Weekend Work

Off to my weekend job.
No posts this weekend.

Action Comics #1

What I wouldn't give to have this comic. The one that introduced Superman to the world in June 1938. Estimated at $126,000 it is a little out of my price range, I think my wife would kill me. I might be in luck, bidding starts at $1 ...

"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," comic expert Stephen Fishler, who created the 10-point grading scale used to evaluate comic books, told Reuters.

"This is the one that started it all. There was no such thing as a super hero before it. No flying man. Comics weren't even that popular. It's the single most important event in comic book history," he said.

UPDATE:

10 minutes =$20,000

Kindle 3?

With the E-Ink not even dry on the release of the Kindle 2. There are rumors already beginning about a Kindle 3 that may still release this year.

From Endgadget
Now that the Kindle 2 is out, it's time to get back onto the Kindle rumor mill. You might recall that in addition to the early leaks of the device that become the Kindle 2, a bigger screened Kindle mimicking an 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper for students was rumored. According to DigiTimes' sources apparently within Prime View International (PVI), the makers of the Kindle's electrophoretic display (EPD), Amazon's next Kindle will launch by the end of this year and will be "larger in size and equipped with touch functions." Of course, that's no big stretch to the imagination -- Plastic Logic has been kicking around its 8.5 x 11-inch touchscreen eBook reader ('Shopped with a Kindle logo above) for months now with a plan to launch in 2010. Let's just see if Amazon can get this out in time for the back to school selling season.

Buzz today

The assault weapons ban is trying to make a comeback. They don't offer any details right now or a timeframe, but I think we all saw this coming with a democratic Congress and President.

We can only hope on the Supreme Court (laughable), although I praise the Heller decision, and the more centrist Dems I suppose.

I also read this was suppose to help the violence in Mexico ....? Really, we need to stretch it that much to justify it...?

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters…

Just a few ... wow

Too bad Pelosi doesn't see things the same way ... apparently she was left out of the loop.

Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday that the administration would push to bring back the ban. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her. The Speaker gave a flat “no” when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.

“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “I think it’s clear the Bush administration didn’t do that.”

PSP 2 ? Maybe

The picture is a concept but the blogosphere has been a buzz now for a while in regards to the PSP2. Currently no such thing exists, but lately there has been some new light on the subject. If there is such a thing that would be great! I have had my PSP for a couple years now and of all my little gizmos that I have around this on gets used.

The new Playstation Portable won't feature a UMD disc drive, according to Acclaim developer David Perry.

"I hear Sony FINALLY has the PSP 2. And thank goodness, they've removed the stupid battery-sucking UMD disc drive. I'm excited!" Perry wrote on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

It is unclear if he has seen the rumored new Playstation Portable himself or is just hearing rumors through the development community.

Rumors are a buzz. The best steps forward for a future PSP would be flash memory, ditch the UMD and another joystick.

Dilbert

You have to love the pen Scott Adams wields.

Taxpayers Clearinghouse Prizes

This is hilarious. The best part is when the winner gets the check.

One guy even gets arrested.

Enjoy

Sorry MacGyver

Leave it to Hawaii to impose this useless law. SB126

Relating to Dangerous Weapons.

What is that in your hand???!! I'm sorry, that is a misdemeanor.

Now really??!!! I suppose this should not surprise me coming from Hawaii.

How Time Flys

Cruising the Internet I managed to find a comparison of where we were, and where we are. The image to the left is of 1GB in 1998, to the right is a 1GB flash drive from 2008. I would say that we are making some progress in 20 years.

Mardi Gras

Also known as "fat Tuesday," this pre-Lenten festival is celebrated in Roman Catholic countries and communities. In a strict sense, Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is celebrated by the French as the last of the three days of Shrovetide and is a time of preparation immediately before Ash Wednesday and the start of the fast of Lent. Mardi Gras is thus the last opportunity for merrymaking and indulgence in food and drink. In practice, the festival is generally celebrated for one full week before Lent. Mardi Gras is marked by spectacular parades featuring floats, pageants, elaborate costumes, masked balls, and people dancing in the streets.

Mardi Gras originated as one of the series of carnival days held in all Roman Catholic countries between Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, and Ash Wednesday; these carnivals had their origin in pre-Christian spring fertility rites. The most famous modern Mardi Gras festivities are those held in New Orleans, La.; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nice, France; and Cologne, Germany.

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!

Ugh!

It is Monday already....

MIT 6th Sense

The film Minority Report featured a user interface in which Tom Cruise's character controlled computer screens and information using gestures, while wearing special gloves.

None of this is new, most of these technologies have been worked on since the 90's from numerous companies. That is where they got the idea for Minority Report.
Recently MIT has taken this technology even farther with the development of 6th Sense.



Who needs a Surface or an iPhone when the very idea of being able to access information by turning any flat surface into a touch-screen display sounds far more appealing? No surface available? Simply project a screen onto your hand, and voila. Shades of Minority Report?
Minority Report

In Minority Report, Tom Cruise draws information from a glove-controlled interactive wall.
(Credit: 20th Century Fox)

The folks at MIT have christened their wearable prototype Wear Ur World (WUW), a device cobbled together using everyday gizmos like a mobile projector, Webcam, and mobile phone. Hopefully, when the final product does ship, it'll reveal a sleeker, less clunky rendition without the colored finger bands, and one that has a discreet mode for when you need to access information privately.

As a demonstration of its capabilities, the wearer can draw a circle on his wrist, prompting the gadget to project a digital clock face, especially great for the myopic.

In the near future, WUW could become an indispensable digital wrist companion to enhance your lifestyle. It could provide product and price comparison information when shopping, retrieve flight information to let the wearer know about delays, automatically pull up related information from the Web when requested, and even snap pictures when you frame a subject with your fingers.

This one closely mimics The Minority Reports User Interface.

g-speak overview 1828121108
The future is now.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Screw the "love me" awards on TV.

On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. "As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent," he wrote James Madison, "it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles."

Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.

He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him.

From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions.

When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.

He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. He reported to Congress, "we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn." Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies--he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.

He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger.

To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances.

Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.

The USAF Warthog

I grew up at tons of Air Bases and the one that had this plane was probably the best. The things I remember the most are the sounds from this plane. The engines don't sound like a normal jet, more like a really large powerful fan. The second most distinctive sound has to be the nose mounted 30MM Gatling gun. Firing at 3,900 rounds per minute, this thing is just relentless.

This plane is just nearly indestructible. Triple redundancy flight controls, self-sealing fuel tanks, gear that hangs below the plane even when folded up to help with belly landings, 900 lbs of titanium armor for the cockpit and flight controls, and a double redundant hydraulic system allow for the pilot to fly with loss of hydrolic power or the wing.

Not the easiest on the eye but this is a great example of some serious fire power that gets the job done. They just don't make them like this anymore.

Star Trek

I haven't followed much of the Star Trek shows since TNG. Tonight the boy and I are watching IV, yes the one with the Whales. All this is doing is making me want to see the new movie even more.

If Only

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is a very cool phone. It really lets you customize what it looks like. Unfortunately no U.S. carrier offers the X1 so it's not available stateside yet. It is amazing what these phones can do anymore, and I would think this would be more considered a computer. And this is one phone I just like looking at. For $600 that is good enough for me.

Batwoman

Okay, so now Batwoman is coming back to the DC Batman series.

...I thought it was bad enough that they are bringing back this character but why make it about her "lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night."

I mean really, get real if we are going to start this mess when is Robin going to come out of the closet!

War Zone

I cannot believe this! The Air Force, in all its infinite wisdom, has managed to sink to the lowest of the low. Right now people in the Air Force that have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and all the other Asscrackistans, will not have these deployments shown on their records. The people that are putting every aspect of their lives on the line are not going to get a promotion out of their time in the sand box. WOW!! I just can not believe what I am hearing these days.

Imagine leading perilous convoys across Iraq's deadly streets for nearly a year and learning it won't mean squat when it comes time to compete for the senior master sergeant promotion board.

Or how about providing vital close-air support in Afghanistan and discovering it won't be included when a board decides whether to promote you to lieutenant colonel.

Plumbing

So now that my weekend project is complete, I have a new found respect for plumbing. I started off with a few tools, thought that would be enough, and ended up with a few extra. This was going to be something as simple as fixing the sink drain basket and turned into many hours of cussing like a sailor and cut and bruised knuckles.
The most important tools ended up being the Hammer, a large screw driver and WD - 40 (thank you dear). This proves that anything in the house can be fixed, at some level, by beating the crap out of it with a hammer. The larger the hammer, the quicker the results.


My new sink drainer basket

Movie that almost wasn't

The Watchmen almost did not happen. I am glad that it is coming March 11