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March 30, 2004
Speed Demon in a Ghost Town
"Hello," the article begins, "my name is Elena, I run this site and I don't sell anything in here and to tell the true, I don't have anything to sell. What I do have is my bike and this absolute freedom to ride it wherever curiosity and speed demon take me to."
And what better place for a woman with a speed monkey on her back to take her motorcycle out for a spin than... Chernobyl. Miles and miles of open road, with no pesky pedestrians or traffic to worry about, so sixth gear is the default option. Elena takes her camera through the countryside, past the "Big Egg" to the very nuclear plant itself (captioned accordingly, "here is thing that turned whole region into a desert. It is closed now.")
A truly interesting and engaging site. Kudos, Elena!
Posted by John at 05:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2004
Invade Canada!
OK, here's the plan...
Maybe the funniest thing about this parody web site is that the web site is a .US domain. Nice touch.
You know, no matter how obvious something might be in its parody, there are still people - lots of people - lots of angry people - who will miss the point, so this one is sure to piss off many overly sensitive Canadians and Americans alike. I like the explanations behind each of their reasons for undertaking the invasion:
- It's been done before
- Canada Has Stuff!
- If Christmas ever fails to come, the Canucks did it
- They're just a little too proud
- They stole our basketball teams
- They don't play nicely with each other
- It's possible
Newfoundland's Worst Air Disaster occurred today when a small two-seater Cessna 152 plane crashed into a cemetery early this afternoon in central Newfoundland.Newfie search and rescue workers have recovered 300 bodies so far and expect that number to climb as digging continues into the evening.
Posted by John at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2004
FREE CULTURE
Lawrence Lessig is not just talking the talk, he's walking the walk. The entire text of his new book, Free Culture, is available on the Internet under a Creative Commons copyright license in PDF format which you can download, all 352 pages of it.
Posted by John at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
New calendar at JGM
Playing with the collaborative calendar functions and RSS feed from www.upcoming.org and the mods to create a category-sortable feed from HitorMiss.org -- custom PHP and XML to access content that is not in the Upcoming.org "My Events" feed (like venue map links and full event descriptions)-- and the MagpieRSS Parser package, put them all in a pot and stir briskly and you get a JGM Music Events calendar that updates automatically. This was actually quite easy to do, I'm surprised.
Posted by John at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)
Using 10% of your brain
That whole popular idea of our using only 10% of our brain gets debunked by Barry L. Beyerstein of the Brain Behavior Laboratory at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
All told, the foregoing suggests that there is no cerebral spare tire waiting to be mounted in service of one's grade point average, job advancement, or the pursuit of a cure for cancer or the Great American Novel.So, Barry asks, how did that myth arise? And proceeds to do some historical research. There are, as he says, no smoking guns, but it's an interesting look back at how our attitudes and understanding of the human brain have changed.
Posted by John at 02:17 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2004
You Are What You Eat
Anna Nobile is an Italian Canadian and is either a poet who cooks or a chef who writes poetry, your choice. She noticed that many of her poems mention food. In fact, they mention food a lot. So she decided to present them together. A recipe, and a poem. In fact, four recipes and and four poems.
Hey, why not? Dinner-and-a-movie works, right? Why not recipe-and-a-poem? Take a break, enjoy a narrated poem while you plan your dinner. It's a Flash project on 120seconds.com, and I highly recommend the site overall. There are lots of Flash sites out there, and most of them suck. 120seconds does not suck, and in fact, given the highly interactive rich media delivered by this music-oriented site, Flash is actually a better medium for this site than HTML. Which is rare.
BTW, I found this site through it's sister site, JustConcerts.com, which has a TON of totally free music online - from concerts and studio sessions in Vancouver and Toronto. Canada has got it going on.
Posted by John at 01:11 AM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2004
TerraFly
TerraFly lets you view aerial or satellite photos of cities around the world for free. You can search for a specific address and navigate around your neighborhood from the Java-based command center. Click the Satellite link under Photography to launch another console and navigate by latitude and longitude. Some limitations apply:
Under the current user load, we have to limit flight time, image quality, and access to advanced features. A substantially more liberal quota is in effect from 6pm ET to 8am ET. You can get a practically unlimited flight quota with a paid subscription. Subscribers see/fly-over clean non-watermarked imagery, can fly practically quota-free, get priority in data streaming (can fly faster), get advanced image manipulation features, get more details in popup demographic data (but do not get free downloads).
And yes, I did find my house. All I can say is my allotted time piloting my helicopter around the neighborhood was over altogether too quickly.
The amount of statistical data is staggering. Go to www.terrafly.com, and click on "Products" and select "Data Report" and put in your address and you get access to an amazing assortment of data about your neighborhood, including rankings on everything from the quality of the schools to incomes and home prices to the cleanliness of the local air and water. It even has neat little descriptions of the various classifications of people that typically live there. In Tiburon, we're 67% "Executive Suburban Families". Go cross-country skiing, Own stock valued $10k+, Have $100k+ life insurance, Eat Brie cheese, Own an Infiniti, Own a Mercedes, Drink Scotch, Own two or more VCRs, Own a piano, Watch CBS: Face The Nation, Watch Wall Street Week, Read Inc., Read Travel & Leisure
Another good aerial photography site that has been around a long time, TerraServer, is the largest online atlas of satellite imagery and aerial photography. You can search, browse, and zoom in on images of the world.
With imagery from more than 60 countries, TerraServer's goal is to provide complete coverage of the Earth's surface. It started out as a research project between Aerial Images, Microsoft, the US Geological Survey, and Compaq. Aerial Images wanted to sell imagery online and Microsoft needed a large database to test the capabilities of its new database software. TerraServer was born.
EarthViewer3D is a cool application that gives you a birds-eye view of different parts of the world, but will set you back $50 to $600 for a subscription to the service. With services like the first two mentioned above, their business model is doomed. This particular information wants to be free.
Posted by John at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2004
Latest Jim Carrey movie
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind looks like a fun movie. Jim Carrey finds out his girlfriend has had her memories of their relationship erased, and decides to do the same, but finds out getting over Kate Winslet isn't so easy. I can see that. Just got back from NY and she was all over the cover of Gotham magazine, looking great. Nice little supporting web site for Lacuna, Inc. (the memory erasure shop) here.
Posted by John at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2004
Left Wing Terrorists
Been a busy week, with in-laws, parents, grandparents and girlfriends all converging on target Tiburon (no, they are not the "left wing terrorists" referred to in the title), and as a result not much time to post. Still trying to catch up, but here's two great links you can put together to entertain yourself:
1. James Lilek in his regular column The Bleat, on the weekend anti-war rallies
The Movement to Reinstall Saddam commemorated the first anniversary of the Iraq campaign by expressing their outrage at the loss of an ally in the war against America... These people want “freedom,” but only for themselves. Freedom to preen. Freedom to flatter themselves that they are somehow committing an act of bravery by Speaking Truth to Power. But they’re speaking Nonsense to Indifference. Pictures of Bush as Hitler sieg-heiling away would get them killed if this was truly the country they insist it is.Lileks has a very powerful and engaging writing style. It reminds me of Stephen King when he's walking you through the inner dialog of one his characters who is going insane. And...
2. Pictures of the loons who paraded their wares at the mother of all anti-war rallies, right here in my backyard, San Francisco.
Posted by John at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2004
Neighborhood Watch
Check out what your neighbors are doing on Neighbor Search, a new feature on FundRace 2004, at least if what your neighbors are doing is contributing to political campaigns. All public information, of course, now searchable and sortable.
I live in Tiburon, CA, a wealthy little neighborhood (Republican) in Marin County (home of the Grateful Dead and with more hot tubs per capita than anywhere else on earth - think Democrat), in California (a Democratic state with a republican Governor). It's a very confused political landscape. Even limiting the search to neighbors within 2.00 miles from my house, I came up wth 138 contributors, pitching in $140,731. And the results are the predictable mixed bag.
The bad news is these folks are wealthy and influential. The good news is, at polling time, they cancel each other out.
Posted by John at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)
Local Google
Google launches a new beta feature that lets you search locally. Of course, in our typically American myopic fashion "local" only means within the good 'ol USA, but this feature holds much promise.
As much as I want to buy off the web and encourage the further development of web-front stores where ubiquitous price competition can drive margins - and therfore my costs - lower, from time to time I also need something NOW which means I can't wait for it to be shipped, so I need local merchants. Yes, I DO realize the hypocrisy in that. I want my cake, and I'd like to eat it too, thank you very much.
Posted by John at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
The usefulness of scatterplots
Matt is doing scatterplots in algebra and drawing lines that best fit the data, and I was checking his homework tonight. I wanted to make a point to him about the usefulness of scatterplots, and I was reminded of a report I had seen on the web. It's an oldie but a goodie. Since it was hard to find using Google, I'll post the link here. Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass. This one page report on lab test results is well worth reading if you haven't seen it.
Posted by John at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2004
More Yeti!
Oh yes, YetiSports is back with Seal Bounce. This time we're tossing seals for altitude, and a nifty little sports cam captures each new record-breaker as-it-happens. So far my best toss is 313.66.
Posted by John at 07:58 AM | Comments (1)
March 16, 2004
Shel's spiffy site
ShelSilverstein.com has undergone a recent face lift, with the addition of tons of entertaining new content. There are poems and stories, wonderful drawings, coloring books and children's activities, even animated (Flash) extracts from some of his books. This is a wonderful site for kids.
This is not. (Although I admit The Devil and Billy Markham kicks ass and makes me wish I could play guitar so I could set it to music. Piano just does not fit those lyrics.)
Shel sure can write funny poems, but -- overall -- the guy kinda creeps me out.
Posted by John at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
Eternal Egypt
This kind of site is just so cool. This is what the web is all about, not imaginary girlfriends. There is so much amazing, original content here that it is worth visiting time and again. I would strongly recommend getting very familiar with this site before any visit to modern day Egypt!
The Eternal Egypt web site includes an unprecedented experience of high-resolution images, three-dimensional reconstructions of Egyptian monuments and antiquities, as well as virtually-reconstructed environments, panoramic images, and panoramic views of present-day Egypt captured by robotic cameras located from the top of Karnak Temple to the streets of Old Cairo. An innovative, interactive map and timeline will guide Eternal Egypt visitors through Egypt's cultural heritage, while a "context navigator" presents the complex relationships between objects, places and personalities of Egypt's past in a unique, web-like display.
Posted by John at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)
Note to self:
Self, you need to learn a foreign language. Take an afternoon and master one.
Posted by John at 12:39 AM | Comments (0)
Anecdotes
One of the things that makes me a decent storyteller, educator, joke teller, speaker, and dad is the ability to use anecdotes in relating a story to my audience. Anecdotes and analogies help people get their minds around difficult concepts, get them personally involved in the storyline, and make them remember what you told them. Now a web site, Anecdotage.com, has sprung up that chronicles the most effective, instructive and humerous anecdotes from around the world. Try the "Random" button - hours of entertainment here!
Posted by John at 12:38 AM | Comments (1)
Streetsigns on the Road to Hell #5
If finding a real live, warm-blooded female companion is just too much effort, you'll be glad to know that you can at least fake out all your friends. You can exchange letters and emails and IMs, and even get voicemails from, and photos of your fake SO. With your new Imaginary Girlfriend®, no one need know that you are in fact so lame that you can't get your lazy ass up off the sofa long enough to pursue a genuine relationship.
It is a devastating indictment of our culture that some of these girls are already overboooked.
Posted by John at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2004
Oregon + Washington + British Columbia = CASCADIA
Tired of indifference and condescension from distant seats of power? Throw off the yoke of your francophonic imperialist masters! The USA and Canada persist in hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society. We need a new form of government! Not a king. We need an autonomous collective.
Stop fooling yourself. You're living in a dictatorship: a self-perpetuating autocracy. What we need is an anarcho-syndicalist commune, where we take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.
ARTHUR: Yes.
DENNIS: ...but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting...
ARTHUR: Yes, I see.
DENNIS: ...by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,...
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: ...but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major--
ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!
WOMAN: Order, eh? Who does he think he is? Heh.
ARTHUR: I am your king!
WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.
ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.
WOMAN: Well, how did you become King, then?
ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake,...
[angels sing]
...her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.
[singing stops]
That is why I am your king!
DENNIS: Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: Well, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
ARTHUR: Shut up!
DENNIS: I mean, if I went 'round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!
ARTHUR: Shut up, will you? Shut up!
DENNIS: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.
ARTHUR: Shut up!
DENNIS: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
ARTHUR: Bloody peasant!
DENNIS: Oh, what a give-away. Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about. Did you see him repressing me? You saw it, didn't you?
Posted by John at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2004
Get Yer Headlines Here!
267 front pages from 36 countries presented alphabetically.
Posted by John at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2004
Reverse Astrology
If you're one of those idiots that grants any credibility whatsoever to astrology, this should fix you right up. At least, there's an 11-out-of-12 chance that it will. heh. Reverse Astrology - you describe your personality traits, and it will tell you what you sign you are.
My sign is (choose one):
Child at Play
STOP
Astrology is for Idiots
Dip
Billions and Billions Served!
All You Can Eat
Posted by John at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)
Karn Evil 9 of the Vanities
Aaron's rantblog at Carnival of the Vanities this week has a most interesting Table of Contents, scripted as it is to the lyrics of ELP's awesome Karn Evil #9 (first impression).
We've got thrills and shocks, supersonic fighting cocks.
Leave your hammers at the box
Come Inside! Come Inside!
Roll up! Roll up! Roll up!
See the show!
Maybe next week we'll see a little Brain Salad Surgery.
Posted by John at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2004
Uncle Yamamoto wants YOU!
Recruiting for the armed services has always been a challenge, from the days of Uncle Sam pointing his long finger at YOU to today's Army of One. Be all that you can be. Join the Navy. See the world. Aim High. Air Force. And the Marines are still looking for a few good men. Apparently things are even tougher in Japan. I will spare you my speculation about the message this ad campaign is trying to deliver. I'm sure you can handle that one yourself.
Posted by John at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2004
Bloody Penguins
I suppose it was inevitable that some twisted psycho would get hold of the penguin baseball game and ruin it with a whole lot of spikes and blood. Who IS this sick individual who would take an innocent game of clubbing penguins for distance and turn it into something horrific???
I got 980.7 yards.
Posted by John at 07:57 AM | Comments (2)
The Singhsons
How politically incorrect can you get? Plenty, if it's funny. At least around here. For fun, count how many stereotypes you can find represented in this Indian version of the Simpsons intro.
Click on the picture to go to the full Flash movie.
Posted by John at 06:53 AM | Comments (0)
Demon Balls
I like to kid my kids about this show they like called DragonballZ which is pronounced "Dragon Ball Z", but looks like "Dragonballs" which in turn sounds like a painful medical condition.
Now there's a nifty little web game called Demon Balls, and since I'm linking it here, it's probably going to bring all my barbed comments back home in spades. As ye sow, so shall ye reap, I guess.
Posted by John at 06:06 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2004
Here there be monsters...
I've seen drawings and the occasional photo of some of the unusual deep sea denizens that dwell in the deepest recesses of the ocean in total darkness, but never any like this. Amazing photos. The fishes with the mouthfuls of teeth are scary, and the ones with their own portable light show are extra cool, but that blobfish (ugh!) and the chimeara (arrgh! and the baby one, arrgh!) and the eel with the squid that came out of its stomach (urp!) and the very last picture which I swear looks like a direct descendent of the monster from Aliens (ewww!), whoa...
nightmaresville.
Another great link swiped from metafilter.
Posted by John at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
Found art
Looking for a map online, I stumbled across the Earth as Art series, complete with audio, from NASA's Landsat operation. Eleven short videos, each highlighting some amazing features of our Earth from a perspective that we ground-dwellers don't usually get.
Posted by John at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)
