Fun
Cheerful Curmudgeon Turns 3
Three years ago today, I posted my first entry on this blog. Join me in celebrating by splurging on a piece of birthday cake.
High Tech Windsock
Now I’ll readily admit that I’m no expert in windsocks. I’ve seen my share but never paid ‘em much mind. I’ve certainly never delved into the technology which makes ‘em work. Obviously, I have ignored somethin’ which ought not be ignored.
I just read this NOTAM:
Trenton NJ (Trenton Mercer) [TTN]: May NOTAM #5
Aerodrome 16/34 WINDSOCK out […]
Build a Boeing 777 in Four Minutes
Here is a little bit of just “plane” fun to brighten your Monday. Watch Boeing build a new 777 in just four minutes.
A Rib for a Pickle
Sometimes you just gotta do it. You’ve got this thing going on and life is good and the moment comes and you make a commitment. That’s what I did; I made a commitment. I said it out loud, in front of witnesses, to my wife.
Six of us were celebrating Cindy’s birthday. Even Cindy acknowledged that […]
Dream Computer
Candy and I have been watching the first season of Star Trek from Netflix. It’s great fun to see it large on the projector, and in color. Whoo hoo! David thought that Candy and I had completely lost it when we started humming along to the theme music during the opening credits:
do do
do do do
do […]
Man’s Best Friend
A dog is truly man’s best friend. Don’t believe me? Try this experiment:
Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car. Shut the lid.
After an hour, open the trunk.
Observe who is happy to see you.
If you try this, let me know the results.
The World’s Shortest Personality Test
Your Personality Profile
You are happy, driven, and status conscious.
You want everyone to know how successful you are.
Very logical, you see life as a game of strategy.A bit of a loner, you prefer to depend on yourself.
You always keep your cool and your composure.
You are a born leader and business person.
The World’s Shortest Personality Test
Electronic Computers: What I Do for a Living
I have trouble explaining what my job is when I am talking to people who do not “surf the web.” Fortunately, Charlie, over at ModernMechanix.com has posted an article from the June 1958 issue of Modern Mechanix, which explains all:
ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS - what they are and what they do
AUTOMATION has given new importance to electronic […]
Podcast’s Comin’, Hide Your Heart, Girl!
I have not posted much lately because podcasting has piqued my interest. Instead of writing, I have been reading about, and listening to, podcasts (and some broadcast radio shows). My brain is full of stuff about interviewing, podcast programming, audio processing, microphones, mixers, etc. Mike Wilkerson over at 2GuysTalking deserves much of the credit for […]
The Best Programmers’ Editor
I learned vi back in the bad ol’ days of 1980 when I was fresh out of college and working on a PDP 11/70 running UNIX version 6 with DEC VT100 terminals on a dozen users’ desks. Life was good. I even wrote a short book, How to Use Vi in 10 Easy Lessons, which […]
“Having Sex…” on Thanksgiving
That title got your attention, didn’t it? It got mine, too. Jump back to Thanksgiving morning in the Zemon living room.
I am quietly sitting in my easy chair, sipping coffee and enjoying the peace of the day before we rush into the hustle bustle of hosting the annual turkey day feast. All is right in […]
Plummeting Pumpkins Pound Perimeter
The Silvercreek Glider Club returned to the battlefield on the Saturday after Halloween to make another attack on a target in the middle of a farm field. The weapon of choice: pumpkins!
You have to hear it to believe the noise a pumpkin makes when it hits the ground after falling 1,000 feet. Twenty-two intrepid […]
Software Release Guide
This is not funny. Not one bit! ;-)
Once you start playing with software you quickly become aware that each software package has a revision code attached to it. It is obvious that this revision code gives the sequence of changes to the product, but in reality there’s substantially more information available through the rev-code than […]
Mom Says
Do you remember all those pearls of wisdom that your mom uttered when you where a child? Of course not; you weren’t listening. (I’ll admit it: neither was I.) Some of what mom said was good, solid advice, though. Here is your chance to reclaim those lost gems without having to relive your childhood. Just […]
Ten Commandments of Aviation
I am the plane that brought you out of the clouds and storms. You shall have no other plane but me.
Thou shalt not idolize any plane with the “wings on top.”
Remember the EAA breakfast and keep it holy.
Honor thy flight instructor.
Thou shalt not take the FAA in vain.
Thou shalt not crash.
Thou shalt not buzz the […]
NC-17
I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed. Well, actually I do know. And I’m not ashamed. ;-)
Your Mind is NC-17 Rated
You’re mind is so filthy… you should should be washing every part of you out with soap.
If your thoughts can go dirty, they do. Almost everything is NC-17 to you!
Do You Have […]
The Matrix Goggles
English Russia brings us The Matrix Goggles (follow the link so you can watch the video).
Russian artists from Moscow presented in London the totally useless but somehow cool device - goggles that you can put on and feel yourself like a robot from a Terminator movie or like somebody else from “the cyberspace”.
Better than rose […]
Don’t Trust Technology!
Oh my God! You can’t trust technology, at least not in St. Hilary in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. According to Reuters:
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s first official road signs to warn drivers about the dangers of trusting their satellite navigation devices (satnavs) were introduced on Tuesday in a Welsh village.
For more chuckles, read, Drivers […]
Second Solo
Whoo hoo, I soloed a glider yesterday! Gene, trusting soul and incredible instructor that he is, entrusted SWS2-33A N5751S to me for solo flight at the Silver Creek Glider Club. I got a tow up to 3,000′ AGL and actually caught a bit of a thermal. That got me up to 3,500′ where I decided […]
Those Born 1930-1979
TO ALL THE KIDS
WHO SURVIVED the
1930’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after […]
How To: Romance
Romance baffles me. Hey, I’m a guy; what do you expect (not that gals do much better, from my scientific conclusions gleaned from watching Sex and the City). Fortunately, the universe is conspiring to point me in the right direction with both visual and audio clues. First, the visual from xkcd.com:
Second, and probably most useful, […]
Woo Hoo! Soaring!!
I went for my first soaring flights today and the only reason my head is not in the clouds is because there were not any clouds. Gene, one of the instructors as the Silver Creek Glider Club, took me up in this Schweizer 2-33.
Gene handled the take-off and then let me [try to] follow the […]
Oshkosh AirVenture 2007, Part 2
I’m home from AirVenture in Oshkosh and ready to go back again. Sunburned. Tired. Sweaty. Twenty pounds heavier in the belly and $_____ lighter in the wallet. Full of memories of new friendships, long and winding conversations, glistening airplanes, cool new toys tools.
I saw more awesome airplanes than any guy has a right to see […]
Why Pilot’s Prefer Airplanes to Women
Airplanes usually kill you quickly; a woman takes her time.
Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.
Airplanes don’t get mad if you do a “touch and go.”
Airplanes don’t object to a pre-flight inspection.
Airplanes come with a manual to explain their operation.
Airplanes have strict weight and balance limitations.
Airplanes can be flown at any […]
Acting My Age
Thanks Archie.
Celebrating Independence
I am flying northwest along the Mississippi river. A few boats are cutting curly wakes in the river below but most are just sitting still. Perhaps the people on the boats are idly wondering what the airplane is doing 1,000 feet above their heads. The ferry just north of St. Charles has a single car […]
The View From an RC Airplane
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly in an RC airplane? Watch this:
Father’s day is coming and I would gladly accept one of those.
Garmin 396/496 Legal for IFR
(Unless you are a pilot, you probably do not care about this.)
Finally! Honestly, I believed Garmin when I bought my GPSMAP 396 and it said “VFR Use Only.”
We get a present today: the ability to use our Garmin 396 and Garmin 496 units for IFR en route and approaches. http://www.garminapproach.com/ has all the details.
You can […]
Not Very Normal
I have not had much time to write lately so I hope that this little tidbit will garner some favor in your eyes.
I seem to be only 55% normal and, given how weird I am, seems pretty darned good to me. Enjoy! :-)
You Are 55% Normal
While some of your behavior is quite normal…
Other things you […]
March of the Librarians
Many of you know that my wife is a librarian and that she attends American Library Association (ALA) conferences twice a year. I always wondered what she does there. Now I know. And you can, too.
(Did you spot her in there? She’s a starlet.)
FAA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
Thanks to the dedicated government researchers at the Cherokee Pilot’s Association for finding this critical information.
Subject: FAA NPRM
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (NPRM)
Part 0, Section 000 (a) 1(c)
Preface - As for the first part of the last part, see Section V, the Administrator may be a him or a her, but shall not discriminate about an […]
I am Spiderman and Chewbacca
I never thought of myself as Spiderman but an internet quiz can’t lie.
Your results:You are Spider-Man
Spider-Man
85%
Green Lantern
70%
Robin
60%
Catwoman
60%
Supergirl
55%
Superman
50%
Iron Man
45%
The Flash
40%
Wonder Woman
35%
Hulk
35%
Batman
35%
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
and when I’m not feeling like […]
Presidential Bumper Sticker
A friend saw this bumper sticker on the back of President Bush’s limo. Unfortunately, my friend didn’t have a camera so I don’t have a photograph.
IRAQIS: DEMOCRATIC OR DEAD
One thing I’ll say for Bush, his agenda is right out there in plain site. No hidden agendas for him, no sir!
Intervention
Once again, Ærchie has guided me to excellent comedy. :-) :-) :-)
Check it out! You’ll love it! and smile :-) all day!!!
Seduction Style
Ærchie found the Seduction Style quiz. Great fun for a holiday evening (or any evening, for that matter). I’ll ‘fess up first; I’m a Libertine.
So what is your style? Post a comment here and let me know.
The Best Things
I got a great fortune cookie for lunch:
I cannot understand why, after I complimented the restaurant owner on having the best lunch in town, she declined to give it to me for free.
Owner Assisted Annual Inspection
October brought the deadline for my airplane’s annual inspection and, having no in-depth knowledge of the process and liking to get my hands greasy, I decided to get involved as much as possible. That meant finding a shop that was willing to work with me. In the end, Jeremy at St. Charles Flying Service came […]
Ms. Dewey Search Engine
Ms. Dewey is simply too funny. Crank up your speakers and prepare for a hillarious Flash event.
I don’t think that she will replace Google but then again… you never know….
The Good Wife’s Guide
Here is a little bit of nostalgic Friday fun, from Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May 1955.
For some odd reason, I am having trouble holding a reasonable conversation with Candy when I have this piece of paper in my hand and I start with, “Why don’t you….”
My Working Day
I was whining to Scott Gurley about the inordinate amount of time it had taken me to fix a display bug in Internet Explorer. He sent me a copy of a pie chart which pretty accurately depicts how I spend many of my days. Enjoy:
Aerobatics Joy Ride
Boy oh boy, this makes me want to try aerobatics :-) What impresses me most is how the pilot keeps narrating in a normal tone of voice throughout the movie.
eMusic: Music Without DRM
Are you sick and tired of being told that you cannot make legitimate copies of your own music? Did you buy a song for your iPod only to later discover that you could not play it on something else that you own? A “little” company, eMusic.com, has the answer: they sell good music for a […]
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Serenading Horses
Too funny! Visit the Serenading Horses. (Click on the horses to make them sing.)
Thank you, Alyce, for finding them.
[Added August 10] And thank you Högaffla Hage in Sweden for creating these beasts. (Hint: after you enjoy the horses, click that link and then click on “STARTA”.)
AirVenture 2006 by the Numbers
The EAA says that AirVenture 2006 was about 10% smaller than AirVenture 2005 but it was plenty big enough for me. I walked my legs off and came home with a smile permanently embedded in my face.
Along with my plane, about 10,000 aircraft flew into Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport and the other airports in east-central […]
Joie du Vol
The Today Show did a great segment on the joy of flying a small plane. Watch it here.
Whooping Crane Chicks Return to the Midwest
The whooping crane has been in serious trouble for a long, long time. The situation is so dire that several groups of people, including the Whooping Crane Eastern Parntership, have taken to hand raising them and teaching them to migrate by leading them with ultralight aircraft. Yes… you read that right. These folks fly ultralight […]
Flying + Camping = Fun
I have loved flying ever since I was a boy. When I got my first paper route in sixth grade, one of the first things I bought with my own money was a subscription to Flying magazine.
We bought a Coleman pop-up trailer in the summer of 2001.
It has taken me five years of travels but […]
Happy 1st Birthday
The Cheerful Curmudgeon web site is one year old today! Since we all know that birthdays mean presents, join me in celebrating.
I like the Hobbit’s tradition that the one having the birthday gives presents to other people. (You have read The Fellowship of the Ring, haven’t you?) So here’s the deal:
You, Gentle Reader, simply leave […]
Jet-Powered VW
When bugs fly / Auto geek hits highway for surreptitious runs in jet-powered VW
I can’t even think of anything to add.
Tennis Elbow
I had been having persistent pain in my left elbow for three months now, so I figured it was time to see An Expert. I trundled off to Expert #1 who prescribed anti-inflamatory drugs and alternating cold and heat. Merrily, I trundled back home and did as I was told.
The pain persisted.
A phone call to […]
Hanging Around the Church
A local church is expanding its building and seems to have gone to extreme lengths to get congregants to hang around.
Spitfire Fun
Have you ever wondered how to have fun with a documentary commentator, a video camera, and a vintage Spitfire fighter plane? Watch this video to see the best way to do it.
I can imagine the scene from the commentator’s perspective. He does his spiel and hears the plane approaching from behind him. He waits patiently, […]
IE7 Web Site
I just ran across this cool resource on Internet Explorer v7: www.ie7.com
Amazing Juggler
Take a couple of minutes and watch this video of Chris Bliss juggling. You’ll be amazed.
Impressive Vex Robotics Kit
As reborted in BotMag.com, Jamie Hyneman and the Mythbusters are impressed and I want one.
Jamie Hyneman: As a holder of some patents and a designer and builder of dozens of prototypes and devices, I must admit I was expecting to turn up my nose at a do-it yourself robotics kit from Radio Shack. But guess […]
The Great Escape
I just fought my way up a wind tunnel, scrambled through a ventilation duct, clambered across 40 yards of rope netting, rolled under a fence, and burrowed through a mass of grapefruit-sized plastic spheres. Now I’m facing two doors. One leads to freedom. The other to a room with something nasty in it, possibly involving […]
Illegal weed moves into state’s produce top 10 - Feb 17, 2006
CNN.com - Illegal weed moves into state’s produce top 10
SPOKANE, Washington (AP) — Law enforcement officers harvested a dubious record last year — enough marijuana plants to rank the illegal weed as Washington state’s No. 8 agricultural commodity, edging out sweet cherries in value.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. :-)
A Llama for Your Mama
According to this article at Reuters.com
“Chatting over a llama is certainly a novel way to meet people in a relaxed environment, and participants can enjoy a romantic picnic afterwards — carried by the ever obliging llamas in their backpacks,” said owner Mary Walker [of Lakeland Llama Treks].
On Designing Software
Oftimes, it seems like Scott Adams’ Dilbert is created by a documentary filmmaker rather than by a comic strip artist. The January 29, 2006 strip is all too apropos:
250 Pounds of Silly Putty
The Official Google Blog’s entry, I’m feeling silly includes:
An email went out to cohorts. Their orders came in. Three weeks later, I had an eighth of a ton of Silly Putty delivered to my desk.
Naturally, we were all curious to see what 250 pounds of Silly Putty would look like, so before distributing the stuff, […]
Deciphering The Mystery Of Bee Flight
ScienceDaily reports in Deciphering The Mystery Of Bee Flight that scientists have finally figured out how bees fly.
Their wings beat over a short arc of about 90 degrees, but ridiculously fast, at around 230 beats per second. Fruit flies, in comparison, are 80 times smaller than honeybees, but flap their wings only 200 times a […]
2006 Nissan Urge Concept
David pointed me at Serious Wheels’ page on the 2006 Nissan Urge Concept car. Nissan and Microsoft have incorporated an Xbox 360 into a real car.
the Nissan URGE concept car allows drivers (while parked) to play “Project Gotham Racing® 3” using the car’s own steering wheel, gas pedal and brake pedal while viewing the game […]
Avian Flu on Airliners
There is an easy visual check you can perform to determine whether or not an airplane is contaminated with Avian Flu virus:
Greeting Card
The AdventurePilot.com Greeting Card is definitely worth a visit. Be prepared to do a little preparatory reading beforehand, though, including:
Welcome to the politically-correct greetings page from Adventure Pilot. We’d like to give you a warm fuzzy, but we realize in these politically charged times that isn’t an easy thing to do. In fact, you may […]
NORAD Tracks Santa 2005
This is the 50th year that NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. Learn more, and participate in the tracking (via radar, satelite, Santa cam, and fighter jet) at the official NORAD Santa Tracking web site.
Intelligent Design that I Can Understand
Finally, as published in The New Yorker: Shouts and Murmurs, is a depiction of how intelligent design really happened:
And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else […]
Government Site Serves Up Entertaining Irony
As reported by Netcraft in US Government Security Site Vulnerable to Common Attack,
The U.S. government site that tracks cyber security risks was recently found vulnerable to cross-site scripting, a technique commonly used in hacker attacks and web site spoofing. Several security sites have published a demonstration of the security hole in the web site for […]
Enneagrams
My friend Alyce (I hope she doesn’t mind if I call her that, since we have never met, but we have talked on the phone so much and exchanged so much email, that I think of her as as friend almost as much as I think of her as a client) wrote something interesting on […]
Carson Williams’ Amazing Christmas Lights
Ever seen 25,000 Christmas lights in action?
I just stumbled across videos of the most amazing Christmas light displays that I have ever seen. One is set to Wizard of Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the other sounds like a Barbra Streisand piece. (Both are WMV files so you may need the Windows Media Player […]
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beerholder
It may be old news but it is new news to me. The "beer goggle effect" has been quantified by academics in Scotland, as reported by BBC News back in August 2002:
They found that men and women who have drunk a moderate amount of alcohol find the faces of the opposite sex 25% more […]
Flying High
We got it!
Yesterday, Candy and I picked up our new baby, 1968 Piper Arrow N7430J and flew it home to St. Charles County Smartt airport. To say that I am thrilled would be an understatement. The radios, including the GPS, worked flawlessly. The flight from Kentucky back to Missouri was a joy on a cool, […]
How Low Can You Go?
If you are one of those people always trying to get a little more gut thumpinig bass out of your audio system, you might consider the Model 17 from Eminent Technology. This beast does not even have an enclosure. It just uses your house.
Want to hear what 5Hz sounds like? A new woofer technology unlike […]
What Computers Do At Night
Ever wonder what your computer does at night while you are sleeping? This movie will show you. Oh… and turn up the volume on your speakers before you click on that link.
The Top 5 Reasons Your Home Office Is Not Working Out
As a home office worker, I about fell out of my chair when I read this list from TopFive.com
Unlike your co-workers, your kids are smart enough not to buy your cover story of “naughty copier elves” when they find your butt-scans.
Every office has at least one total a-hole, and you’re the only one there. […]
Antique Books in Your [Virtual] Hands
You have access to pure magic in the computer screen you are looking at right now. Through the prestidigitations of the British Library, you can actually examine books hundreds of years old. BL has picked 15 fascinating examples including
One of Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks
Mercator’s first European atlas from the 1570s
The original Alice [in Wonderland], hand […]
SoN OF SPAM
[Ed: Just to be clear, I did not write this. I received it in an email message without attribution to the original author. Snopes.com says that it has been around since early 2004. Be careful. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you are likely to laugh to hard that you will fall […]
Miss Thailand didn’t expect to have to live there
Be careful what you ask for:
MacKay [winner of the Miss Thailand crown] said she had been persuaded to enter by relatives in Thailand when she came for a visit and hadn’t realized that the title required her to stay in the country for the coming year.
Reuters.com has the full story.
Vacation 2005
Last month, Candy, Kevin, David and I took our trailer and headed north for two weeks blissful escape from the St. Louis heat and humidity. Your’s truly set a schedule that assured we arrived home exhausted and needing a vacation to recuperate from our vacation.
We briefly stopped in Dubuque, La Crosse and Sault Ste. Marie; […]
Weekend o’ Death
This must have been a weekend o’ death, with my laptop dying and Joseph’s venerable “big screen” monitor passing on to the next world. It turns out we both suffer from / relish the symptoms of “dual monitor syndrome.” It sounds like he has a pair of LCD screens while I use the LCD in […]
Flying Again!
Yee Hah! I flew a plane today for the first time in almost 13 years! :-) Skyhawk N6343D from St. Charles Flying Service at St. Charles Municipal Airport (3SQ). Coming back after this long was almost as good as my first solo.
It seemed an auspicious day to run across an article about Glacier Girl, the […]
A Duct Tape Solution to Videogame Addiction
Says Joe McCarthy:
They pleaded with me to let them continue, and suggested that they tape their mouths shut to ensure that they didn’t keep shouting while they played.
Now why didn’t I get a chance to do that when my sons were shorter than I am? I don’t think I could get away with it any […]
The Origins of Ctrl Alt Del
Ever wonder where Ctrl Alt Del came from? Watch this short video: The Origins of Ctrl Alt Del
Microsoft’s Earth Deletes Apple HQ
From the “check your sources” department:
Kudos to two Register readers who discovered that Microsoft’s new Virtual Earth shows an empty field where Apple headquarters should be. Here is the article: Microsoft’s Earth deletes Apple HQ and here are two aerial views so you can see what is really there and what Microsoft wants you to […]
With Friends Like This…
Want to date Lance Archibald? Stop by www.DateLance.com
Thank goodness my friends are that crazy! :-)
(Don’t get any ideas, guys….)
Color Photographs from 1907-1915
Did you ever think that you could see color photographs from the early 20th century? Believe it or not, you can. Visit the Library of Congress online exhibition, The Empire That Was Russia: The Prokudin-Gorskii Photographic Record Recreated. These color photographs from Russia were made between about 1907 and 1915. The photographer used a special […]
Despair, Inc.
Check it out: Despair, Inc.
Interview with the Search Engine
Reminiscent of the old Eliza artificial intelligence program, and a lot more “relevant,” SatireWire has interviewed Jeeves of AskJeeves.com in their article, Interview with the Search Engine :-)
You can try talking with Eliza here and read about Eliza in Wikipedia.
My thanks to Jeremy Zawodny for finding this and brightening my day!
The iPod Flea
Watch the iPod Flea ad spoof. I know what I’m going to get for my teenage son for his next birthday! :P
Encountering Hyperion (Movie)
This is way too cool. A “movie” of Hyperion, one of Saturn’s smaller moons, shot by Cassini between June 9 and 11, 2005. The image here is only the low resolution version. Check out Encountering Hyperion (Movie) at ciclops.org for the hi-res movie.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Hair
Ever wonder what makes a “bad hair day” or whether the shampoo and conditioner commercials are true or full of bunk? The Exploratorium has answers for you in Exploratorium Magazine: Hair
Wife Carrying
Wife Carry Contest? Yup… read this: Wife Carrying :-)
Grizzly-sized Catfish Caught in Thailand
Thanks to Slashdot for this story, Grizzly-sized Catfish Caught in Thailand, about a 646 pound catfish that has been caught in Thailand.
Here is the original story, at National Geographic.
I wonder if the fisherman was noodling for it. :-P
Google Video. Now with … hysterical samples
From my limited perspective, the most fun pieces of Google Video. Now with … video! from the Google Blog are the sample videos.
You do need to install Google’s video player but it’s a small and easy installation. And, unlike the Windows and Real players, it just plays video… without taking over the rest of your […]
Bride of the Fat White Vampire
For a fun, vampire guided romp through New Orleans, check out Andrew Fox’s Bride of the Fat White Vampire. I am certainly enjoying it.
Spectacular Conjunction
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights, you will be able to see Saturn, Venus and Mercury practically on top of each other in the night sky.
The show begins on Saturday evening, June 25th. Step outside and look west toward the glow of the setting sun. Venus appears first, a bright point of light not far […]
Cats use fax as toilet, spark Japan house fire
This is just too bizarre to be fiction! I’ve got two cats and a dog. Thank goodness none of them has ever tried to “use” the laser printer. :-o
Inside Tornadoes Multimedia
Words fail me. Go watch this video from inside a tornado. Inside Tornadoes Multimedia @ National Geographic Magazine
Cindy & Geoff’s First House
I try not to fill my blog with personal drivel of no interest to anyone besides me… but even iron-willed Art can’t pass this by. :-) Cindy and Geoff (my wife’s daughter and her husband) just bought their first house. They found a hundred year old beauty (in need of a little TLC) on a […]
Noodling: Catch a Fish by Hand
Bored? Try noodling. From the STLtoday article:
The catfish chomped down on Jimbo Anderson’s ankle with a mouthful of teeth like tiny needles. Pain spun in his head, but Anderson thrust his bare right arm into the murky water, reaching into the hole where the catfish hid. The intrusion was met by the catfish’s teeth. It […]
Straight Line Designs
Boing Boing gets credit for bringing this to my attention. Straight Line Designs creates some of the most unusual furniture I have ever been delighted to see.
Coincidentally, their Flash animation is stunningly wonderful! I wish I had that talent. The intro page is cute but the main site menu make wonderful use of both motion […]
Missed Bridge
I mentioned Google Sightseeing once before but never imagined how useful it could be in finding hazardous roads. ;-) This “dangerous bridge” is just about 30 miles north of where I live.
It is actually the Clark Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois.
Fun Ideas for the Weekend
With the Memorial Day weekend looming large, I humbly offer these ideas to keep you busy.
First, Boing Boing refers us to a web site with instructions on how to create your own Popsicles out of Guiness. The original site seems to have exceeded its bandwidth allocation so you’ll have to make do with this little […]
Duct tape festival in Ohio
Without Boing Boing, I would never have found out about the Duct tape festival in Ohio, to be held on Father’s Day weekend (when else?).
With a bit more tape, I think I can get the car to hold together well enough to get me there! :-)
Big Brother is Watching in Chicago
From Slashdot we learn that Big Brother, and everybody else, is watching if you commit a crime in Chicago. Check out ChicagoCrime.org to see where the bad guys are operating in the Windy City.
Possibly more practical is this Cheap Gas hack.
Hats off to Google Maps, which is providing the underlying mapping data for both of […]
Fond Memories of Amdahl
Deadprogrammer’s Cafe has a wonderful posting titled Amdahl : Business in the Front, Party in the Back which includes photos of a board out of an old Amdahl 470 mainframe. That was the first “large” computer that I ever used, at the University of Michigan in 1976.