for_sv's Blog

jest for pun (March'05)

March '05 BlogThoughts

Every calendar's days are numbered.

I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry. - Rita Rudner (b. 1956) - American comedian, actress.

Punctuality is the virtue of the bored. - Evelyn Waugh

Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow color blind. - Austin O'Malley

remember, where there is a will there is a way (to go)!

tame the monkey

meet and eat

Here we have a game that combines the charm of a Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double-entry bookkeeping. - Cecil Adams (on the game Dungeons and Dragons, from Straight Dope)

I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me. -Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965) British Novelist and playwright

All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible. - William Faulkner (1897 - 1962) American author. Nobel prize winner.

My school was so tough the school newspaper had an obituary section. - Norm Crosby

In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination. - Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

It requires a great deal of faith for a man to be cured by his own placebos. - John L. Mcclenahan

PIRACY, n. Commerce without its folly-swaddles, just as God made it. - Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary

Doctors pour drugs of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, into patients of whom they know nothing. - Moliere (1622 - 1673)

If it's the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number? - Robin Williams (b. 1952) - American Oscar winning actor.

A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor. - Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

Picture Book

This country is so urbanized we think low-fat milk comes from cows on Nutri/System weight-loss plans. - P. J. ORourke (b. 1947) - American political satirist.

The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouths they've been in. - Dennis Potter

Cockroaches and socialites are the only things that can stay up all night and eat anything. - Herb Caen

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. - Robert Frost

Never judge a book by its movie. - J. W. Eagan

Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones. - Albert Einstein

You know the oxygen masks on airplanes? I don't think there's really any oxygen. I think they're just to muffle the screams. - Rita Rudner (b. 1956) - American comedian, actress.

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. - (1880 - 1956) Henry Louis Mencken, US Critic and Editor.

March 31, 2005 in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 30, 2005

Anita Jain: Is Arranged Marriage Really Any Worse Than Craigslist?

Read the MOST POPULAR article from NewYorkmetro.com

(posted here with Author's permission)

The author in her Fort Greene apartment. Recently, i was cc’d on an e-mail addressed to my father. It read, “We liked the girl’s profile. The boy is in good state job in Mississippi and cannot come to New York. The girl must relocate to Mississippi.” The message was signed by Mr. Ramesh Gupta, “the boy’s father.”

That wasn’t as bad as the time I logged on to my computer at home in Fort Greene and got a message that asked, forgoing any preamble, what the date, time, and location of my birth were. Presumably sent to determine how astrologically harmonious a match with a Hindu suitor I’d be, the e-mail was dismayingly abrupt. But I did take heart in the fact that it was addressed only to me.

I’ve been fielding such messages—or, rather, my father has—more and more these days, having crossed the unmarriageable threshold for an Indian woman, 30, two years ago. My parents, in a very earnest bid to secure my eternal happiness, have been trying to marry me off to, well, just about anyone lately. In my childhood home near Sacramento, my father is up at night on arranged-marriage Websites. And the result—strange e-mails from boys’ fathers and stranger dates with those boys themselves—has become so much a part of my dating life that I’ve lost sight of how bizarre it once seemed.

Continue reading ...
Anita Jain is currently Technology and telecommunications reporter for Crain's New York Business

March 30, 2005 in Columnists, Humor, Reality | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 29, 2005

Your body as data

2 GB of data per second, piggybacking on your skin's electrical field. You == organic lan for small electronic devices. And it's a little more secure than bluetooth.

March 29, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

COOL Javascript Trickery

COOL Javascript Trickery. Useful? Sure seems like it could be, though I can't think how. Fun? YES!

March 29, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 28, 2005

bored in class

[Illustrated Notes from Computer Science:] [Tom Murphy VII] gets [more] [bored] [in] [class] [than] [you]. And thanks to his [free] [fonts], your boredom can look just as snazzy. (Previous Tom7-related action [here]. This guy [keeps] [busy]. I blame the [80/20 rule].)

March 28, 2005 in Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 27, 2005

Why some see colours in numbers

US scientists say they can explain why some people 'see' colours when they look at numbers and letters.

As many as one in 2,000 people has an extraordinary condition in which the five senses intermingle, called synaesthesia.

Some see colours when they hear music or words. Others 'taste' words.

The study in Neuron tracked the brain activity of people with the most common form and found peaks in areas involved with perceiving shapes and colours.

Cross-wiring

The University of California San Diego team said their findings lend support to the idea that the condition is due to cross-activation between adjacent areas of the brain involved with processing different sensory information.

This cross-wiring might develop, they believe, by a failure of the "pruning" of nerve connections between the areas as the brain develops while still in the womb.

March 27, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 26, 2005

another one for all my Indian friends

Software Ke Phool

Guru Dutt is reborn and sets up a Software firm. He makes a film, called 'Software ke phool'. Sahir Sahab likewise revises his old song for the new venture.

It goes like:

yeh document, yeh meetings, yeh features ki duniya,
yeh insaan ke dushman, cursors ki duniya
yeh deadlines ke bhooke, management ki duniya;
yeh Product agar ban bhi jaaye to kya hai?

yahaan ek khilona hai programmer ki hasti
yeh basti hai murda bug-fixers ki basti
yahaan par to raises hai, inflation se sasti
yeh Review agar ho bhi jaaye to kya hai?

har ek keyboard ghayal, har ek login pyaasi
excel mein uljhan, winword mein udaasi,
yeh office hai ya aalame microsoft ki
yeh Release agar ho bhi jaaye to kya hai?

jalaa do ise, phoonk daalo yeh monitor mere saamne se
hataa daalo yeh modem tumhaara hai tumhi sambhaalo
yeh computer yeh Product agar chal bhi jaaye to kya hai?

March 26, 2005 in Reality | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

March 25, 2005

Protect Yourself from Tom DeLay With a Living Will

There are many lessons to learn from the unprecedented intervention by Congress (as led by Rep. Tom DeLay) into the tragic situation of Terri Schiavo.

The first is that the current Congress will intervene in the most private of family matters if it sees political advantage in doing so.

As a result, the only way to ensure that your own views are respected in similar settings is to have an advanced healthcare directive or living will. Working Assets does not provide legal advice. However, many have found helpful the information on these subjects provided by The American Bar Association. and the Living Will Registry

The second lesson is that there is no limit to the sheer audacity and hypocrisy of Rep. DeLay and his followers in this unprecedented intervention, only days after voting to slash billions of dollars from the health program which provides for millions of Americans and which itself saves thousands of lives.

We urge you to demand that your representative save lives by restoring cuts to the critical Medicaid program.

Click here to take action!

**Please forward this to your friends and help spread the word about this important campaign!

Thank you for working to build a better world,

Jennifer Willis
Director
ActForChange.com

March 25, 2005 in Info, Reality, World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 24, 2005

Don’t you know you’re gonna to shock the monkey

Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that allows users to create scripts that alter the display of existing web pages. Like removing ads from google pages. I learned about the google script from boingboing. Oh, here's a script to remove the ads from there. Greasemonkey has a lot of uses, but has adblocking gone too far?

March 24, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 23, 2005

First Annual Northeast Desi Blogger Meet

If you’re a bloghead and you’re Desi, then nothing should keep you away from the First Annual Northeast Desi Blogger Meet. This is the social occasion of the year for those of us who are really with it. It’s in New York (after all!) and it’s on April the second. Oh, yes, there will be a [Fun-filled] [Tiffinbox] full of [Random] goodies, with [Literary] [Stories] about [Movies] and some [Thought-provoking], controversial, [Geeky] and sometimes [Idiotic] and funny [Lectures]. So get your [Deeshaa] over to Bay Leaf and join the crew for a [Fair and Balanced View…] with some [Yelling] which might be a little [Inside-Out]. With such a fine [Potpourri] you will end up smelling like roses and having a blast.

So please join us
Date: April 2
Place: New York
Venue: Bay Leaf
Time: 1:30

Please ping Prashant Kothari (prashantkothari-at-stringinfo.com) or Kaushik/ Seshu/ Reuben or email [tiffinbox at pipalproductions dot com] your name and blog URL. Subject line, BAY LEAF.

March 23, 2005 in Weblogs, World News | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 22, 2005

Braingle

Brain Teasers, Riddles, Games, Forums and more...

With over 7,500 brain teasers, riddles, logic problems and mind puzzles submitted and ranked by users like you, Braingle has the largest collection anywhere on the internet. Their large array of unique online multiplayer games will keep you entertained for hours. If you crave a brain teaser, mind puzzle, riddle or game, they are the place to get it. Increase your creativity, boost learning and become a better person at Braingle. Get ready to have your brain tangled!

March 22, 2005 in Games | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 21, 2005

Glassblowing galore

Woman and Necklace by Leslie Rowe-Israelson and Melanie Rowe Fascinated by glassblowing? More video and info than you can shake a stick at. See also: Glassblowing in Antiquity as well as today. View the process via a mpeg video (or step through the pictures). See some old glass recipes and learn about what the individual ingredients do. Ever seen a Chihuly exhibition? (or via QuickTime (now in several locations). Wow. There is also a process for fusing, slumping and kiln-forming glass called "Warm Glass". Gallery here. If you are into this you may need to save this one for the weekend, but I couldn't wait.

March 21, 2005 in Fun, Info | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 20, 2005

Harvard rejects

"Hacker" discovers backdoor to Harvard Business School admissions decisions.

Harvard rejects all applicants who used the "hack."

March 20, 2005 in World News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

# posted by SV @ 3/31/2005 07:20:00 AM

Anything Is Possible

How many times did you want to be a DJ?
Now you can podcast.

How many times did you want to be a movie maker?
Now you can Vimeo.

How many times did you want to be a rock star?
Now you can garageband.

How many times did you want to write music for TV shows?
Now you can Freeplay.

How many times did you want to be a journalist?
Now you can blog.

Anything is possible in this world we are living in.

It's an incredible time with the barriers to entry coming down for so many things. The revolution of the ants is upon us.

Enjoy it.

(via Musings of a VC in NYC)

March 19, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 18, 2005

School stories

School stories (long out of print in English) of Frigyes Karinthy. Short, funny, and occasionally bittersweet; favorites include The Good Student and The Bad Student Tested, and Hanging From the Apparatus.

March 18, 2005 in Fun | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 17, 2005

Fairfax county school text books

Petition open to Fairfax County Residents Fairfax County is in the process of selecting social studies textbooks for 5th, 9th, and 10th grades. These textbooks cover world history and culture. India and Hinduism are part of the curriculum in 5th, 9th, and 10th grades.

As you all know that the textbooks give a very negative picture of India and Hinduism. In the textbooks, Hinduism starts with caste system and end with sautee. In between somewhere buried is child marriage. The treatment of Hinduism and India emphasizes clichés, and the textbooks focus on material that is not important or illuminating. The treatment of Hinduism is oversimplified and often lacks context. Hinduism is examined from a cultural and anthropological perspective, often emphasizing the exotic, while other religions are examined from the perspective of followers. The books do not adequately present the fundamental belief systems of the religion or explore the core values of the culture.

This is an effort to get the School Board change the textbooks and adopt only those textbooks which give a balanced portrayal. The final selection of the textbooks will be made on March 31st. Please sign the petition to make your voice heard.

Go to the URL (http://www.indiapetitions.com/) and clicked on our subject "Corrections facts about Hinduism and India in Fairfax county, VA school text books" (http://www.indiapetitions.com/pms/showpetition.php?p_am=141&)

March 17, 2005 in Info, Reality, World News | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

March 16, 2005

Pacemaker 'cure' for depression

SCIENTISTS claim to have developed a "brain pacemaker" that can cure depression through an electronic stimulus.

The discovery raises hopes for thousands for release from depression by drilling holes into their skull and attaching electrodes to the brain which create a brighter mood.

But psychiatrists warn such "surgery" is a drastic measure that must be used with caution.

Scientists in Toronto studied six patients who had suffered years of untreatable clinical depression. Four women and two men had electrodes planted deep into their brain to stimulate one of the areas involved in mood control.

March 16, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 15, 2005

India wins landmark patent battle

India has won a 10-year-long battle at the European Patent Office (EPO) against a patent granted on an anti-fungal product, derived from neem.

EPO initially granted the patent to the US Department of Agriculture and multinational WR Grace in 1995.

But the Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal neem tree is part of traditional Indian knowledge.

The winning challenge comes after years of campaigning and legal efforts against so-called "bio-piracy".

March 15, 2005 in Reality, Tech/Science , World News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 14, 2005

Internet satire takes on mighty drug industry

Taking a page from the Internet bloggers' playbook, public policy advocates at Consumers Union this week are releasing an animated satire of the drug industry -- "The Drugs I Need" -- to get Americans' attention about the need for safer, more effective and affordable prescription drugs.

The satirical song is being released through the Internet and radio stations as the United States Senate holds hearings on the safety of prescription drugs.

The animated song, created by Texas bluegrass band the Austin Lounge Lizards, is a humorous take on drug companies' billion-dollar marketing budgets, the sometimes serious side effects associated with blockbuster drugs, and the high costs that Americans pay. Among the lyrics:

You've got a headache, I've got some strange disease
Don't worry about it, this pill will set your mind at ease
It's called Progenitorivox, it's made by SquabbMerlCo.
It's a life-enhancing miracle, but there are some things you should know...

It may cause agitation, palpitations, excessive salivation,
Constipation, male lactation, rust-colored urination
Hallucinations, bad vibrations, mild electric shock sensations.
But it's worth it for the drugs I need.

"Sometimes humor is the best way to focus attention on a serious problem," said said Rob Schneider, director of Consumers Union's www.PrescriptionforChange.org campaign. "The Internet is now the place where Americans can go to directly take action on issues that affect their lives. We know consumers can take on the powerful pharmaceutical industry and change the marketplace if they join together."

Click to listen:
Windows Computers:
Most Windows computers have Windows Media Player software to view the video. If that doesn't work, try one of the other players.
Select your Internet Speed to Watch the Video:
Windows Media Player: Modem or High-Speed Internet
QuickTime Player: 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">Modem or 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">High-Speed Internet
RealPlayer: 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">Modem or 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">High-Speed Internet

Apple Computers:Most Apple computers have Quicktime software to view the video. If that doesn't work, try the other player.
Select your Internet Speed to Watch the Video:
QuickTime Player: 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">Modem or 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">High-Speed Internet
RealPlayer: 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">Modem or 'NewWindow','toolbar=yes,location=yes,directories=no,status=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,copyhistory=yes,width=400,height=400')" href="http://sv.typepad.com/forsv/2005/03/Advocacy?id=415">High-Speed Internet

March 14, 2005 in Fun, Reality, World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 13, 2005

memory champion

Once again Ram Kolli has won the National Memory Championship!

CONGRATULATIONS!

March 13, 2005 in Fun, Info, World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Using air to charge cellphones? IIT-Delhi does it!

All you need to charge your mobile is -- air!

Students at the Department of Industrial Design at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi have attached a turbine with a mobile phone that helps charge it even when the user is travelling, Head of the Department Professor Lalit Kumar Das told PTI.

"The electricity generated by the turbine when moved by wind energy could charge a cellphone in an emergency. It generates electricity to the tune of 3 to 4 watts which is sufficient to charge a mobile phone," he said.

The specially designed turbine, which costs about Rs 200 to be developed inside a laboratory, is so small that it could be easily kept in a pocket, he said.

The primary objective of the device is to extend mobile 'connectivity' where there is no electricity. The device also saves energy, though not to a significant extent, he said.

The electricity could also be used for other purposes such as illumination and playing a radio. High intensity light devices (HILDs) and radio require low energy to function that could be easily provided by the turbine, he said.

The device is best suited for coastal areas where the wind flows almost continuously.

The technique is not yet commercialised but the department has sent a proposal to the ministry of science and technology to help manufacture the turbine on a large scale, Das said.

"The device will help mobile phone users charge their phones while travelling in a bus, a car or a train. All they need to do is -- place the turbine against the wind flow. It will use wind energy to move the turbine thereby generating energy," he said.

The students have also used a spring in the device that can store energy through a handle. It could be used to charge a mobile during power cuts, the scientist added.

(via Rediff)

March 13, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

# posted by SV @ 3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM

Invisibility Shields Planned by Engineers

In popular science fiction, the power of invisibility is readily apparent. Star Trek fans, for example, know that the devious Romulans could make their spaceships suddenly disappear.

But is the idea really so implausible? Not according to new findings by scientists who say they have come up with a way to create cloaking device.

Electronic engineers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia are researching a device they say could make objects "nearly invisible to an observer." The contrivance works by preventing light from bouncing off the surface of an object, causing the object to appear so small it all but disappears.

March 12, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 11, 2005

Cebit 2005: First day round-up

Cebit 2005, one of the world's most important technology fairs, has opened its doors in Hanover, Germany.

The fair showcases many of the consumer electronics and technology products that will be released to the market in the coming months.

Perhaps you might find this interesting...day by day account...

March 11, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

photography Chinese style

March 11, 2005 in Humor, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 10, 2005

Need milk? Study says no

A new medical review suggests there is little evidence that current calcium recommendations help protect bones in children. Instead, experts recommend both exercise and calcium-rich foods.

Children who drink more milk do not necessarily develop healthier bones, researchers said Monday in a report that stresses exercise and modest consumption of calcium-rich foods such as tofu.

Other ways to obtain the absorbable calcium found in one cup of cow’s milk include a cup of fortified orange juice, a cup of cooked kale or turnip greens, two packages of instant oats, two-thirds cup of tofu, or 1-2/3 cups of broccoli, the report said.

March 10, 2005 in Food and Drink, Info, Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 09, 2005

Prognosticate

Here's a fun little time waster for wordies and newshounds alike. Prognosticate is a word game that's literally ripped from the headlines. Here's the deal: You pick a current news article from CNN or the BBC. Then the article appears as a slowly scrolling series of words. Every few sentences the scrolling text stops, and it's up to you to supply a key missing word. For example, "Robert Blake testified in court today that he was BLANK." Playing at the Easy level, you have a list of words to choose from. On the Hard level, you get a dictionary definition of the missing word. Personally, we're not sure that Easy is any easier than Hard -- we would call them both Difficult. Regardless, this nifty word teaser is a fun way to pretend you're a harried journalist on a tight deadline.

March 9, 2005 in Fun | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 08, 2005

Finally, humans may conquer cockroaches

With the fake promise of, guess what, sex.

Could it be the scientific breakthrough of the century? After decades of trying, scientists have identified and isolated the chemical that gives female German cockroaches their sex appeal - offering humankind a chance of victory over perhaps its most indestructible foe.

In varying sizes and colours, cockroaches are to be found in every corner of the planet, blamed for the spread of almost every pestilence known to man. The most widespread species is the German cockroach - half an inch long and light brown in colour, and famed for its speed.

Humans have tried to gas them and poison them with ingenious combinations of chemicals. Especially popular in the US are lethally baited sticky traps called "roach motels", sold under the slogan "They Check In but They Don't Check Out". But as anyone who has had a roach problem knows full well, nothing works for long. The creatures have been around for 200 million years, and are reputedly capable of emerging unscathed from nuclear armageddon.

But now they may be about to meet their match. According to the journal Science, US researchers have produced a synthetic version of the female cockroach's sex pheromone - the magic ingredient that makes male cockroaches drop everything in the interest of helping their ladies to produce some 350,000 offspring per breeding season. Coby Schal, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University and an author of the study, says the faintest whiff will have the most starving roach come running. "The male will choose the sex pheromone over food, even though he may die on the way." The study found that when a minuscule quantity of the artificial pheromone was placed in one branch of a forked plexiglass tube, 60 per cent of a sample of cockroaches chose that branch and made their way to the sample in less than 10 seconds.

For designers of coachroach traps, the substance is potentially the most most potent bait yet, capable of luring roaches by the millions to their doom. But there is one small problem. In the lab test, 40 per cent of male roaches failed to respond to the pheromones, for reasons unclear. It seems man's battle with the roach is not yet won.

March 8, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 07, 2005

Their Circular Life

We're not sure what to call this one. Interactive time lapse photography? Visual urban ambience? Regardless, it's clever, evocative, and strangely calming. Here's the premise: stationary cameras took several hundred images throughout 24-hour periods in five urban settings in Italy. Using a tool akin to a virtual iPod click wheel, you can scroll through the day's events in a train station, two public parks, a traffic intersection, or a canal in Venice. This soothing meditation on urban life is as much about sound as it is pictures; depending on the time of day, you hear birds twittering, traffic roaring, children playing, etc. Feel free to speed things up, slow things down, or stop time altogether. Can we settle on "visual haiku"?

March 7, 2005 in Photography | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 06, 2005

is this it?

Bubble Chambers are used to observe the tracks of subatomic particles at extremely high resolution. The photographs taken of these tracks are often stunningly beautiful and elegant. This website contains a java applet which simulates a bubble chamber, to gorgeous effect.

March 6, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

# posted by SV @ 3/12/2005 04:38:00 AM

Ex libris

EXLIBRIS MUSEUM. We've done ex-libris bookplates before, but trust me, this site far surpasses anything you've ever seen. Just go to the Gallery and click on any of the names. Vereshchagin, for instance. Or Karol Felix. Or... hell, just dive in, you can't go wrong.

Posted by SV at 6:11:00 AM in Art, Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Friday, Mar 4, 2005

Andy Borowitz: martha shocker

MARTHA'S PRISON REPORTS 12-MONTH WAITING LIST by Andy Borowitz

Beats Out Harvard Business School as Top CEO Destinations

Domestic diva Martha Stewart, who saw the value of her stock soar since she began serving a five-month sentence at Alderson Federal Prison, has apparently now worked her magic on Alderson itself, which today reported a twelve-month waiting list of CEOs eager to do time there.

"Our phone has been ringing off the hook, and a lot of these CEO's haven't even committed a crime yet," said Alderson spokesperson Lucinda Colwin. "I'm like, rob a liquor store and then we'll talk."

Randall Trestman of the University of Minnesota's Graduate School of Business said that Ms. Stewart's stunning comeback has turned Alderson into "the place to be" for America's top corporate leaders.

"What Harvard Business School was in the eighties and the Internet sector was in the nineties, Alderson is today," he said.

CEOs whose companies' stock have sagged in recent months may face increasing pressure from shareholders to commit crimes in order to snag a precious one-way ticket to Alderson, Mr. Trestman said.

"Becoming a convicted felon is no longer a stigma for CEOs," he said. "It's their fiduciary responsibility."

Across the country, crimes involving CEOs, from accounting fraud to car theft, have surged over nine thousand percent in the past two months - a trend that does not surprise Mr. Trestman.

"If, instead of buying Compaq Computer, [former HP CEO] Carly Fiorina had stolen a Compaq computer from a Circuit City store, she might still have her job today," he added.

Elsewhere, after circling the globe without being able to eat, sleep or move, millionaire Steve Fossett said now he knows how it feels to fly coach.

Posted by SV at 6:16:00 AM in Columnists, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Great Advertising

3M advertises for it's "Security Glass".

3M puts its money where its mouth is. Yes, that *is* real money ...

Posted by SV at 6:09:00 AM in Fun, Info, Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Thursday, Mar 3, 2005

The profits of freedom

Iran gets bombed June 2005. "George W. Bush has received and signed off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran planned for June 2005. Its purported goal is the destruction of Iran’s alleged program to develop nuclear weapons"

Posted by SV at 6:16:00 AM in Info | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Wednesday, Mar 2, 2005

guess?

A young and foolish pilot wanted to sound cool on the aviation frequencies. So, this was his first time approaching a field during the night time. Instead of making any official requests to the tower, he said: "Guess who?"

The controller switched the field lights off and replied: "Guess where?"

Posted by SV at 6:03:00 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

oh the pilots!

Passengers on a plane are waiting for the flight to leave. The entrance opens, and two men walk up the aisle, dressed in pilot uniforms. Both are wearing dark glasses. One is using a seeing-eye dog, and the other is tapping his way up the aisle with a cane.

Nervous laughter spreads through the cabin, but the men enter the cockpit, the door closes, and the engines start. The passengers begin glancing nervously, searching for some sign that this is just a little practical joke. None is forthcoming.

The plane moves faster and faster down the runway, and people at the windows realize that they're headed straight for the water at the edge of the airport.

As it begins to look as though the plane will never take off, that it will plow into the water, screams of panic fill the cabin. But at that moment, the plane lifts smoothly into the air.

Up in the cockpit, the co-pilot turns to the pilot and says, "You know, Joe, one of these days, they're going to scream too late, and we're all gonna die."

Posted by SV at 6:00:00 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

February 28, 2005

jest for pun (February'05)

February '05 BlogThoughts

Every calendar's days are numbered.

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird, and not enough the bad luck of the early worm. -Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)

He who builds a better mousetrap these days runs into material shortages, patent-infringement suits, work stoppages, collusive bidding, discount discrimination--and taxes.- H. E. Martz

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him. - Robert Benchley (My Ten Years in a Quandary, 1936)

geek and you shall find...

Some folks are wise and some otherwise. - Josh Billings (1815 - 1885), American Humorist and Lecturer)

I don't use drugs, my dreams are frightening enough. - M C Escher

east or west India is the best

Journalism is merely history's first draft. - Geoffrey C. Ward

Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these - Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD)

In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from the smallest to tallest. What is the logic? Do tall people burn slower? - Warren Hutcherson

it's amazing how people take Valentines day to heart.

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him. - Robert Benchley (My Ten Years in a Quandary, 1936)

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow. - Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924)

You can always reason with a German. You can always reason with a barnyard animal, too, for all the good it does. - P. J. ORourke (Holidays in hell, 1989)

Some people love horoscopes to pisces.

Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content. - Paul Valery (1871 - 1945)

lost in translation

Utter originality is, of course, out of the question. - Ezra Pound

A cube of cheese no larger than a die May bait the trap to catch a nibbling mie.- Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914)

February 28, 2005 in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 27, 2005

The Secret to Longevity in Tubeworms

With an incredible lifespan of up to 250 years, the deep-sea tube worm, Lamellibrachia luymesi, is among the longest-lived of all animals, but how it obtains sufficient nutrients -- in the form of sulfide -- to keep going for this long has been a mystery. In a paper just published in the online journal PLoS Biology, a team of biologists now provide a solution: by releasing its waste sulfate not up into the ocean but down into the sediments, L. luymesi stimulates the growth of sulfide-producing microbes, thus ensuring its own long-term survival.

From Penn State

The research team includes Erik E. Cordes, a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Charles Fisher, professor of biology at Penn State, along with Katriona Shea, assistant professor of biology at Penn State, Michael A. Arthur, a professor of geosciences at Penn State, and Rolf S. Arvidson, an earth sciences research scientist at Rice University.

The sulfide this worm needs is created by a consortium of bacteria and archaea that live in the cold deep-sea sediments surrounding the seep where the worm lives. These organisms use energy from hydrocarbons to reduce sulfate to sulfide, which L. luymesi absorbs through unique root-like extensions of its body, which tunnel into the sediments. However, current measurements of sulfide and sulfate fluxes in the water near the vents do not match either the observed size of the tubeworm colony or the observed longevity of its individuals, leading Cordes et al. to propose that L. luymesi also uses its roots to release sulfate back to the microbial consortia from which it draws its sulfide. Without this return of sulfate, the model predicts an average lifespan of only 39 years in a colony of 1,000 individuals; with it, survival increases to over 250 years, matching the longevity of actual living tubeworms.

To date, the proposed return of sulfate to the sediments through the roots is only a hypothesis -- albeit one with much to support it -- that still awaits direct confirmation. By providing a model in which this hypothetical interaction provides real benefits and explains real observations, the authors hope to stimulate further research into the biology of the enigmatic and beautiful L. luymesi.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

February 27, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

# posted by SV @ 3/05/2005 06:29:00 AM

for_sv's blog

Thursday, March 31, 2005

March 31, 2005

jest for pun (March'05)

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Anita Jain: Is Arranged Marriage Really Any Worse Than Craigslist?

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Saturday, Mar 5, 2005

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Friday, Mar 4, 2005

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Great Advertising

Thursday, Mar 3, 2005

The profits of freedom

Wednesday, Mar 2, 2005

guess?

oh the pilots!

February 28, 2005

jest for pun (February'05)

February 27, 2005

The Secret to Longevity in Tubeworms

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