Category: Random Ramblings

Anything that catches my fancy as a topic I want to cover. Truly random crap.

Engadget talks Zune

With all the rumors and “facts” flying around the intarweb recently concerning Microsoft’s new portable media player, it can be hard to know what is real and not for this device. One of my favorite gadget sites, Engadget, has some details on what’s true and what’s not for Microsoft’s recently announced Zune.

Well, it’s not much, but we’ve got a quote and an official confirmation of the Zune project at Microsoft. The Zune brand is being billed as a “music and entertainment” project aimed at “connecting with others to discover new player_zune.jpgmusic and entertainment and will deliver a family of hardware and software products.” Here’s what they sent over, by way of Microsoft’s GM of marketing, Chris Stephenson:

“Today we confirmed a new music and entertainment project called Zune. Under the Zune brand, we will deliver a family of hardware and software products, the first of which will be available this year. We see a great opportunity to bring together technology and community to allow consumers to explore and discover music together.”

So, what do we (thanks to Engadget) know? Well, here are just a few of the details Engadget has let us in on.

Ok, so we got off the horn with Microsoft just a few minutes ago and realized that making heads or tails of all this Zune stuff is probably driving some of you crazy . (We know others are probably just getting driven crazy by all the posts we’ve been writing about it. Sorry, it’s our job!) So here’s what we know for sure, think we know according to inside sources (i.e. yet unconfirmed information), and what we don’t yet know at all about the Zune. Continue reading “Engadget talks Zune”

Worth1000 – Urban legends photochopping

As you can probably guess from my frequent posts about contests there, I think Worth1000 is an awesome site. Their latest contest that I thought was worth pointing out is an Urban Legends recreation contest.

w1000-bonsai-kittens.jpg

Is Walt Disney really cryogenically frozen in ice? It’s a fact. Do alligators really live in the New York sewers? Yup. Did a couple on lovers lane really find a hook embedded in their car after hearing a radio advisory of an escaped “hook” murderer? Sure. And we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

The rules of this game are thus:
Show that an urban legend exists by creating an image that is “proof,”. You can find some great urban legends at Snopes.com. If you choose to do a macabre urban legend then try to keep the gore level to a minimum. As always, quality is a must. You’ll have 48 hours for this contest, so make your submission count.

Like so many Worth1000 contests, there are a lot of bad entries.  But all of them are better than I can do, and the good ones, to me, are always worth the time they take to track down and view.
[tags]Worth1000, Urban Legends, Photochop[/tags]

TechEBlog’s top 5 strangest laser projects

While catching up on my TechEBlog reading, I saw their list of the top 5 strangest laser projects. Given my love to lasers, I thought this was the kind of useless knowledge I needed to pass on. YouTube videos for each project are included on the TechEBlog page.

#2 – For those laser_saber.jpgwith either a red and/or green laser pointer from Wicked Lasers, check out this “Laser Saber” accessory. It features a 38.75-inch long radiant strong polycarbonate blade and a solid 9.5-inch hilt.

No word on any project involving frikkin’ sharks, frikkin’ laser beams, and attaching things to their frikkin’ heads.

[tags]Laser projects, frikkin’ laserbeams[/tags]

Mariah’s album covers censored in Saudi Arabia?

(via Neatorama)
Apparently, Maria Carey is a little too revealing in her album covers for the Saudi Arabian government. So, to sell her CDs there, the record companies have had to update her covers to something a bit more conservative. Maybe. This from the Museum of Hoaxes.

carey_arabia_07.jpgImages purporting to show Saudi Arabian versions of Mariah Carey’s album covers have recently appeared on the web. Mediabum.com says that “Because of the laws over there her album covers had to be touched up to be made less sexy.” Maybe. It sounds like something that would be done in Saudi Arabia. However, the lack of a clear source for these images makes me suspicious. They could equally well have been created by somebody playing around with photoshop. (And why is there no arabic script on these Saudi Arabian covers?) (And incidentally, I just read that Mariah Carey has 17 Number One singles, tying the number that Elvis had. This is odd because I’m unable to name a single song by her. With 17 #1 songs, I figured I’d know at least one of them.).

[tags]Mariah Carey, Museum of Hoaxes, Saudi Arabia[/tags]

FDA approves implantable contraceptive for women

LiveScience.com has news of the recent approval by the FDA of implantable contraceptives for women. Beginning in August, the new contraceptive should be available, with a 3-year potency period.

Implantable contraceptives soon will be available again to U.S. women seeking a long-term solution to birth control, with the approval of a matchstick-size rod that can prevent pregnancies for up to three years.

. . .

Implanon provides 99 percent contraceptive protection. It will be the first contraceptive implant to be sold in the United States since 2000, when Wyeth Pharmaceuticals stopped U.S. sales of Norplant.

. . .

The rod is inserted by a doctor under the skin of the upper arm in a quick surgical procedure that requires only a local anesthetic. It must be removed after three years, although it can be taken out at any time before then, according to the company, a unit of Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel NV.

More details in the full LiveScience.com article.

[tags]LiveScience, Long-term contraceptives, FDA[/tags]

Sex good for men, women should sleep alone

The results of a study have come out that is sure to be a disappoint for men and good news for women.

A new study out of the University of Vienna concludes that men recall their dreams best after sex, while women have the best recollection if they’ve slept alone. The results come in the context of a larger study on sleep, where a subject pool of eight unmarried couples slept 10 nights together and 10 nights apart while scientists observed their rest patterns and tested their cognitive skills

[tags]Science, Sex, Another reason for women to fake a headache[/tags]

Beard plans to swim in 2008 Olympics

p1.amanda.beard.si.jpgSince we just featured the amazingly sexy Ms. Amanda Beard as an eye candy highlight, it seems we would have an obligation to report that she is planning on swimming in the 2008 Olympics, according to this Sports Illustrated report. Plus, it gives us an excuse to run another picture of her.

Amanda Beard is aiming for her fourth Olympics. Beard made her debut at 14 at the 1996 Atlanta Games, collecting a total of two gold medals, four silver and one bronze. Now 24, Beard is training for Beijing in 2008.

. . .

Beard is swimming four times a week and cross-training on her mountain bike. She plans to “buckle down” in the fall, resuming her six-hour workouts.

You hear that, all you pansies? She’s going to be working out six hours a day. There’s a chance that’s why she’s so awesome.

[tags]Amanda Beard, Olympics, Swimming, dizzam[/tags]

Sahara desert once lush vegatative environment

(via LiveScience.com)

At the end of the last Ice Age, the Sahara Desert was just as dry and uninviting as it is today. But sandwiched between two periods of extreme dryness were a few millennia of plentiful rainfall and lush vegetation.

During these few thousand years, prehistoric humans left the congested Nile Valley and established settlements around rain pools, green valleys, and rivers.

The ancient climate shift and its effects are detailed in the July 21 issue of the journal Science.

. . .

“The climate change at [10,500 years ago] which turned most of the [3.8 million square mile] large Sahara into a savannah-type environment happened within a few hundred years only, certainly within less than 500 years,” said study team member Stefan Kroepelin of the University of Cologne in Germany.

. . .

A timeline of Sahara occupation [See Map]:

  • 22,000 to 10,500 years ago: The Sahara was devoid of any human occupation outside the Nile Valley and extended 250 miles further south than it does today.
  • 10,500 to 9,000 years ago: Monsoon rains begin sweeping into the Sahara, transforming the region into a habitable area swiftly settled by Nile Valley dwellers.
  • 9,000 to 7,300 years ago: Continued rains, vegetation growth, and animal migrations lead to well established human settlements, including the introduction of domesticated livestock such as sheep and goats.
  • 7,300 to 5,500 years ago: Retreating monsoonal rains initiate desiccation in the Egyptian Sahara, prompting humans to move to remaining habitable niches in Sudanese Sahara. The end of the rains and return of desert conditions throughout the Sahara after 5,500 coincides with population return to the Nile Valley and the beginning of pharaonic society.

[tags]Sahara desert[/tags]

How sleep deprived are you?

(via LifeHacker)
British Airways has a page telling you that you need to get enough sleep (which we all know but don’t abide by) and tells you how to figure out if you are getting enough sleep. Since we all know that not sleeping enough makes you fat, this is the kind of thing you need to read to stay slim.

Time zone changes, internal body clock disruptions and irregular food and exercise patterns can all result in a sleep debt. Making difficult decisions is not easy if you are sleepy, jet lagged and not at your peak.

. . .

Work out how much sleep you owe your body and find out how to recover if your sleep account is in the red.

So go see how British Airways helps you stay healthier and start figuring out how to catch up on your sleep.

[tags]Sleep, British Airways[/tags]

New Atari 2600 cartridge released

(via boingboing)
atari-aclvl1.jpgThis isn’t an officially supported Atari company cartridge, but with the whole retro-gaming scene getting so popular, expect to see more of these in the future. The original release of the game A-VCS-tec Challenge was 55 signed, numbered, boxed cartridges. Those are long gone. But additional runs for those wanting their own non-limited edition cartridge are planned.

The game is a conceptually simple race for distant object, but with an Aztec them and really nice (for Atari 2600) graphics. Controls are simple, as would be expected for such a limited joystick as the 2600 had.  I still have a working Atari 2600 – perhaps I should try to buy myself a copy?
[tags]Atari 2600, Retro-gaming[/tags]