Here's a few fun things to watch

If you haven't seen it

Europe History Time Lapse Map

It's very cool - even if the eyes have a hard time keeping up with the ever changing country boundaries.  (turn up the sound - the music is excellent)

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Then we have

Breathtaking View of Earth

From a geo-stationary Russian satellite.  Very nice.

Just something to keep you busy until I get a chance to post again.

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Go Read This

I laughed til I cried. 

Life as a linguistically incompetent fool

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Keeping You Informed

Very soon we will know if man can really head out into space for long periods of time.

Malt whiskey experiment aboard the ISS

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Sometimes you just get lucky

He wasn't wearing a seatbelt

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Always remember to read carefully before buying something online.

Robot Books: Google this

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Study confirms not enough sleep raises diabetes, obesity risks

I'm waiting for them to do a study that will tell us "Study confirms: eating raises obesity risk".

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Sharpen your brain.

Make mine a double

Although I found it interesting they felt the need to add a completely unsubstantiated comment about sleep being just as good at the end of the article. After all, they have to be politically correct - right? heh.

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And if you ever wondered how a news media mistake along with sloppy attention to detail can mess things up, this is a perfect example.

Update: Texas Fireball was Real After All, NASA Says

You'd think these people might have learned something from playing "telephone" as children... or maybe they didn't and that's the problem. heh.

Now are we ready for Friday?

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Smashing a Record

That would be the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers creating the largest Rube Goldberg machine, smashing their old record.  Using 300 steps to blow up a balloon and pop it.

Excellent!

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Stuff in the News

Saw this today

Is the NSA's massive new spy center watching you?

I don't know, but if they are, could they please tell me what I did with my keys? You know this could be a useful service performed by the government...

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But what if you want to build it yourself...

Scientists refine smart self-assembling building blocks

I know many a young boy who will be quite distraught if their legos start building by themselves.

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Jetsons... here we come

Flying car gets closer to reality with test flight

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If you have a Mac - there is a trojan floating around out there exploiting a java flaw

Mac Flashback trojan exploits unpatched Java vulnerability, no password needed

I just turned off Java on my system. Once they've patched it, I can turn it back on if I need it.

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And it looks like there are some polite hackers out there.

Hackers politely deface security firm website, suggest fixes

Nice to know that some people can be polite. heh.

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Have a nice evening.

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No Excuses

Gymnast Johanna Quaas shows you how it's done.  Oh yeah, she's 86 years old!



And if the floor routine isn't enough to convince you, here she is on the parallel bars.



I found an interview they did with her. It's in German, so I can't understand a word of it. However, listen to her voice.  That sounds like a woman half her age.



If you'll excuse me, I'm now going to sit in a corner and weep quietly because even when I was a kid, I didn't bend like that. heh.

H/T Deadspin

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Stuff Going on in the World

I want one!

Pizza joint creates one-push wireless order button

I'm all about less work and this is about as "less" as you can get! When is it coming to the states and where do I have to move to get it? I know it won't be in this area for at least 20 years after the rest of the world gets it. (New Englanders will be screaming about how it will endanger your children - ha)

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Eagle cam!

First Egg Hatches On Decorah Eaglecam

Warning Will Robinson! Turn down the sound on your computer! The mike is active and when the wind is blowing it's really really loud!  Also it's a real live nest of real live Eagles. There is currently half a fish sitting on the nest along with the mother eagle.  You've been warned.

If you want to go directly to the cam go here.

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On a more serious but hopeful note

Injection saves lives for heart attack patients: study

After reading the article I can't decide if they mean "injection" or if they mean "IV". It's a bit unclear. But hey, if it works, I'm all for it.

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Cool

'Twist-O' toy inspires collapsible 'buckliball'

I'm thinking a structure that pulls itself inward during severe weather.  Then again I don't think outside the box very well. heh.

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And last of all

Could eating chocolate make you thinner?

I am willing to experiment to help the cause!

Have a great evening.

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News You've Been Waiting For

Because I really have to share these things.

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Branson says Kutcher is space line's 500th client

Maybe he could go colonize Mars and make really bad camera commercials there instead.

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'Angry Birds' blasts off into new frontier: Space

So are they after Kutcher? Or did pigs finally learn to fly?

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Pirate Bay plans to build aerial server drones with $35 Linux computer

This makes me think... maybe Hollywood is getting its birds/actors in a row to shoot down The Pirate Bay when it goes aerial.

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Kraft to rename snack unit 'Mondelez'

Oh excellent - a flop in the making.  Stock up on Oreos people. 

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In my non-news story of the day. I have found some dissolving Calcium to take.  I hope it works because I am tired of trying not to choke to death on those horse pills they pass off as calcium tablets.

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That would be it for tonight.  Don't you feel at least 5% smarter?  Oh well, at least I don't think this news makes anyone feel any dumber.

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Some Hopeful Tech News

I hope everyone had a terrific St. Patrick's Day weekend. It was certainly lovely in the Boston area.

I've been busy playing with Virtualbox and the Fedora Linux distro. For some reason the two won't play nice on my Windows machine so it's been taking up a bit of time. I may skip Fedora and move to Ubuntu or Mint.

I have to say there are so many people who put up youtube vids on this stuff. It saves so much time to see a walk thru and try to catch problems before they start. I think my issue with Fedora is the desktop client it wants to use. We shall see.

Anyway, if my last post left you feeling somewhat depressed, go read this - which is ultra cool.

Robotics Trends for 2012

We may get our robots and Star Trek future yet.  I have been hearing about the 3D printer... now that would really be something - very cool!  

Keep inventing stuff people!

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I Wonder if We Should be Worried

Sun flips the bird in new NASA photo

'nuff said...

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Experts sound worm alarm for critical Windows bug

Windows has a bug??? OMG!!! Whatever will we do?

Oh yeah... patch please.

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Grenade-throwing robot to fight fires on ships

After reading the story, I'm not exactly sure where the grenade throwing comes into the picture. I kinda doubt they fight ship fires with grenades... or at least I hope they don't!

Or maybe they need to get together with the people who know:

How to make ethical robots

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And for those who are directionally impaired

App uses Wi-Fi to plot the way for mall patrons

Now if only it would find that perfect fitting piece of clothing...

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Happy Tuesday!

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To Get you Warmed up for St. Patrick's Day

Absolutely hilarious.  Of course I love the Border Collie... but still...

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This and That Again.

How much you want to bet they all end up shouting abuse at Facebook.

Washington woman finds husband's other wife on Facebook

OTOH it might be worth it to be on FB just to see who might be suggested as a friend...

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Does this make school lunches illegal in places like New York where they have passed laws about unhealthy food in fast food restaurants?

'Pink slime' eliminated from fast food, but not school lunches

Or do schools get a pass because they aren't fast food restaurants so it's all okay.

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False advertising?

iOS 5.1 Does Not Provide 4G on an iPhone 4S

AT&T may be in a bit of hot water here. Faster 3G is not 4G... and it really doesn't help your corporate image if you try to pass off one as the other.

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For people who have been told that using Google's Chrome browser is a safer way to surf the net...

At hacking contest, Google Chrome falls to third zero-day attack (Updated)

All browsers have security issues. Therefore, the holes in Chrome should not surprise anyone. The difference between Chrome and other browsers... Chrome updates in the background without giving the user the option of when or if to update. There is also no "roll back". Some users are finding this to be a real problem when Google updates Chrome and it breaks their browsing experience.

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And just in case you thought symphony goers were a nice reserved lot...

Fistfight breaks out at Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Will the newest quip now be, "I went to a fight and a symphony broke out"? 

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Have a great Saturday.

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The World - there is stuff going on

Passengers are supposed to listen to flight attendants... well... let's rethink that.

Flight attendant restrained after 9/11 rant

At least the passengers on board were rational enough to restrain her instead of joining her...

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Wired tells you...

How To Get Windows on the iPad (With Microsoft’s Blessing)

Um... Why?

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In the "what did you think he would do" department...

Hacker Sabu Worked Nonstop As Government Informer

Because he's shown such empathy for all the people he has hacked. So naturally he's completely loyal to his minions... Right.

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Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend. Oh goody. I could link a story, but my only comment is... can we PLEASE just pick a time and stick with it! I hate all this clock changing crap.

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And last but not least....

Coca-Cola and Pepsi to alter recipes after cancer risk flagged

So how long have they been using the current ingredients??? 

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There ya go - news you can use.  Have a great weekend!

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Just a Few Things

My son sends this link to a lovely view from the ISS. If it was easier to get off the thing, I wouldn't mind taking a few turns around the earth in it.



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Was watching House Hunters earlier.  I am constantly amazed by the people they have on this show.  So many should not even consider buying a house because they simply don't have the income. 

What does this level of house shopper get you? People who want everything perfect and new and all for free apparently. Tonight's show featured a young couple who nearly had spasms over the paint colors in a house... Paint? Seriously?  Good lord.  They immediately proclaimed the entire thing had to be repainted or they could NEVER live in it!!!! Oh the horror... it was all of 1200 square feet.  She says "THAT'S HUGE!!!" 

I need a different show to veg out on.

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For those not on Facebook, I just saw this which is very cool and fun.

Periodic Table Table

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There seems to be quite a lot of talk about some chick named Snooki. I can't figure out why.  Amazing how many people have opinions about someone they seemingly loathe. I figure if someone is that awful why in the world would anyone pay attention to them... Strange world indeed.

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And last of all.  If you are looking for a job and in the interview process, you may want to listen to a mock job interview by the Tech Vets, Carey Holzman and Mike Smith.   It may not be your field, but there are always useful things to be gleaned from unexpected places.

Tech Vets Podcast

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The week began tamely.  I hope it continues this way.

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Travel Blog Notes

Blogging does make travel more fun. The stuff that irritates most people becomes a note to be posted when all is done.  Thus travel is far less annoying for bloggers than for other people.

So here we go - notes from my trip.

--SouthWest at PVD has the most awesome  waiting areas. Sitting in the geek section  with all the guys who have toys to plug in.
 
--A woman with 2 kids insisting they do school work in the airport lounge. In a startling turn of events the kids could care less. 
 
--Wow that blackberry screen is so cracked don't know how he sees anything. 
 
--Airplane seat backs suck. Why don't they have an adjustable neck support built in?  No matter how tall or short the person the headrest is always in exactly the wrong place.
 
--A child with plastic army men... Having a battle on his tray table making shooting noises. I love it. The first time I've seen a kid playing that in ages. Nice change from all the electronics.
 
--How delightful. A mother with a  3 yr old is letting her  run down the moving walkway, over and over, to burn off energy. What could possibly go wrong? If the kid gets hurt I'll testify on behalf of the airport.

--Am seriously considering a Hello Kitty suitcase to make mine easier to spot on the luggage carousel.

--Woman in line at security who never heard of the rules about liquids. No, you can not take a full sized bottle of lotion on the plane with you.  Really you can't. (this is why I like to arrive at the airport early - not only for the amusement factor).

--There are always always always 2 types of people on every plane. Those who must get something out of the overhead bin just when they announce the doors are closed and we'll be pushing back.  The other type with the electronic devices that they refuse to turn off until the flight attendant tells them 5 times.

--If you make disgusted noises because the flight attendants insist that "yes you MUST turn that off until we hit 10,000ft" I will back the flight attendants when they deck you.  Yes it's a stupid rule, but it's not our say. You want it changed - get a job in DC and change it!

--Sign at Midway says "Baggage Claim this way. Hope you're wearing comfortable shoes".

Travel fashion advice:

--Unless you are toothpick thin. Never ever wear horizontal stripes. Just saying...
 
--Have said it before will say it again.  If  you ever catch me wearing white  tennis shoes to travel... Please just shoot me!!! 

--A guy with so much metal pierced into his face he must have set off every alarm going through security. Are all the piercings worth the body cavity search?

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That's all I've got for this trip. It was rather tame overall.  Maybe next time I'll see more and better passenger faux pas and other oddities.

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There and Back

I just got back from a week long trip last night or early this morning depending upon your point of view.  I have notes... but they will have to wait at least until tomorrow.  I'm too tired to work on them now.

It was the grand Midwest tour.  St. Louis, Chicago, and Wisconsin.  There were some parts I could have done without and other parts that were great.  Today was spent getting caught up on the emails I didn't respond to while on the road, the house stuff that piled up and all those assorted little things that don't generally have to happen all at once.

However, the laundry is done and I still have a few of the Girl Scout Thin Mints so I may just survive. 

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Dumping Accumulating Links

I have been meaning to post all week. Quite obviously that didn't work. Now you'd think I'd have a ton of links, but no, not so many. Maybe that's also why I haven't posted.

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Let's start here

Warning: Whitney Houston autopsy video links on Facebook aren't what they seem

My opinion. If people are stupid enough to click these links they get what they deserve. I should be nicer about it, but this crap has been going on for so long now one has to wonder... who clicks them? Geeze.

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Apple Announces OS X Mountain Lion for Mac Desktops

I'm holding out for "OS X Puddy Tat" before I upgrade again.

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More Doctors 'Fire' Vaccine Refusers

So what's the problem? If people don't want to vaccinate their kids, they should not be allowed to bring sick children into doctors offices to possibly spread viruses to infants who haven't been vaccinated yet and immune deficient adults and children who are vulnerable to these diseases. Besides the fact that these people already know more about medicine than their doctors, so why do they even want to bother?

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Raspberry Pi's $35 Linux computer on track to launch later this month

Talk about tech price drops... Wow.

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Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain

I'm slightly disappointed, it doesn't look like you can walk the upside down loop.

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I posted this on FB but for anyone who has kids of school age who are interested in space exploration.

International Space School Education Trust

Might be of interest.

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And if you'd like to give yourself something else to worry about...

Your Walking Speed and Hand Grip Could Predict Your Future Health

I walk fast and my hand strength has improved dramatically since I started taking Pilates.  This means I will quickly decline into dementia and stroke out shortly thereafter because I never do things the way people tell me I should.

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Now get out there and work on your grip strength and walk a mile or so... ha.

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Fun and Games

Because you can never spend too much on cat toys... how about an

iPad app for your cat

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Someday this may help us figure out how to always have a good hair day

Like How Your Hair Hangs? Praise the Laws of Physics

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So if I ever get hold of a jetpack and go flitting about the world, this is something to remember

Hovering isn’t difficult if you’re top heavy

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Apparently the International Space Station is passing over as I type this. Sadly it's cloudy outside.

However, if you are on twitter and follow

@twisst47

They will DM you with the times you can go look for it to pass overhead. So far it's been in the wee hours of the am until tonight... tonight it was supposed to be at 7:30pm. Perfect... except for the clouds. Oh well. Next time.

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Lastly, I may have to start wearing zebra stripes at certain times of the year.

Zebra stripes evolved to keep biting flies at bay

I wonder if it works for mosquitoes too... hmmm.

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Odds and Ends

My son sent this today

The Scale of the Universe

Really really cool.

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Every few months I think I want to try the new Reminders list on my iphone. Then I realize that not only do I not have Siri, but the app doesn't let me use landscape to type (seriously? WTF apple?) And the location based reminders are so not ready for prime time yet.

I figure in about 5 years it will be fantastic. Right now it's just meh. Oh well.

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One of my friends sent me this link. I really need at least one of these, if not an entire army of them for my garden...

Combat Garden Gnomes.

Awesomeness. Sheer awesomeness.

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My husband found that some web sites he visits have video ads that run whenever you hit the site, a feature that is downright irritating. He is using ad block plus on Firefox and the ads still run. (even more irritating).

After a bit of investigating I found that under tools in the browser bar, there is an entry for Ad Block Plus. One can open a window of "blockable items" and you can scroll down through the list and look for links with swf. Then you can block their happy little asses.

I hate those wankers. I don't mind unobtrusive print ads but I loathe blinking ads or videos that run without my okay. They must all be stopped.

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And last but not least in news you need to know...

Mating call of an extinct bush-cricket rings out again after 165m years

Why?  Well, because they can. Or maybe they find crickets sexy. Hard to say.

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I Wonder If I Could Break The Machine Just by Thinking Hard

I saw a link to this story today:

Mind-Reading May Be Reality Soon

By looking only at maps of electrical activity in the human brain, scientists were able to tell which words a person was listening to. The discovery is a major step toward being able to "hear” the thoughts of people who can’t speak.

Okay so this is something they are working on for a good cause.  Really I could see this being a wonderful thing for many people.

Then my brain veers off into.... what if land. 

What if they finally get a workable machine then install them in airports.  I mean they already do the strip scan because anyone traveling is considered totally bonkers.  (well really, don't you HAVE to be totally bonkers to want to fly anywhere these days with airports being like humongous cattle ranches... you can hear TSA now "Line 'em up boys, time for branding!")

Anyhow, where was I... oh yeah.  They install these things in airports and damn if that wouldn't cut down on the crowds.  They'd be hauling people out of line right and left.  Jails would overflow.

Come to think of it... might make air travel nice again.

Posted by: Teresa in FUN at 10:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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