackspace Managed Hosting on Monday announced that it has hired Gary Kofnovec to join Rackspace’s management as the company’s new chief financial officer.
Major New TiVo Service Offerings
“At the Consumer Electronics Show today, Mike Ramsay of TiVo announced three major new product offerings to come in the next year. First off there’s the DVD Recorders, HD DVR, and Home Networked Enabled Products. TiVo/DVD Recorder boxes have been out for a bit now but looks like the offerings will continue and there’s going to be new units by Pioneer. Second we have TivoToGo, where TiVo users with Home Media Option will be able to transfer files off their TiVo onto their PC and either play them locally or burn them to DVD. And finally there’s XM Radio for TiVo.”
Woman gets ‘tits out’ online for charity
A Somerset woman is getting her “tits out” to raise money for a multiple sclerosis (MS) charity.
Herbal medicine boom threatens plants
Natural remedies have become so popular that many wild plants are now being harvested to the point of extinction, say botanists
Webloggers upload digital doodles using smart pens
Smart pens have become the latest way to post messages to online diaries, or weblogs, while on the move.
My friend, Susan, sent me this:
While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. 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!
“New research out of the Harvard School of Public Health indicates that coffee may lower your risk of Type II Diabetes. Men who drank 6 cups of coffee a day lowered their risk by 50%, while womens risk dropped 30%. The release also includes audio discussions about the suprising findings.”
Microsoft Notebook: Microsoft has plans to take on … Apple?
The hand-held devices, called Portable Media Centers, will store and play back video, music and photos. Microsoft unveiled a prototype at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show, under the code name Media2Go. The company had originally hoped to see at least one of the devices on the market during the recent holiday season, but the first release is now expected in the second half of this year.
While on the air, David challenged me to produce a 5.25″ floppy disk and put it on the my webcam… so I did… SO THERE! 🙂
Carbs counted out: How they came to be the enemy
Ron Perry, 57, a mortgage banker in Lawrence, Kan., never counted calories, fat grams, points or anything else when it came to his diet. Until now.
Since I hadn’t been keeping up with the lander stuff, I had to get a crash coarse to maintain my “geek” image… here are some videos that distill everything down so you can get everything you need to know in a few minutes… 🙂
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/challenges.html
Britney Spears reportedly marries in Las Vegas
Pop star Britney Spears married a childhood friend from Louisiana in an early-morning ceremony, but quickly arranged to have it annulled, a source close to the singer told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Can’t lose with bargain DVD player, but low cost carries price
If you want to enjoy eating sausage, you probably shouldn’t watch sausage being made unless you’ve got a strong stomach.
Why do people tap on soda cans before opening them?
People tap on soda cans to avoid a soda explosion from a can that has been shaken up. Tapping may, in fact, decrease the likelihood of such an explosion, but a positive outcome is not guaranteed.
For Champagne Bubbles, Smaller Is Better
“During this holiday season you don’t need a special occasion to drink champagne. You can do it everyday, providing you use moderation and common sense. But did you know that champagne taste better when it has tiny bubbles? This is the result of a very serious study published by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and more recently found by the Discovery Channel. And why do you think champagne taste better when carrying smaller bubbles? The answer is pretty obvious. More bubbles are releasing the champagne’s flavor and aroma into your mouth. This summary gives you more details. In the mean time, let’s all drink champagne!”
In a nutshell, the Rejection Hotline is a number you can give out to somebody who asks for your phone number if you just don’t want to give out your real number. When they call the number, they hear our humorous Rejection Hotline recording and they are not-so-subtly informed of your non-interest.
Seattle: 206-376-9798
Houston: 713-866-6249
Chicago: 773-509-5027
etc… The whole list of numbers is here.
California Bans Front-Seat Computer Use
“As of January 1, 2004 the State of California has banned the use of notebook computers used anywhere in the front seat (PDF) of a moving vehicle. Previously, the ban applied just to TV sets. Even if your car-pooling front seat passenger is just doing some programming, you can be charged with a crime (AB 301). Thanks go to CA Assemblymember Sarah Reyes for this well meaning but overly broad piece of legislation.” The text is mercifully short, but still contains some tricky language; probably the meaning of “installed” at the very least needs to be clarified. Would a laptop affixed to a installed bracket count? Considering the complexity of modern automotive navigation/control systems (now sneaking into budget vehicles, too), it seems like a very fine distinction. The law would seem to ban handheld computers being used as navigation aids, too, or GPS devices with games, and very soon, nearly all cell phones.
Some restaurants choose smoking ban over renovations
The ordinance allows smoking only in dining areas and bars within restaurants that have been isolated by four walls or on patios. That’s in addition to outlawing smoking in most private workplaces
Final season arrives for ‘Sex’
Manhattan’s four sexy soulmates kick off their heels as HBO singles show airs the first episode of its last season on Sunday.
Run a Mailing List? Better Check the CAN-SPAM Law Tonight
I was just reading through some aspects of the CAN-SPAM law which goes into effect January 1, 2004, and realized that it is broadly applicable to normal email lists that have no ostensible commercial purpose.
First UPS buys Mailboxes, Etc… now this…
FedEx looks to e-deliveries with Kinko’s buyout
FedEx announced Tuesday that it would acquire Net-savvy business-services company Kinko’s in a $2.4 billion cash deal.
iPod Jr. Rumors Become More Substantial
“Rumors of a new, smaller, “iPodJr” have been floating around the Rumor Sites for a few weeks (as well a here at Slashdot). But now, the rumors have gained credibility and become more substantial. London’s Evening Standard reports today (30 Dec 03) that “Apple has announced a cut-price mini version” of the iPod, “costing 65 [~115 USD], which will be able to store 800 songs.” Despite the assertion that Apple “announced” the product, there is no mention of it at their official News Page or their product page for the iPod.”
What is the difference between a hardwood and a softwood?
As it turns out, a hardwood is not necessarily a harder material (more dense) and a softwood is not necessarily a softer material (less dense). For example, balsa wood is one of the lightest, least dense woods there is, and it’s considered a hardwood.
The famed Coyote Ugly Saloon has picked Austin’s Sixth Street for its newest location, the saloon announced today.
10 Ads The US Won’t See
“Some ads made by world’s leading advertising agencies for well-known brands will never be seen in the United States. The Gucci G-Spot turned out to be too risque, video for Drug-Free America was deemed too disgusting, Internet’s favorite Honda “Cog” commercial won’t air due to the high prices for a 2-minute spot, and Japanese commercials with American actors have contracts preventing the companies to run the same ads in the US. AdAge provides a link to the pictures and video (Windows Media .ASF format, alas) of the 10 best unaired commercials.” I can get the ASFs working under VLC.
I had my first drive failure today since 1988 or something. I knew it would happen sometime, but I typically turn over hardware so rapidly that I never have anything die on me. First there were random “clunking” noises… SMART was reporting that the drive was probably going to die soon as well… then the primiary spindle of my of home-office file server died on me about 30mins ago. The bad news is that I lost an 80gig drive… the good news is that that second drive is working correctly and I have most all my data migrated off to my new replacement server.
If you have a Linux file server, I highly recommend you implement SMART monitoring on your drives – its pretty cool. In fact, you can read about it in this month’s LinuxJournal. Great magazine. 🙂
Breadmakers craft low-carb versions of staff of life
Carb-crazed Atkins dieters’ cutback on starches has taken a bite out of the $6 billion bread business this year, and breadmakers are responding with attempts at low-carb breads.
Thinking about those stock options you have from your employer? Read this if you need to undestand them better:
Ever wonder which John Cusack character you’re most like? Well, wonder no more! Take this quick test to see who you’re most like. The results may be surprising!
Evidentally, I’m:
If you grew up in the 80’s and played lots of video games, you need to check out this music video:
This is amazing. This paper shows that the color blue is not important when viewing images…. it needs to be there, but it doesn’t need the detail from it.
Check it out, its really mind-boggling.
Europe plays catch-up on smoking restrictions
It’s hard to believe, even for many non-smokers, that the Emerald Isle will outlaw smoking in pubs and restaurants with a New York-style ban.
A Tale of Cell Phones and Landlines
A while back, I was looking at my monthly bills and decided to start cutting out the fat. I went through each bill and analyzed what services I was really using versus what I was simply paying for. I managed to slice out about $75 per month worth of stuff that I really didn’t need. Then I came to my local phone bill. I started thinking about how often I used it versus how much I rely on my cell phone. Ditching it would save me about $50 per month. So, after some initial squeamishness, I decided to take the plunge. No more landline! Over the course of a year, this would save me about $600. Wow, not bad!