a cesspool of interwebness

Google Maps... Best ever?

Posted by Selbonaut On 2007-05-30 3 comments

Hey, could be a bit behind in this, but google just keeps making the coolest stuff.

Famous Quotes

Posted by Selbonaut On 2007-05-28 5 comments

"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television."

"The Atomic bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." -Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers ." -Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what is it good for?" -Engineer at the Advanced ComputingSystems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."-Bill Gates, 1981

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us," -Western Union internal memo, 1876

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible," -A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper," -Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make," -Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," -Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible," -Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this," -Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy," -Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." -Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value," -Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, France.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented," -Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.

"The super computer is technologically impossible. It would take all of the water that flows over Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number of vacuum tubes required." -Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University

"I don't know what use any one could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon," -Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

Content Scrambling System (CSS) "ineffective"

Posted by Selbonaut On 2007-05-26 1 comments

- "According to the court, CSS (the DRM on DVDs) no longer achieves its protection objective. The court relied on two expert witnesses and said that "since a Norwegian hacker succeeded in circumventing CSS protection used in DVDs in 1999, end-users have been able to get with ease tens of similar circumventing software from the Internet even free of charge. Some operating systems come with this kind of software pre-installed." Thus, the court concluded that "CSS protection can no longer be held 'effective' as defined in law.""


So I hope this means that Hollywood will stop picking on Canada for being the supposed leader in movie piracy and start picking on Finland now.

Misguided Food Labeling

Posted by ScrewLoose On 2007-05-24 3 comments

mmmmmmm lets recommend food thats over the daily maximums that the same organization promotes....... Left hand meet Right hand.

Red Gopher -- 2 weeks left

Posted by km_f5 On 2007-05-20 2 comments

What to do on yet another cloudy and cool day of the May long weekend, I wondered. Well, I always used to enjoy checking out the kids' art show at the Mendel, so that is what I did. The show seemed a bit small to me, only taking up the space of one gallery, but I did see some interesting and technically skilled pieces.

I knew, too, that there was an 'Artists by Artists' show somewhere... As I was getting ready to leave, tada, I spied the show in the basement -- you know, by the bathrooms...(!!)

I was intrigued (mostly confused -^) by Yuka Yamaguchi's wall but was equally drawn by Dave Geary's work. (no link unfortunately).

Propaganda posters for Saskatchewan. Entertaining at the very least! My fav: A poster for "Red Gopher -- Saskatchewan's No.1 left-wing deep house danceteria and bar" (I purchased 2 card copies of this poster in the gift shop. Not available on coffee mugs :( but you can purchase a t-shirt with your favourite slogan and image. YAY capitalism!)

Show closes June 3, people!

Uh....

Posted by Unknown On 2007-05-17 5 comments

Yeah, I got nothing...

There Can Be Only One!

Posted by Unknown On 1 comments

This looks like something my Dad might even really like. It will all depend on whether or not it comes with enough codec support to literally play ANY video file. So far, seems like VLC is really the Last Video Player I've Ever Needed™, but I guess it doesn't do torrents and stuff.

Not like I have any real bandwidth in my neck of the woods anyway.

What's Your Universe Made Of?

Posted by Unknown On 8 comments

What the universe is made of

Dark energy: 75%
Dark matter: 21%
Normal matter: 4%
Source: NASA / CXC / M.Weiss



Both Dark Matter and Dark Energy are so entirely outside my actual daily experience that it seems like a pretty gigantic leap to conclude that the universe is almost totally made up of the stuff. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with things I can't perceive (gravity, radio waves, etc...) but sometimes when I read articles like this - as I often do to see where modern astrophysics is at - I don't get a deep feeling of satisfaction.

I guess I just need to spend a few more years living in closely controlled laboratory conditions with a strict diet of detailed data or something to really 'get' it.


CPM's Next Musical?

Posted by Unknown On 2007-05-12 1 comments

Perhaps I should swing this little number past CPM? Could make for a damn interesting senior level production! Aside from that, I would really love to go see this. Hopefully it is a big enough success that it makes a run across the country (or at least to Calgary/Edmonton/Winnipeg where I could actually drive to see it).

Also on this note, hate to miss the Circe De Soliel / Delerium show this weekend, but can't be helped. At least Clock and Boxers are going to see it, so I should be able to get some good reviews posted on here if nothing else. Anybody else going?

Luke = Harry?

Posted by Unknown On 2007-05-11 4 comments

Huh. Who knew?

Ulam Spiral

Posted by Selbonaut On 3 comments

I didn't learn about this in math class, but it is still neat. The picture will make more sense when you click the link. If you are a big fan of prime numbers then you will like it even more.


Schnook Busting Loud Mouth

Posted by Unknown On 2007-05-09 3 comments

So, I'll grant you that Don Cherry is a schnook buster (as my grandma used to say)... but maybe he's onto something with this ColdFX stuff. I've had enough regular sick/flu/cold experiences to know how they start, and I can feel one trying to gain ground on me - and right before a wedding no less!

I'm no NHL-ian (NHL-er?), but I'll certainly use anything that staves off such a brutal and senseless assault.

The plan:
- Use the ColdFX
- Dose on the Vitamin C (lightly to aid in symptom reduction)
- keep up with the sun salutations each day *
- stay away from the booze and sugars **

I'm through with taking this common cold crap laying down.
I'll let you know if the treatment works (and sorry for the misleading post title).



*

** except don't take my double double away!

Interesting Podcasts

Posted by ScrewLoose On 2007-05-04 3 comments

What interesting podcasts have you guys found?

Most that I did listen to have gradually stopped producing shows. The last one left in my playlist is Quirks and Quarks.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars special

Posted by Selbonaut On 2007-05-02 1 comments

Hey everyone, just watched this trailer for a special coming up. If any of you have been up late and watched teletoon then you have seen Robot Chicken. Here is the trailer for the Star Wars special.


The 10 Worst Movie Posters Ever

Posted by Unknown On 4 comments


So Film Cynic has released their 10 Worst Film Posters of All Time list. I think I agree with their number one pick.

Not sure if I agree with the rest of the list though. There's some stuff on there that I've never even heard of.

To the right is a fun poster I just discovered. Although it is pretty bad...

What do y'all think? What's your picks for the worst movie posters ever

Voice memo to email

Posted by Selbonaut On 2007-05-01 2 comments

Hey everyone, found this site that is kinda neat. Basic idea is that from a phone, you can call a number, leave a message, and it is sent to your email in text format.

The only down side is that I can't get it to work with the 1-800 number. If any of you out there try this and get it going I would love to know what you did.