I was about 3 minutes into the 5 minute video “Balancing point in reverse” before I started think “Man, this is awesome.” Give it that much time, please.
Day: September 18, 2006
Land-shark ho!!!1
Isn’t this a tasty little bit of evolution? Scientists have discovered a new species of shark that walks on its fins.
Scientists combing through undersea wonders off Indonesia’s Papua province said today they had discovered dozens of new species, including a shark that walks on its fins and a shrimp that looks like a praying mantis.
. . .
Erdmann, an American, and his team claim to have discovered 52 new species, including 24 new types of fish, 20 new kinds of coral and eight new species of shrimp.
Among the highlights were an epaulette shark that walks on its fins, a praying mantis-like shrimp and scores of reef-building corals, he said.
That old SNL sketch doesn’t seem so wacky now, does it?
[tags]Land-shark ahead, Shark found that walks on fins[/tags]
Diebold voting machine insecurity
Dr. Dobbs Journal put up a story last week about several security researchers who showed how insecure Diebold voting machines are. This is one of the most important things affecting the current political realm, in my not so humble opinion. I’m putting the rest of the story below the following link, but please read all this and don’t just skip ahead. This really matters, and shows the need for voter verified paper print-outs to go along with the electronic vote entry for auditing purposes.
Fashion, Wal-Mart’s got it, others don’t?
This great fashion newsclipping via The Consumerist:
[tags]Wal-Mart – pinnacle of fashion center?[/tags]
Free MMORPG
(via Blue’s News)
I haven’t signed up yet, because I wanted to post about this before my attention got pulled away, but this new free MMO from The Five Pillars could be interesting.
The Five Pillars is a strategic multiplayer online game set in a strange, post-apocalyptic fantasy world.
. . .
As you create your character, you must choose a magical alignment for it. Five different alignments exist in this world and every one of those has its strengths and weaknesses. You can be a nature mage commanding huge beasts to protect your forests from getting cut down. Perhaps you want to wield the awesome power of the ever raging desert storms into building a powerful empire. You may be interested in the mysteries of the north in the form of elemental magic. Swamps are filled with deadly insects and the practice of dark arts. Or maybe you will be a mountain mage expertising in devastating spells that will crush your enemies?
I’m going to try this one out. If I get a little play time on it, perhaps I’ll post more about it.
[tags]Free MMO, The Five Pillars new MMORPG[/tags]
Great – now we all have to check out real estate in Franklin, TN
(via Engadget)
We all want fatter digital pipes for a lower cost, right? I mean, all the normal people. I know there are people who think it is acceptable to live mostly off-line, but I like to think of them as moderately to significantly insane. So ignoring those wackos, can we all agree that Franklin, TN is starting to look more interesting than we would have every guessed?
A few weeks ago, Brent Ware took his teenage son on a trip around the world to meet with international clients.
Ware, CEO of Tenvera Inc., said his son was shocked at the technological advantages other parts of the world – especially the Far East – have over the United States. Ware wants to cut that advantage down for Americans with a fiber-optic home networking system that could change the way people all over the world live, entertain and work in their homes.
Tenvera is a Franklin-based company beginning production this month of System 5 technology. Also known as Fiber in the Home (FITH), it takes fiber-optic networking to its final destination: the home.
And Tenvera is working with builders in its hometown to get more fiber in more houses. And I want some of that. Guess I need to find work in the Nashville area, get the wife to find work there, sell the house, move, and enjoy big fat bandwidth numbers.
[tags]Fiber to the home in Franklin TN, Tenvera testing fiber to the home[/tags]
Narcissism higher in celebrities
News to no one: higher incidence of narcissism in celebrities than general population.
When you wish upon a star
Pictures that lie
A revealing look at photos that lie over at C|Net’s News.com. With the article is a collection of 24 altered pictures, some shown with the original un-doctored image, and an explanation of what and why alterations were made. Some of the changes are minor, while others are fairly substantial modifications of photos.
The article starts with this original and modified photo of Katie Couric, and shows other photos sometimes changed for intentional dramatic effect, sometimes for humorous story-telling, and sometimes just to allow more image to be viewed in a limited sized picture.
[tags]Pictures that lie, Modifying the photos we see[/tags]