Musopen.com: About: "Musopen is a community driven, online music repository started by a music and economics college student named Aaron Dunn.
This site takes music that is in the public domain, meaning a work that belongs to the community, and has it recorded by individuals and college/community orchestras throughout the United States and stored online so it can be accessed for free through this website."
Thursday, November 30, 2006
panopticist: A Screaming Comes Across the Screen
panopticist: A Screaming Comes Across the Screen: "The video below is a compilation of dozens of Wilhelms from the last half-century."
The Wilhelm Scream
The Wilhelm Scream: "One sound effect that has found a following with many sound editors and observant movie fans is a distinctive scream named Wilhelm."
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
LiveScience.com - Study Reveals How Magic Works
LiveScience.com - Study Reveals How Magic Works: "Scientists are figuring out how magicians fool our brains in research that also helps uncover how our mind actually works.
A great deal of what scientists now understand about how the human visual system works stems from research into our susceptibility to optical illusions.
'It made sense to look at magicians to advance knowledge of human cognition, since magicians have been working on figuring out how certain principles of psychology work for hundreds of years,' said researcher Gustav Kuhn at the University of Durham in England, a cognitive psychologist who has also performed magic the past couple decades.
'Magicians really have this ability to distort your perceptions, to get people to perceive things that never happened, just like a visual illusion,' he added."
A great deal of what scientists now understand about how the human visual system works stems from research into our susceptibility to optical illusions.
'It made sense to look at magicians to advance knowledge of human cognition, since magicians have been working on figuring out how certain principles of psychology work for hundreds of years,' said researcher Gustav Kuhn at the University of Durham in England, a cognitive psychologist who has also performed magic the past couple decades.
'Magicians really have this ability to distort your perceptions, to get people to perceive things that never happened, just like a visual illusion,' he added."
Monday, November 27, 2006
Women talk three times as much as men, says study | the Daily Mail
Women talk three times as much as men, says study | the Daily Mail: "It is something one half of the population has long suspected - and the other half always vocally denied."
Under The Sun: Top 20 replies by Programmers to Testers when their programs don't work
Under The Sun: Top 20 replies by Programmers to Testers when their programs don't work:
"20. 'That's weird...'
19. 'It's never done that before.'
18. 'It worked yesterday.'
17. 'How is that possible?'
16. 'It must be a hardware problem.'
15. 'What did you type in wrong to get it to crash?'
14. 'There is something funky in your data.'
13. 'I haven't touched that module in weeks!'
12. 'You must have the wrong version.'
11. 'It's just some unlucky coincidence.'
10. 'I can't test everything!'
9. 'THIS can't be the source of THAT.'
8. 'It works, but it hasn't been tested.'
7. 'Somebody must have changed my code.'
6. 'Did you check for a virus on your system?'
5. 'Even though it doesn't work, how does it feel?
4. 'You can't use that version on your system.'
3. 'Why do you want to do it that way?'
2. 'Where were you when the program blew up?'
1. 'It works on my machine'"
"20. 'That's weird...'
19. 'It's never done that before.'
18. 'It worked yesterday.'
17. 'How is that possible?'
16. 'It must be a hardware problem.'
15. 'What did you type in wrong to get it to crash?'
14. 'There is something funky in your data.'
13. 'I haven't touched that module in weeks!'
12. 'You must have the wrong version.'
11. 'It's just some unlucky coincidence.'
10. 'I can't test everything!'
9. 'THIS can't be the source of THAT.'
8. 'It works, but it hasn't been tested.'
7. 'Somebody must have changed my code.'
6. 'Did you check for a virus on your system?'
5. 'Even though it doesn't work, how does it feel?
4. 'You can't use that version on your system.'
3. 'Why do you want to do it that way?'
2. 'Where were you when the program blew up?'
1. 'It works on my machine'"
Instapundit.com -
Instapundit.com -: "WHY DOES FLU SPREAD IN THE WINTER?
In a paper scheduled for publication next month in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, a Harvard University-led team proposes that a vitamin D deficiency caused by inadequate winter sun exposure may predispose people to infection.
If this theory proves correct, it would not only solve a long-standing mystery, but could also have major public health consequences.
Influenza kills an average 36,000 people in the U.S. each winter, mostly the very old and very young. If scientists could pinpoint the secret behind its seasonal recurrence and somehow alter it, 'the potential impact would be far greater than the current influenza vaccine,' says Dowell. . . . In their new paper, which draws together strands from more than seven decades of vitamin and flu research, Cannell and his colleagues argue that vitamin D stimulates production of a natural infection-fighting substance in the body called cathelicidin.
Although cathelicidin has yet to be studied directly on influenza, recent research has shown that it attacks a variety of fungi, viruses, and bacteria - including the bug that causes tuberculosis, researchers reported last March in Science."
In a paper scheduled for publication next month in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, a Harvard University-led team proposes that a vitamin D deficiency caused by inadequate winter sun exposure may predispose people to infection.
If this theory proves correct, it would not only solve a long-standing mystery, but could also have major public health consequences.
Influenza kills an average 36,000 people in the U.S. each winter, mostly the very old and very young. If scientists could pinpoint the secret behind its seasonal recurrence and somehow alter it, 'the potential impact would be far greater than the current influenza vaccine,' says Dowell. . . . In their new paper, which draws together strands from more than seven decades of vitamin and flu research, Cannell and his colleagues argue that vitamin D stimulates production of a natural infection-fighting substance in the body called cathelicidin.
Although cathelicidin has yet to be studied directly on influenza, recent research has shown that it attacks a variety of fungi, viruses, and bacteria - including the bug that causes tuberculosis, researchers reported last March in Science."
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Science & Religion Series TTBOOK
Science & Religion Series TTBOOK:
"Electrons to Enlightenment:
The Big Questions:
1 Science or religion?
2 Are We Alone in the Universe?
3 What Does God Look Like?
4 Do You Believe in Evolution?
5 What's Your First Memory of God?
EXCERPTS:
from interviews with TTBOOK Executive Producer Steve Paulson (Templeton/Cambridge Journalism Fellow in Science & Religion)
E.O. Wilson
Francis Collins
Richard Dawkins
Karen Armstrong
Michael Ruse
Ursula Goodenough
Sam Harris"
"Electrons to Enlightenment:
The Big Questions:
1 Science or religion?
2 Are We Alone in the Universe?
3 What Does God Look Like?
4 Do You Believe in Evolution?
5 What's Your First Memory of God?
EXCERPTS:
from interviews with TTBOOK Executive Producer Steve Paulson (Templeton/Cambridge Journalism Fellow in Science & Religion)
E.O. Wilson
Francis Collins
Richard Dawkins
Karen Armstrong
Michael Ruse
Ursula Goodenough
Sam Harris"
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Oracle SQL
Oracle SQL: "
* Constraints:
o Deferring Constraint Checking
o Constraint Violations
* Triggers:
o Basic Trigger Syntax
o Trigger Example
o Displaying Trigger Definition Errors
o Viewing Defined Triggers
o Dropping Triggers
o Disabling Triggers
o Aborting Triggers with Error
o Mutating Table Errors
This document was written originally by Yu-May Chang and Jeff Ullman for CS145..."
* Constraints:
o Deferring Constraint Checking
o Constraint Violations
* Triggers:
o Basic Trigger Syntax
o Trigger Example
o Displaying Trigger Definition Errors
o Viewing Defined Triggers
o Dropping Triggers
o Disabling Triggers
o Aborting Triggers with Error
o Mutating Table Errors
This document was written originally by Yu-May Chang and Jeff Ullman for CS145..."
Using Oracle PL/SQL
Using Oracle PL/SQL: "
* Basic Structure of PL/SQL
* Variables and Types
* Simple PL/SQL Programs
* Control Flow in PL/SQL
* Cursors
* Procedures
* Discovering Errors
* Printing Variables
This document was written originally by Yu-May Chang and Jeff Ullman for CS145....
"
* Basic Structure of PL/SQL
* Variables and Types
* Simple PL/SQL Programs
* Control Flow in PL/SQL
* Cursors
* Procedures
* Discovering Errors
* Printing Variables
This document was written originally by Yu-May Chang and Jeff Ullman for CS145....
"
Interactivate: Tessellate!
Interactivate: Tessellate!: "Tessellate!
Shodor > Interactivate > Activities > Tessellate!"
Shodor > Interactivate > Activities > Tessellate!"
Friday, November 24, 2006
Re: database connection pooling from mod_python app
Re: database connection pooling from mod_python app:
"1. Reused Transaction vs Connection Pool Leaks
It is critical that a persistent connection's transaction is *always*
completed - either with commit or rollback. If you forget to do this
then database operations during the next request that the process
handles will use the same transaction ... which could be disasterous.
A connection pool will only give out a connection that is 'closed' and,
typically, rollback() is called by the pool manager as a connection is
returned. This avoids the problem of transactions spanning multiple
requests. A common problem when using connection pools are connection
leaks - a connection is not closed and hence is never returned to the
pool - but IMHO this is less serious. I would rather see an application
hang waiting for a connection to become available than have corrupt data.
The reused transaction and connection leak problems are both programming
errors (use a finally block to avoid the problem) but it is easier to
spot a connection pool leak - set the maximum pool size to a low number
and hammer the application. You'll soon find out if there are any
problems . Add some logging to the pool implementation to record who
opens and closes connection and you can easily find offending code that
forgets to call close().
2. Apache forking
As Ian mentions, Apache creates multiple processes to handle requests. A
default installation of Apache 1.x on Debian has a MaxClients of 150,
i.e. 150 processes. If each one of those processes maintains a
persistent connection you can easily hit your database server's
connection limit. 150 is a *lot* of connections to keep open anyway but
many requests will not even need database access, i.e. images, CSS,
JavaScript etc.
Perhaps you've tuned your Apache config and set MaxClients to something
more approriate, 30 for instance. Even then, it's likely that the number
of simultaneous connections that are required is much lower than 30.
Matt Goodall, Pollenation Internet Ltd
w: http://www.pollenation.net
"
"1. Reused Transaction vs Connection Pool Leaks
It is critical that a persistent connection's transaction is *always*
completed - either with commit or rollback. If you forget to do this
then database operations during the next request that the process
handles will use the same transaction ... which could be disasterous.
A connection pool will only give out a connection that is 'closed' and,
typically, rollback() is called by the pool manager as a connection is
returned. This avoids the problem of transactions spanning multiple
requests. A common problem when using connection pools are connection
leaks - a connection is not closed and hence is never returned to the
pool - but IMHO this is less serious. I would rather see an application
hang waiting for a connection to become available than have corrupt data.
The reused transaction and connection leak problems are both programming
errors (use a finally block to avoid the problem) but it is easier to
spot a connection pool leak - set the maximum pool size to a low number
and hammer the application. You'll soon find out if there are any
problems . Add some logging to the pool implementation to record who
opens and closes connection and you can easily find offending code that
forgets to call close().
2. Apache forking
As Ian mentions, Apache creates multiple processes to handle requests. A
default installation of Apache 1.x on Debian has a MaxClients of 150,
i.e. 150 processes. If each one of those processes maintains a
persistent connection you can easily hit your database server's
connection limit. 150 is a *lot* of connections to keep open anyway but
many requests will not even need database access, i.e. images, CSS,
JavaScript etc.
Perhaps you've tuned your Apache config and set MaxClients to something
more approriate, 30 for instance. Even then, it's likely that the number
of simultaneous connections that are required is much lower than 30.
Matt Goodall, Pollenation Internet Ltd
w: http://www.pollenation.net
"
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Instapundit.com -
Instapundit.com -: "And here's my recipe for roast Thanksgiving lamb.
1 semi-boneless leg of lamb (about 8 pounds)
2 cups merlot
1 cup each worcestershire and teriyaki
2 cloves garlic, crushed (more is better!)
1tbsp sugar
2 oz. olive oil
rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste
Disposable aluminum roasting pan.
Mix merlot, worcestershire, and teriyaki, plus sugar, and marinate, preferably overnight. Heat a covered gas grill to high temperature on one side, low on the other.
Rub the lamb with olive oil, garlic and other spices. Place the roasting pan on the 'low heat' side. Place the lamb on the 'high heat' side of the grill and sear; rotate until all sides are browned. Move to the roasting pan, and turn the 'high' side down to low as well. Close the grill cover and cook. If the lamb seems to be browning too much, cover with aluminum foil.
Cook until a meat thermometer inserted all the way to the center reads 140-145 degrees. (Don't overcook, or the lamb will be dry and tasteless; the outside can be pretty crispy, but the inside should be rare). Remove, let cool for a few minutes, and serve. Juices will make an excellent lamb gravy, especially if you add more merlot."
1 semi-boneless leg of lamb (about 8 pounds)
2 cups merlot
1 cup each worcestershire and teriyaki
2 cloves garlic, crushed (more is better!)
1tbsp sugar
2 oz. olive oil
rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste
Disposable aluminum roasting pan.
Mix merlot, worcestershire, and teriyaki, plus sugar, and marinate, preferably overnight. Heat a covered gas grill to high temperature on one side, low on the other.
Rub the lamb with olive oil, garlic and other spices. Place the roasting pan on the 'low heat' side. Place the lamb on the 'high heat' side of the grill and sear; rotate until all sides are browned. Move to the roasting pan, and turn the 'high' side down to low as well. Close the grill cover and cook. If the lamb seems to be browning too much, cover with aluminum foil.
Cook until a meat thermometer inserted all the way to the center reads 140-145 degrees. (Don't overcook, or the lamb will be dry and tasteless; the outside can be pretty crispy, but the inside should be rare). Remove, let cool for a few minutes, and serve. Juices will make an excellent lamb gravy, especially if you add more merlot."
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
nemo 33 : LEARN TO DIVE AT NEMO33.
nemo 33 : LEARN TO DIVE AT NEMO33.: "Far from quarries and pools with poor hygiene, NEMO33
offers maximum security and an incomparable learning comfort :
*
a crystal clear, drinkable spring water
*
an exquisitely heated water at 30°C, with almost no chlorine smell
*
a complete visibility down to 33m
*
a pool with different depth levels to learn and progress step by step"
offers maximum security and an incomparable learning comfort :
*
a crystal clear, drinkable spring water
*
an exquisitely heated water at 30°C, with almost no chlorine smell
*
a complete visibility down to 33m
*
a pool with different depth levels to learn and progress step by step"
Friday, November 17, 2006
ArtRage 2
ArtRage 2: "This is the homepage for ArtRage, the easy to use, stylish painting package that lets you get painting from the moment you open it up. You can paint with oils, sketch with pencils, sprinkle glitter, and more. You can paint with gold leaf, silver foil, and other metallic colors. You can even load in your photos as Tracing Images to help you recreate them as paintings."
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Templar quotes from the Movie Quote Generator
Templar quotes from the Movie Quote Generator: "Templar! Why did it have to be templar?
Which movie was this from?"
Which movie was this from?"
Templar quotes from the Movie Quote Generator
Templar quotes from the Movie Quote Generator: "Templar! Why did it have to be templar?
Which movie was this from?"
Which movie was this from?"
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Seed: Who Wants to Be a Cognitive Neuroscientist Millionaire?
Seed: Who Wants to Be a Cognitive Neuroscientist Millionaire?: "A researcher uses his understanding of the human brain to advance on a popular quiz show."
Sunday, November 12, 2006
31 Wheel Roller Suit - BREAK.com
31 Wheel Roller Suit - BREAK.com: "11/9/2006 - A French guy named Jean-Yves Blondeau has created a plastic suit equipped with 31 wheels which allows him to roll down streets at speeds up to 60 miles per hour while switching positions at any time. This is pretty awesome, it's like break dancing, plus roller blading plus street luge."
russell davies: how to be interesting
russell davies: how to be interesting: "The way to be interesting is to be interested. You’ve got to find what’s interesting in everything, you’ve got to be good at noticing things, you’ve got to be good at listening. If you find people (and things) interesting, they’ll find you interesting.
Interesting people are good at sharing. You can’t be interested in someone who won’t tell you anything. Being good at sharing is not the same as talking and talking and talking. It means you share your ideas, you let people play with them and you’re good at talking about them without having to talk about yourself."
Interesting people are good at sharing. You can’t be interested in someone who won’t tell you anything. Being good at sharing is not the same as talking and talking and talking. It means you share your ideas, you let people play with them and you’re good at talking about them without having to talk about yourself."
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Top-Rated Water Heaters
Top-Rated Water Heaters: "Gas Storage Water Heaters
This table summarizes the most efficient available products. For more information on specific models and their features, see the GAMA database (produced by the Gas Appliance Manufacturer's Association)"
This table summarizes the most efficient available products. For more information on specific models and their features, see the GAMA database (produced by the Gas Appliance Manufacturer's Association)"
ConsumerReports.org - Water-heater tips 2/05: Gas hot water heater, electric hot water heater
ConsumerReports.org - Water-heater tips 2/05: Gas hot water heater, electric hot water heater: "Sawing open 18 gas and electric models confirmed that paying a little more for a longer warranty typically buys you a better water heater. Several smart steps can also help you save money, avoid installation hassles, and get enough hot water, even on busy mornings."
Monday, November 06, 2006
The Truth Laid Bear
The Truth Laid Bear: "On Election Day, the latest news and results will be posted here."
Saturday, November 04, 2006
The Dilbert Blog: Affirmations
The Dilbert Blog: Affirmations: "There’s a book called The Luck Factor, in which researcher Richard Wiseman describes studying people who considered themselves lucky, to see if they had any special powers along the lines of ESP. It turns out that they don’t. But he did discover that people who expect luck have a more powerful ability to notice opportunities in their environment. Optimistic people’s field of perception is literally greater. And the best part is he discovered that when you train people to expect luck, their field of perception increases accordingly. I think part of the mystery of affirmations has to do with the fact that it improves your ability to notice an opportunity. And when you do, it seems like a lucky coincidence. In my case, about half of my seemingly miraculous results with affirmations could be traced back to my noticing something important."
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Bizarre Boiling
Bizarre Boiling: "Watching liquids boil in low gravity is an out-of-this-world experience. It has plenty of entertainment value, but it's teaching scientists some important physics lessons, too."
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