Not a reference to the Limbo Rock, but to subwoofers. Back in the days when I was into knowing the specs of audio components, this would have really excited me. Now, it’s more of a, “hey, that’s a neat idea” sort of thing.
I wonder … lemme see … plasma tweeters, this, and …
Try using one of these.
… but I do appreciate tools. Some are beautiful, some are special-purpose, and some are just fun.
And some are beautiful, fun, and strange:
Better yet, who controls them, and what will they do with them?
DARPA is looking into prosthetics to help those whose brains have been damaged. A worthy idea, but one fraught with potential peril.
Who gets access to them? Advertisers would love to inject urges directly into your brain. What could hackers do with a botnet of real people? What would government want to do?
As much as I’d love implants that would enhance my brain’s capabilities, or even just maintain them in the face of damage or deterioration, I’m not sure I’d trust them.
I’m currently clean-shaven, but, when I have a beard, it’s normally the third from the left on this diagram. I would have thought it would be considered more evil than trustworthy.
I’d seen stories about how bad Detroit is (and heard the jokes, such as the one from Kentucky Fried Movie), but I hadn’t realized that it was this bad.
I don’t care much for cilantro. Although I recognize that it’s a vital component in certain salsa recipes, too much of it makes things acquire a lemony soap flavor to me. I remember at an office Christmas dinner many years ago being offered a spoonful of (read: forced to try) a cilantro soup. Yuck! Well, it seems that there is a genetic component to whether you like the flavor of cilantro. I find that easy to believe; I’ve long thought it myself. Personally, I suspect that it’s sex-linked, because most of the people I know who like cilantro are women, and most of the people I know who dislike it are men.
The iPad is a neat toy. I don’t really want one, but I could certainly have fun with one. One of the major complaints is that you can’t print from it. Well, the user community has taken care of that limitation.
Speaking of Apple products, in this case, the iPhone, this third-party app looks interesting.
This also looks like a fun toy.
Yet another reason not to get personalized license plates.
Chords and words for songs by Tom Waits.
I think I’ve got some ideas for unproductively sucking up more of my free time.
I’ll finish with a few videos. First, a nice version of Moondance on uke:
Next, a trailer for a movie of obvious class and tone:
Finally, a link to the Nova presentation on fractals.
Found at Maggie’s Farm (be sure to read the post):
Someone went to the trouble to update the technology for another industry:
Be sure to read this, too.
I don’t see much point in adding “toys” to a computer using the USB port, unless it’s something that either reports to the computer or can be controlled by the computer. Just using the computer’s USB port as a power outlet seems rather pointless to me, given that you really can’t get much power out of a USB port.
That being said, it’s obvious that there’s a market for all sorts of useless gadgets, such as the USB disco ball (can you set it to operate only when you’re playing Donna Summer or The Village People in iTunes?) and the USB drink cooler (which actually isn’t quite useless, even if they don’t say how long it takes to actually cool a drink).
There are design concepts here and here for USB toasters. Given the power restrictions, I wonder how long it takes to actually produce a piece of toast using one of them. Although the first one looks more like a printer, it appears that the second one is the one that operates as a printer.
I wonder if there’d be a market for slices of bread with an image of Jesus printed on them?
The Register reports a new brain-to-computer technology that does not require electrodes inserted into the brain. It sounds good, but it’s only half of the equation. A computer-to-brain interface is also required – for those artificial limbs they mention, you’ll need to feel how hard you’re grasping. And, while getting rid of the keyboard and/or mouse is nice, who wants to lug around a large display?
The title is, of course, Scotty’s quote in Star Trek IV when he realized that the Mac he was seated in front of didn’t have voice recognition.
