LEDs will light up Rockefeller Christmas tree - CNN.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:17 pm EST, Nov 21, 2007
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is going "greener" -- with energy-saving lights replacing old-fashioned bulbs on the towering evergreen this year.
The 84-foot-tall Norway spruce will be covered with 30,000 multicolored light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, strung on five miles of wire.
Using the energy-efficient LEDs to replace incandescent bulbs will reduce the display's electricity consumption from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowatt hours per day. The daily savings is equal to the amount of electricity consumed by a typical 2,000-square-foot house in a month.
After the official tree lighting ceremony on November 28, the Christmas tree will be illuminated from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. most days through the first week of January.
FuckU-FuckMe(tm) for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT provides the most complete remote sex solution for the Internet and corporate intranet. Powerful features let you sexually communicate with your remote partner and provide an absolutely realistic sensual experience of a real intercourse. The basic FU-FMe kit consists of two hardware units - genitalDrive(tm) model M (male) and genitalDrive(tm) model F (female) and an accompanying software interface. The genitalDrive is an internal device in a standard case that can be installed in any free 5.25" slot of your PC. The FU-FMe software connects your genitalDrive with a corresponding unit on a remote PC using TCP/IP protocol. When you start remote sexual intercourse with your partner using FU-FMe the system will transmit all your actions to his/her genitalDrive and precisely reproduce them in real time.
The system has intuitive interface and allows you to entirely concentrate on remote communication.
Note it costs $500 per unit. I wonder how in depth the tech support is. Here is a pic of how people are supposed to use it.
In a recent post, I talked a bit about the Wii, X Box 360, and the PS3. I dug up a lot of articles to get a few facts for that post, and I kept reading after the post. Since then I have done some thinking and I have some theories:
My theories:
1080 supportWhile the resolution is currently 480, the full power of the ATI "Hollywood" chip is unknown (Little information has been released, most information about the chip has has been obtained by hacking apart a Wii). Since the chip can read all the good stuff that the Game Cube's "Flipper" video chip, everyone assumes it is an upgrade. But upgrade implies some kind of improvement, and a 720 or 1080 resolution is an improvement. Unconfirmed reports from "drunken employees" claim that the Wii can support 1080.
The current Pinout of the Wii AV interface supports YPbPr, 16:9 switchable interface, but thankfully not enough pins for HDMI. One of the pins on the AV connector also supports an adjustable number of lines. So, the current connector with a YPbPr connector can support HD.
So, 1080 support can be as simple as a firmware "switch", or a small single chip hardware upgrade in a "new and improved" version of the Wii.
DVD support (or a HD disk support) The original prototype of the Wii (Called "Nintendo Revolution") was a black version of the Wii, and had full DVD support. The current Wii does not have DVD support out of the box, though a small hardware mod and boot disk make a Wii able to play a DVD. However this mod does require "griding away pins on the MB" and a new chip thrown on, along with the bot disk swap out.
After the initial release of the Wii, some PR people went on record claiming DVD capabilities would be added in late 2007. The post-release delay was claimed to be due to "fee negotiations" about the cost of DVD standards. Since then, the exact date statement has been recanted, and has been unofficially changed to "someday". This kinda hints that DVD capabilities can be added with a firmware upgrade and a "DVD Channel" thing.
Several polls have indicated that the majority of users want DVD cap... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ]
netpython wrote: Someone thought it would be a good idea to model their home theater after the Enterprise NCC-1701D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Sony pleads the PS3 is not dying / 1 year Aniversary of Wii
Topic: Miscellaneous
6:11 pm EST, Nov 19, 2007
To spur more games being ported to the PS3, Sony is cutting the SDK price in half. The newest PS console is struggling with lack of sales, high priced (yet sold at a lose) consoles, and lack of games. Developers are inclined to release games on the older PS2 as some of the advanced hardware on the PS3 is not needed. The "Blu-Ray" feature is not drawing expected crowds as the HD format war scares some consumers (along with the price tags); neither format (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) has moved from early innovator / adopter stage to early majority stage. The PS3 did have a 100$ price cut in July, but it is considered by some analyst as too late. Another small price cut after Black Friday would demonstrate desperation, while another "violet diode cost reduction" reason is used.
In happier news, Nov 19 is the one year anniversary of the Wii release. A few sales places still have stocking issues.
Some other stats to look at...
Games available: PS3 : 140 (including PS Network) X Box 360 : 500 (including XBox Live) Wii : 50 (not counting virtual console); 270 (including virtual console)
Worldwide Units Sold: PS3 : 5.6 mil Nov 2006 to Sept 2007 X Box 360 : 13.4 mil Nov 2005 to Sept 2007 Wii : 13.2 mil Nov 2006 to Sept 2007 (+ 4 mil expected in next 3 months)
Disk based Video formats: PS3 : DVD and Blu-Ray X-Box 360 : DVD (HD-DVD with $180 addon) Wii : No support (DVD support expected someday soon)
RE: A Visit to the Creation Museum, 11/10/07 - a photoset on Flickr
Topic: Society
9:42 pm EST, Nov 15, 2007
noteworthy wrote: Thanks; this is a rather comprehensive tour.
This museum has been discussed here previously over the years. ....
Sorry about the repeat. I came across the photo tour while watching NOVA do a two-hour special on Intelligent Design (the topic is mainly if ID is creationism is disguise). If anyone has 2 hours free, I would recommenced watching it, the full show is on PBS's website. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/
A Visit to the Creation Museum, 11/10/07 - a photoset on Flickr
Topic: Society
11:56 am EST, Nov 15, 2007
A photo collection from some kid's visit to a creationism museum. The title's and commentary make it rather interesting.
Apparently God is an Average Student
Hey, it's not me. Look at this report card! It's all "Cs"! Sure, he could probably do better if he applied himself, but then why should he? When you're already omnipotent and all-knowing, you don't exactly have to make the extra effort, now, do you? That said, I'm personally holding out for an Eternal Plan that's all As. It's not too much to ask for some quality work from one's creator.
A Thorny Problem
Follow the "logic" here.
International Brotherhood of Ark Builders, Local 122 Takes its Contractually Provided 15-Minute Break
Yes, they know Noah's in a rush. But it's in the contract. Don't worry. God dealt with them. Yes, He was the world's first union-buster.
The Names of the Two Biggest Rock Bands in the Immediate Post-Flood Era
Kaguya (Selene) Images of Earth-Rise Over the Moon | SpaceRef - Space News as it Happens
Topic: Miscellaneous
1:00 am EST, Nov 14, 2007
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) have successfully performed the world's first high-definition image taking of an Earth-rise* by the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE,) which was injected into a lunar orbit at an altitude of about 100 km on October 18, 2007 (Japan Standard Time. Following times and dates are all JST.)
This is awesome. The planet looks so small in those videos.
Make a PC interface out of a wii remote, IR emitters, and your finger tips. The true power of this is demonstrated with a grid manipulation demo at the end.
