Rest in peace

The Victims

Rome Virtual Tour

What a nifty site!

Wander around Rome.

Microsoft is dead

Interesting read from Paul Graham.

"A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who?

Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite believe anyone would be frightened of them.

Microsoft cast a shadow over the software world for almost 20 years starting in the late 80s. I can remember when it was IBM before them. I mostly ignored this shadow. I never used Microsoft software, so it only affected me indirectly—for example, in the spam I got from botnets. And because I wasn't paying attention, I didn't notice when the shadow disappeared.

But it's gone now. I can sense that. No one is even afraid of Microsoft anymore. They still make a lot of money—so does IBM, for that matter. But they're not dangerous."

Click here for more.

Sunset

Hey Scooterboy. This one's for you :*

Book store disappointment

So, our very own embarrasment-of-a-whackjob-red-neck recently released a book and of course, she had to wheedle some sex into the trash for sensationalism.... and of course, the Shitty 3 (Channel 7, 9, 10 - commercial tv stations in Oz with pathetic standards for news and current affairs coverage), lapped it up and reported the too-much-information-who-gives-a-shit-anyway trash on the news.

After some investigating, I discovered that several of the major book stores in Australia have organised book signings for the trash (as listed on the whackjob's site - which I won't link to). Here ends all purchases by me from Borders (already on my blacklist for other reasons), Angus & Robertson and Dymocks.

I'm fine with book stores stocking her book but arranging a book signing is altogether a very different thing.

My book shopping will now be confined to Readings, Reader's Feast, Amazon, and Booktopia.com.au

Starbucks Cranks Up The Evil

Heh heh

Coffee behemoth pushes music label, hopes to pummel nation to death, pleasantly

"Starbucks has good mints.

I like their little portable $2 tins of tiny, strong peppermints and I can often be seen dashing furtively into one of the crowded soul-numbing little outlets to pick up another box, and the cashiers/baristas look at me strangely as if to say, Wait, what? That's it? That's all you want to buy? You mean you don't want a double-caramel-cheesecake-eggnog candy-coated triple-whipped white chocolate grande mocha with extra corn syrup solids and glops of mysterious grainy residue at the bottom for $17?

It's a look that says: You don't want to perhaps buy a Starbucks-branded pink plastic travel mug? Starbucks bottled water? T-shirt? Apron? Muffler? Waffle maker? Cute Vietnamese toddler? You are not fully partaking of the overall megalomaniacal Starbucks lifestyle brand? What, pray tell, is wrong with you?"

Click above for full article.

Stay hungry, stay foolish

I've only just found the video of my favourite speech of all time. I've read it so many times and had no idea video footage was available on YouTube!

Semi-break from posting

I most likely will not post too often over the next few weeks as I am busy planning my honeymoon romp to Italy. Scooterboy and I will, if all goes smoothly, romp around in Rome, Siena and Florence next month *whooo hooooo!*

Checked out Italy all too briefly 10 years ago and larved it. Hope to make a better go of it this time around.

Chillaxin in Second Life

I've finally caved and joined up. Been scouting around here and there and I like what I see so far.

Larve the flyin! I've seen some amazing avatars with wings around! Gotta get me some of them *rubbing hands together gleefully*

Gimme Gadget: Brain gaming

Created by two Aussies no less! Whoo hoooo!

"It sounds like something straight from the pages of science fiction.

A woman puts on a sensor-studded helmet and, using her brain alone, is able to play a video game, performing actions including opening doors and picking up objects.

But not only is the technology now available, two Australians are at the forefront of bringing it to the world."

Full story here

Emotiv

Folding on your PS3

"Folding@home, started in 2000, is what's known as a distributive computing project that could soon double in size if enough PlayStation 3 gamers download the software that Sony will soon make available and then leave their consoles on when they're not playing. The PlayStation 3's Cell processor will allow Stanford researchers to do certain calculations twenty times as fast as a personal computer. So if just 10,000 people with the gaming equipment help out, it will be the equivalent of the 200,000 PCs already working for Stanford."

Full story here

Folding @ Home

Read This: Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman!

What an awesome character!

More on Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman!.

Geek Giggle

The Dreamkeeper

After a rather nasty day at work, it was great to get a call from Dymocks notifying me that the book I had ordered was ready for pick up at the store. I had The Dreamkeeper by Robert Ingpen in my hot little hands around 40 minutes later and my day began to pick up.

I recently discovered Ingpen when I picked up Peter Pan and Wendy while looking for a gift in the children's illustrated books section in a bookstore. My jaw dropped when I opened the book and saw the gorgeous illustrations. I'm no poet and am not able to do justice to his work, so, just pick up one of his books when you have the opportunity and I'm sure you too will be astounded by his talent.

I highly recommend The Dreamkeeper and Peter & Wendy, both of which are now in my budding Ingpen collection. I am setting my sights on Pinocchio, Pictures Telling Stories: The Art of Robert Ingpen, Once Upon a Place, and many more.

"When discussing Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island — a classic adventure about buried treasure and pirates — Ingpen rubs his hands together with excitement. "It's one of the greatest stories of all time. If a child can get to chapter four and not be scared to death by Blind Pew tapping on the door of the Admiral Benbow Inn, they'll read for life!"

:D Full article here.

Smog changing Earth's water cycle

No real surprise but still a scary read.

"Smog may be having dramatic effects on the planet's water cycles, and in ways not previously apparent, researchers have warned. Revealing one aspect of this, they have shown that urban pollution and other aerosols have significantly reduced rainfall over hills in central China."

More at New Scientist.

Gimme Gadget: Blast Knuckles

Probably a very good thing that this nifty gadget would be illegal in Oz.

To think of all those people out there that I could 'experiment' on... woudl be great if it could deliver a charge through the phone to zap nasty customer disservice types.

"What was that? You stuffed up my account again?" *BBBBBZZZZZTTTttttTTTttttttt*

Courtesy of Gizmodo

Gimme Gadget: Slick-ass blank phone concept

Courtesy of Gizmodo

Hero News: Dean Kamen delivers again!

I love this guy!

"Dean Kamen (the Segway and medical/robot guy)'s new robot arm has been lighting up the internet since last week. There were loads of questions (is it really an arm? Why did he make it? Was the audience actually crying?) but not very many answers. Here are some new details on courtesy of a guy who was there..."

More details and video of the robotic arm at Gizmodo.

More info about Deka Research.

Cat parasite rules our lives

Wowzers!

"Vann sez, "As a follow-up to Cory's entry in January of last year on how toxoplasmosis may alter people's moods (women become more friendly; men become more paranoid), recent studies suggest that infection by the parasite may also cause people to become more prone to feeling guilty, develop schizophenia, have auto accidents, or be born male."

More info via BoingBoing.