Click opera - She comes in colours

Click opera - She comes in colours: "In just nine months, Pantone has completely changed its meaning in Japan. Once a fistful of numbered swatch cards that pernickety designers would menace printers with, it's now become a trendy consumer buzzword in Japan, and, some might say, a byword for the newly-acceptable face of colour in a nation which dips in and out of chromophobia."

The Secrets of Oracle Bitmap Indexes

The Secrets of Oracle Bitmap Indexes

"Characteristic of Bitmap Indexes

• For columns with very few unique values (low cardinality)

Columns that have low cardinality are good candidates (if the cardinality of a column is <= 0.1 % that the column is ideal candidate, consider also 0.2% – 1%)

• Tables that have no or little insert/update are good candidates (static data in warehouse)
  
• Stream of bits: each bit relates to a column value in a single row of table

create bitmap index person_region on person (region);

Row Region North East West South
1 North 1 0 0 0
2 East 0 1 0 0
3 West 0 0 1 0
4 West 0 0 1 0
5 South 0 0 0 1
6 North 1 0 0 0

Advantage of Bitmap Indexes

The advantages of them are that they have a highly compressed structure, making them fast to read and their structure makes it possible for the system to combine multiple indexes together for fast access to the underlying table."

Disgraceland, PRC

Disgraceland, PRC: "Once upon a time in a land called Xi Pu, just west of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China, there was a tourist theme park... The World Landscape Park. As a business venture it failed, and today the park lies abandoned and decaying. Personally, I think it's a lot more interesting this way than it could ever possibly have been when it was open."

Returning Rows Through a Table Function in Oracle

Returning Rows Through a Table Function in Oracle: "In Oracle9i, we are now able to call a table function within the FROM clause of a SQL statement and have it return a result set that mimics what we would normally expect from a traditional SQL SELECT statement."

OraFAQ Forum: PL/SQL Experts => can function return multiple rows

OraFAQ Forum: PL/SQL Experts => can function return multiple rows: "Simply replace num_tab with a type of your choice, change the code in the package body, and you're go for launch."

ASPN : Python Cookbook : Timing out function

ASPN : Python Cookbook : Timing out function: "This recipe presents two ways to time out the execution of a callable."

Weight Training

Weight Training: "Better performances can be the product of a number of factors. This product is primarily the outcome of efficient technique, the progression of speed and the maturing competitive attitude on a sound basis of general endurance, all round strength and general mobility. The development of all round strength is best achieved via circuit training and then progressing this through weight training."

Why Every Man Should Lift Weights � Self Improvement Blog - BrianKim.net

Why Every Man Should Lift Weights � Self Improvement Blog - BrianKim.net: "When you start lifting weights and begin to see all the positive benefits, there’s no going back. The benefits will drive you to keep on doing it, which continues the cycle, which then inevitably installs a great habit. You’ll feel more happy, energetic, focused, tough, accomplished and you won’t want to let go of the cause. "

Weight training: Are you using good technique? - MayoClinic.com

Weight training: Are you using good technique? - MayoClinic.com: "You don't have to be a bodybuilder or professional athlete to reap the benefits of a weight training program. Weight training — a form of strength training — can improve your strength, increase your muscle tone, help you lose fat and gain muscle mass, and improve your bone density. But if done incorrectly, weight training won't give you these benefits and can lead to injury."

The $72 PC - Popular Science

The $72 PC - Popular Science: "Luis Bruno
The Cereal PC
Sporting a metal ductwork shell, a Wi-Fi card and a touchscreen, this morning companion will automatically serve up the day’s weather and news headlines for breakfast reading.

With antiquated components flooding the surplus-parts market and free operating systems only a click away, building a fully functional computer has never been such a bargain. No, the $72 PC won’t replace your new dual-core, Vista-shredding laptop. But with its compact size and solid-state components (no hard drive or CD drive), it’s perfect for building into custom enclosures and for specific tasks like Web surfing or playing games. The computer boots from a USB flash drive running an operating system called Damn Small Linux that can handle just about any job. Got any grand ideas for a sub-C-note PC? Send them to us at h20@time4.com."

XML-RPC for C and C : Useful XML-RPC Hacks

XML-RPC for C and C : Useful XML-RPC Hacks:


"Python XML-RPC Debugger (by Graham Dumpleton)
This includes a Python Tk GUI."

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing: - by Charles Dodgson

The New York Times > Magazine > Slide Show >

The New York Times > Magazine > Slide Show >: "People and their Avatars"

Video Games - China - Money - Online Games - New York Times

Video Games - China - Money - Online Games - New York Times: "It was an hour before midnight, three hours into the night shift with nine more to go. At his workstation in a small, fluorescent-lighted office space in Nanjing, China, Li Qiwen sat shirtless and chain-smoking, gazing purposefully at the online computer game in front of him. The screen showed a lightly wooded mountain terrain, studded with castle ruins and grazing deer, in which warrior monks milled about. Li, or rather his staff-wielding wizard character, had been slaying the enemy monks since 8 p.m., mouse-clicking on one corpse after another, each time gathering a few dozen virtual coins — and maybe a magic weapon or two — into an increasingly laden backpack."

SVS Animation 3433 - Rise of the Three Gorges Dam

SVS Animation 3433 - Rise of the Three Gorges Dam: "Some call it the eighth wonder of world; others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994."

CanMag- Ratatouille Concept Art and Fun Facts!

CanMag- Ratatouille Concept Art and Fun Facts!: "Disney/Pixar has sent over a batch of concept art for Ratatouille along with an intensive list of fun facts from the film's production. "

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Ratatouille

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Ratatouille: "With Ratatouille (a new animated movie from Pixar) coming out in a couple weeks, I thought it would be fitting for me to present a recipe for Ratatouille (a dish from Provence). This is a wonderfully flavorful vegetable dish that can be served as either a side or as a main entree.

There are a variety of recipes for Ratatouille and the ingredients often change from cook to cook, but most contain eggplant (aubergine), garlic, onions, zucchini (Italian squash or marrows), and bell peppers. Usually the recipe is seasoned with Herbes de Provence, but (as in this recipe) it can be as simple as parsley and basil. Often the individual vegetable components are cooked separately in olive oil, but I like this recipe that cooks the vegetables together. "

Test your musical skills in 6 minutes!

Test your musical skills in 6 minutes!: "While working at the music and neuroimaging lab at Beth Israel/Harvard Medical School in Boston, I developed a quick online way to screen for the tonedeafness. It actually turned out to be a pretty good test to check for overall pitch perception ability. The test is purposefully made very hard, so excellent musicians rarely score above 80% correct. Give it a try!"

blog.pmarca.com

blog.pmarca.com: "From an interview in Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, in 2005:

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem."

blog.pmarca.com: Analyzing the Facebook Platform, three weeks in

blog.pmarca.com: Analyzing the Facebook Platform, three weeks in: "In this post, I provide an overview and analysis of the Facebook Plaform and what we have learned about it in the three weeks since it launched.

To start, my personal opinion is that the new Facebook Platform is a dramatic leap forward for the Internet industry.

Here's why:

Veterans of the software industry have, hardcoded into their DNA, the assumption that in any fight between a platform and an application, the platform will always win."

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity: "One of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures is indulging in productivity porn.

Productivity porn (or, for those really in the know, 'productivity pr0n') consists of techniques, tactics, and tricks for maximizing personal productivity -- or, as they say, 'getting things done'.

Having enjoyed such fine purveyors of prodporn as Merlin Mann, Danny O'Brien, Gina Trapani, David Allen, and Tim Ferriss, I'd like to return the favor with the following: the Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity."

C R Y P T O N O M I C O N

C R Y P T O N O M I C O N:

"In the Beginning was
the Command Line
by Neal Stephenson"

Mac OSX: Burn an ISO image to cdrom from command line - Tech-Recipes.com

Mac OSX: Burn an ISO image to cdrom from command line - Tech-Recipes.com:

hdiutil burn image.iso

How victim snared ID thief / She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell

How victim snared ID thief / She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell: "How victim snared ID thief
She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell"

How To Tie A Sarong (Root category: Made By You)

How To Tie A Sarong (Root category: Made By You): "How To Tie A Sarong"

Untitled Document

Untitled Document: "How to Tie a Pareau
A pareau is a traditional Polynesian garment that can be worn as several dress styles, a wrap, or as a skirt. It is one dress, in one size that gives you many unique ways to wear it. They're the perfect casual wear or cover-up, anywhere... just tie it and GO!"

RaidenX.net - RAIDENX

RaidenX.net - RAIDENX: "Use your ARROW KEYS to navigate through menu. In game navigate your ship, using ARROW KEYS, over the enemy base destroying everything as you proceed further. Use 'Z' KEY to shoot and 'X' key to throw bomb. Collect the weapon upgrades to strengthen your armor before you fight the bosses. Have Fun! Bookmark Raiden X Now"

Overlearning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Overlearning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Overlearning is a pedagogical concept according to which newly acquired skills should be practiced well beyond the point of initial mastery, leading to automaticity."

ASCII Generator

ASCII Generator
" ASCII Generator is a wrapper written in php for a nice program called FIGlet (see questions about FIGlet)."

PLY

PLY: "PLY (Python Lex-Yacc)

Welcome to the PLY homepage. PLY is an implementation of lex and yacc parsing tools for Python. If you don't have the slightest idea what that means, you're probably in the wrong place."

Linux.com | It is can be LOLCODE time plz?

Linux.com | It is can be LOLCODE time plz?: "
HAI
I HAS A CHEEZBURGER ITZ 1
IM IN YR LOOP
VISIBLE 'I has dis many: ' N CHEEZBURGER
IZ CHEEZBURGER BIGGER THAN 11 O RLY?
YA RLY
GTFO
NO WAI
UP CHEEZBURGER!!1
KTHX
KTHX
KTHXBYE
"

Innovation | Lessons from Apple | Economist.com

Innovation | Lessons from Apple | Economist.com:
"The first is that innovation can come from without as well as within. [...] This approach, known as “network innovation”
[...]
Second, Apple illustrates the importance of designing new products around the needs of the user, not the demands of the technology.
[...]
a third lesson from Apple is that smart companies should sometimes ignore what the market says it wants today.
[...]
The fourth lesson from Apple is to “fail wisely”.
[...]
None of these things, of course, guarantees success: you can buy in clever ideas, pursue simplicity, ignore focus groups and fail wisely—and still go bust."

Flash Pacman

Flash Pacman: "Flash Pacman"

The real origin of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The real origin of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "The strip was entitled 'the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats' and featured the exploits of one Meowlin Q. Kitteh (a sort of cat hobo-raconteur) and his young hapless kitten friend, Pip."

A better soda can stove - YGingras.net

A better soda can stove - YGingras.net: "When the coolness of hi-tech settles down, backpackers agree that it pays to keep it simple. The stove that packs the most bang per gram, that will never fail, is so simple that no one wants to sell it. It's the soda can stove."

Neatorama � Blog Archive � The Strangest Disaster of the 20th Century.

Neatorama � Blog Archive � The Strangest Disaster of the 20th Century.: "The disaster at Lake Nyos was only the second such incident in the recorded history—the 1984 incident at Lake Monoun was the first. To date, scientists believe that only three lakes in the entire world, Nyos, Monoun, and a third lake called Lake Kivu on the border of Congo and Rwanda, accumulate deadly amounts of dissolved CO2 at great depths."

South Fork American River Rafting > 2 Day Trips

South Fork American River Rafting > 2 Day Trips: "Select from the following 2-Day Trips:
We offer two different options:
South Fork 2-Day 'Car Access' Camp Trips
2 days on the South Fork
Upper section 1st day, Lower section 2nd day
30 hours, 21 miles
Lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch "

How to Change the World: The Nine Biggest Myths of the Workplace by Penelope Trunk

How to Change the World: The Nine Biggest Myths of the Workplace by Penelope Trunk: "I liked Penelop Trunk's interview so much that I asked her for more material. Here's her list of the nine biggest workplace myths:"

College Graduation: Ten Things I Wished I Had Known | Scriptorium Daily

College Graduation: Ten Things I Wished I Had Known | Scriptorium Daily: "Forget the Commencement Address . . . which is like telling you to forget Harry Reid. There are ten things I wished I had known on graduating from college. These are not the most important things, just the things nobody told me that would have been useful. Some I stumbled on myself, others I learned by making mistakes."

instructables : How to Make Carbonated Fruit

instructables : How to Make Carbonated Fruit: "Using dry ice, cut up fruit and a strong plastic bottle you can make carbonated fruit. It's refreshing, bubbly, and totally unique."

Tableau Software

Tableau Software: "Tableau is a visual analysis and reporting solution that allows people to explore and analyze databases and spreadsheets with simple drag and drop operations."

Flash MP3 Player Manufacturer

Flash MP3 Player Manufacturer: "Chipset: ALI 5661P, Sigmatel 3507 (optional)"

'Star Wars' at 30: Still a geek's paradise

'Star Wars' at 30: Still a geek's paradise: "Friday marks the anniversary of the 1977 movie that made it cool to be a sci-fi dork."

Google Trends: May 22, 2007

Google Trends: May 22, 2007: " Hot Trends (USA)"

Blogger Help : What is BlogThis! ?

Blogger Help : What is BlogThis! ?: "BlogThis! is an easy way to make a blog post without visiting blogger.com. Once you add the BlogThis! link to your browser's toolbar, blogging will be a snap. Or rather, a click. Clicking BlogThis! creates a mini-interface to Blogger prepopulated with a link to the web page you are visiting, as well as any text you have highlighted on that page. Add additional text if you wish and then publish or post from within BlogThis!"

BBspot - 5 Grammar Tips You May Not Have Known

BBspot - 5 Grammar Tips You May Not Have Known: "Using improper grammar on the Internet will open you up to ridicule and make you seem dumber than you really are. Memorize these tips and soon you'll be correcting others instead of being corrected urself."

Nintendo News from The Hylia - Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc.

Nintendo News from The Hylia - Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc.: "There are many Nintendo titles out there that simply have outstanding music, many of which are released onto a formal OST in Japan. Unfortunately, the rest of the world rarely gets to enjoy these CDs unless one imports them for a hefty price, which is rather unfair. Gathered here are the soundtracks to various Nintendo albums."

The Air Car

The Air Car: "The fiberglass MiniC.A.T. runs on compressed air, and offers zero pollution and very low running costs"

Woot : Hammock Chair of Death - Two-Pack

Woot : Hammock Chair of Death - Two-Pack:
"There are only three problems with this two-pack of sporty nylon hammocks:

1. Random Colors: We can’t tell you if the fabric will be verdant green, vibrant red, understated tan, brilliant blue, or imperial purple. We don’t know if you’ll get solid hardwood or black aluminum dowels. And the two hammock chairs in your pack probably won’t match.

2. Missing Minor Pieces: All this means is that the optional eye lag screw and s-bolt are not included, so you’ll have to use the accompanying length of rope to tie it to a sturdy limb (the default mounting method anyway). Or you can pay four or five times as much for the chairs with the screws. You buys your hammock chair and you takes your choice.

3. Possible Death: The chairs might kill you."

Scratch | About

Scratch | About:
"Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web.

Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design."

Hackety Hack: the Coder's Starter Kit

Hackety Hack: the Coder's Starter Kit:
"YOUR FIRST PROGRAM

One of Hackety Hack's sincere pledges is to make the most common code very easy and short. Downloading an MP3 should be one line of code. A blog should be very few.

For example, our sample blog:

blog = Table('MyBlog').recent(10)
Web.page {
blog.each do |entry|
title entry[:title]
puts entry[:editbox]
end
}

TRY THESE RED GOGGLES

Presently, Ruby is the only language taught by Hackety Hack. And it's a great one to start with. Ruby was born in Japan, but has found a wealth of friends across the world. As you can see above, Ruby is a combination of simple words and punctuation."

License to sin -- Asking people to think about vice increases their likelihood of giving in

License to sin -- Asking people to think about vice increases their likelihood of giving in: "A new study by researchers from Duke, USC, and UPenn is the first to explore how questioning can affect our behavior when we have mixed feelings about an issue. The study, forthcoming in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, found that asking people questions, like how many times they expect to give in to a temptation they know they should resist, increases how many times they will actually give in to it."

Build A Mini Spud Gun Out Of Stuff You Can Find Around The House Video

Build A Mini Spud Gun Out Of Stuff You Can Find Around The House Video: "I will teach you how to build a combustion powered mini spud gun from stuff you can find around the house.It will take you less than 10 min! And they are tons of fun!"

"Is Christianity Good for the World?"

"Is Christianity Good for the World?" | Christianity Today:
"Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson debate.

Theologian Douglas Wilson and atheist Christopher Hitchens, authors whose books are already part of a larger debate on whether religion is pernicious, agreed to discuss their views on whether Christianity itself has benefited the world. Below is their exchange, one in a series that will appear on our website over the course of this month."

Freedom to Tinker � Blog Archive � You Can Own an Integer Too — Get Yours Here

Freedom to Tinker � Blog Archive � You Can Own an Integer Too — Get Yours Here: "Now, thanks to our newly developed VirtualLandGrab technology, you can own a 128-bit integer of your very own.

Here’s how we do it. First, we generate a fresh pseudorandom integer, just for you. Then we use your integer to encrypt a copyrighted haiku, thereby transforming your integer into a circumvention device capable of decrypting the haiku without your permission. We then give you all of our rights to decrypt the haiku using your integer. The DMCA does the rest.

The haiku is copyright 2007 by Edward W. Felten:

We own integers,
Says AACS LA.
You can own one too.

Here is your very own 128-bit integer, which we hereby deed to you:

C7 23 77 CF B0 99 9F 89 26 33 97 00 43 4A EA 87

If you’d like another integer, just hit Shift-Reload, and we’ll make a fresh one for you. Make as many as you want! Did we mention that a shiny new integer would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift?"

Improve your photography with clasical art.

Improve your photography with clasical art.:
"When Photoshop entered the CS series it included a new tool called 'Match Color.' This tools was made so that you could match a series of photos to one another.

But there is another thing you can do with 'Match Color' that is much cooler: You can match the colors in your photos to those in famous paintings."

HuffPo Hotlinking Redux - Wizbang

HuffPo Hotlinking Redux - Wizbang: "Yesterday I highlighted a case of what I suspected to be garden variety hotlinking at The Huffington Post by Max Blumenthal. Max Blumenthal is an employee of Media Matters, a writer for Nation magazine, and the son of former Clinton adviser and journalist Sidney Blumenthal. Huffington Post wasn't the only place Blumenthal's screed against Christopher Hitchens was posted. He posted the same piece on his own site and Smirking Chimp. The Family Research Council photo of Hitchens was altered by the webmasters at FRC to gently inform Blumenthal that hotlinking without permission is not a good idea."

LOLTrek � Live Granades

LOLTrek � Live Granades: "What if lolcats had a TV channel? What kind of shows would be on it?

The answer is clear: they would show Star Trek."

No Deltree Command? - Windows 2000 and DOS

No Deltree Command? - Windows 2000 and DOS: "SUMMARY: A Windows 2000 or Windows XP replacement for the Deltree command can be found here.

You may remember that some versions of DOS had a DELTREE command to remove a directory as well as all of its subdirectories and contained files. Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not have this command, but you can emulate it with the RD (RMDIR) command.

For example, the following Windows 2000 or Windows XP DOS command deletes the C:\BLAH directory and all subdirectories WITHOUT ANY WARNING:

RD C:\BLAH /S /Q"

VDH's Private Papers::Nemesis

VDH's Private Papers::Nemesis: "But we need look only to the Ancient Greeks for the best insight.

The Greeks believed that insolence naturally leads to bullying, or hubris. This arrogance induces a mad behavior called ate. Finally, that recklessness earns well-earned destruction unleashed by the god Nemesis."

in·so·lent [Origin: 1350–1400; ME <>insolent- (s. of insoléns) departing from custom, equiv. to in- in-³ + sol- (s. of solére to be accustomed) + -ent- -ent]

The Volokh Conspiracy - -

The Volokh Conspiracy - -: "Blankenhorn and the purposes of marriage:

In addition to the important procreative and child-raising purpose of marriage that David Blankenhorn and others opposed to gay marriage have emphasized, marriage has other functions arising from our history, tradition, and actual practice that are served by allowing people to marry even if they never have children.

So what does marriage do? What is it for? Marriage does at least six important things. I put these here in block text for ease of reference:"

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: A Maoist Review

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: A Maoist Review: "The guards in charge of Sirius Black are 'Dementos' who suck the life out of people, but Sirius Black builds his fearsome reputation by getting by them all. Dementos lower the quality of life of everyone in the kingdom. They have one-track minds to pursue their quarry and they are not able to distinguish the innocent from their quarry. Their presence even damages business at bars. Thus, the script-writer is a shrewd persyn aware of the prison mentality's effect on the whole society. "

Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society � Howard Smith’s Gizmo

Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society � Howard Smith’s Gizmo: "Kircher Society favorite Gizmo, Howard Smith’s wonderful 1977 documentary about odd and improbable inventions of the 20th century, is now online:"

Social Science at 190 MPH on NASCAR's Biggest Superspeedways

Social Science at 190 MPH on NASCAR's Biggest Superspeedways: "In aerodynamically intense stock-car races like the Daytona 500, the drivers form into multi-car draft lines to gain extra speed. A driver who does not enter a draft line (slipstream) will lose. Once in a line, a driver must attract a drafting partner in order to break out and try to get further ahead. Thus the effort to win leads to ever-shifting patterns of cooperation and competition among rivals. This provides a curious laboratory for several social science theories: (1) complexity theory, since the racers self-organize into structures that oscillate between order and chaos; (2) social network analysis, since draft lines are line networks whose organization depends on a driver's social capital as well as his human capital; and (3) game theory, since racers face a 'prisoner's dilemma' in seeking drafting partners who will not defect and leave them stranded. Perhaps draft lines and related 'bump and run' tactics amount to a little-recognized dynamic of everyday life, including in structures evolving on the Internet."

Ciel Libre

Ciel Libre: "Plastorgan:

Windmusic instrument made of plastic bottles."

unfortunate placement of yahoo ad on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

unfortunate placement of yahoo ad on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "unfortunate placement of yahoo ad"

Micro-Max

Micro-Max: "Micro-Max, a 133-line Chess Source"

Classically Liberal: When mass killers meet armed resistance.

Classically Liberal: When mass killers meet armed resistance.: "It took place at a university in Virginia. A student with a grudge, an immigrant, pulled a gun and went on a shooting spree. It wasn’t Virginia Tech at all. It was the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, not far away. You can easily drive from the one school to the other, just take a trip down Route 460 through Tazewell."

The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business

The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business: "The world's oldest continuously operating family business ended its impressive run last year. Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi, in operation under the founders' descendants since 578, succumbed to excess debt and an unfavorable business climate in 2006."

Pommygranate: A Self-Hater's Guide To Science

Pommygranate: A Self-Hater's Guide To Science: "Further to Tim Blair's list of Life's Little Contradictions, here is a Self-Hater's Guide to Science"

Home Toolbox Essentials: Skill Set - Master Tool Kit - with VIDEO - Popular Mechanics

Home Toolbox Essentials: Skill Set - Master Tool Kit - with VIDEO - Popular Mechanics: "When I tallied up the tools in my box, I counted 61 items with a combined weight of over 50 pounds. Of course, some things are multipiece, such as the set of high-speed-steel twist drills in a fold-out metal case. I think I've got a good little set of tools here, but it's not perfect—I'm always looking for tools that are tougher or more precise. Nor is it complete. It's augmented at home with hundreds of pounds of other hand and power tools. This is the box I grab when the phone rings and somebody needs help or a pipe has burst at the church where I'm the property chairman. It takes a long time to find out what you need and fit it into one box. This one took 30 years of trial and error. "

Tocqueville's America

Tocqueville's America: "The French author's piquant observations on American gumption and political hypocrisy sound remarkably contemporary 200 years after his birth"

Installing Oracle Database XE on Debian, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu

Installing Oracle Database XE on Debian, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu:
"Update (March 2006): With Oracle Database XE in production, it is even easier to install Oracle on Debian-based distros (thanks to Joel Becker).

There is now an apt-get repository up on oss.oracle.com for XE. Just add:

deb http://oss.oracle.com/debian unstable main non-free

to /etc/apt/sources.list and then:

# wget http://oss.oracle.com/el4/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle -O- | sudo apt-key add -
# apt-get update
# apt-get install oracle-xe

'libaio' and 'bc' are in the repository, so dependancies will pull them in if the user doesn't have them. (Note: You will need to 'sudo' or have 'root' privileges to install XE.)"

Okla. Declares Watermelon State Veggie

Okla. Declares Watermelon State Veggie: "OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma already has the strawberry as its official fruit, so the state Senate cleared the way Tuesday to declare the watermelon the state vegetable."

No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July

No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July

Fearless Driver - Stressless Parallel Parking

Fearless Driver - Stressless Parallel Parking: "To parallel park successfully, you need a space about 4-6 feet longer than your car. Then, it’s all about timing!"

The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Privateers: The Independent Review: The Independent Institute

The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Privateers: The Independent Review: The Independent Institute: "Privateers—private ships licensed to carry out warfare—helped win the American Revolution and the War of 1812 but fell into disuse after the federal government made it hard to monitor their performance. Like the government’s use of private military companies in today’s hotspots, privateering was an instance of the “contracting out” of security services, not the full privatization of security, and thus operated in the context of incentives and constraints established by the government."

Squashed Philosophers

Squashed Philosophers

"Glyn Hughes'
SQUASHED PHILOSOPHERS
THE books which defined the way The West thinks now...
In their own words... but condensed and abridged into something like readable"

LiveLeak.com - Accident caused by out of control sewer

LiveLeak.com - Accident caused by out of control sewer: "Accident caused by out of control sewer "

GeiselVille at Flyguy Designs

GeiselVille at Flyguy Designs: "I have had a overwellming response to my last set of Photoshop brushes, Geisel Garden. So I have once again turned to the work of Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel for inspiration. Here my second installment of brushes completely inspired from the wonderful works of Dr. Seuss. There are 40 Photoshop brushes in this set and as always they are free for download. I also have the Vector set used to create the brushes available for $8.00"

LiveLeak.com - The Joys of Marine Boot Camp

LiveLeak.com - The Joys of Marine Boot Camp: "Drill Instructor tears into a recruit because he gave up on training course. Quitting is not an option. "

xFruits - Compose your information system

xFruits - Compose your information system

TCS Daily - Rebel with a Cause: The Optimistic Scientist

TCS Daily - Rebel with a Cause: The Optimistic Scientist: "Freeman Dyson: I am always happy to be in the minority. Concerning the climate models, I know enough of the details to be sure that they are unreliable. They are full of fudge factors that are fitted to the existing climate, so the models more or less agree with the observed data. But there is no reason to believe that the same fudge factors would give the right behavior in a world with different chemistry, for example in a world with increased CO2 in the atmosphere."

VMblog.com - Virtualization Information : VMware's Desktop Virtualization for Mac - Codenamed Fusion

VMblog.com - Virtualization Information : VMware's Desktop Virtualization for Mac - Codenamed Fusion:

"Sending the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keystroke combination to a virtual machine
To send the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keystroke combination to a virtual machine, do one of the following:

* From the Virtual Machine menu, select Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete.
* If you are using an external PC keyboard, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete.
* On a full-sized Mac keyboard, press Control-Option-Foward Delete. The Forward Delete key is below the Help key.
* On a Mac laptop keyboard, press Fn-Ctrl-Option-Delete.

Note: When you press Fn-Ctrl-Option-Delete, the Ctrl key occasionally remains activated and working after you release it. To continue working in the virtual machine, press and release the Ctrl key again."

Apple Mouse Utility

Apple Mouse Utility: "Are you using a 1 button Apple mouse under Windows? Than this utility is the solution for you! By holding the Control key while this utility is running, the mouse button will act as the right mouse button instead of the left mouse button!"

IT Anthems >> IT Anthems's Blog at ZDNet UK Community

IT Anthems >> IT Anthems's Blog at ZDNet UK Community: "The music they couldn't kill!

Ever wondered what happened to IT Anthems, ZDNet's fabled web craze of 2002? It's still there, even in the new-look ZDNet UK. But you have to look..."

Time Fountain Video Illusion - Mighty Optical Illusions

Time Fountain Video Illusion - Mighty Optical Illusions: "The device in the video creates the illusion that a simple stream of water droplets can defy the known laws of physics. With controlling a set of flickering LEDs, the dripping water can appear to slow down, freeze in mid-air, and even reverse in direction - Interactively!"

LEAKED: 5 More Geek Squad Manuals - Consumerist

LEAKED: 5 More Geek Squad Manuals - Consumerist: "Here's 5 more Geek Squad manuals. They're not a fascinating as the troubleshooting manual, but perhaps if you use the Geek Squad you can use them to make sure they're doing their job right. Or you could learn how to open up your own Geek Squad store. Sort of like a lemonade stand, except instead of turning lemons into a tasty beverage, you turn laptops into lemons.

Data Backup Checklist
VoIP Training
Double Agent Handbook
Camcorder Training Guide
WiFi troubleshooting leave-behind"

USB Cable A to Mini B, 16 inch High-Speed USB 2.0 Device Cable USBG-1678 LOW PRICE $2.75

USB Cable A to Mini B, 16 inch High-Speed USB 2.0 Device Cable USBG-1678 LOW PRICE $2.75:

"Manufacturer: USBGEAR
Barcode: USBG-1678
Part Number: USBG-1678
Warranty: LifeTime
In Stock: Yes
Ship Weight: 1 lbs.
COLOR White
Size: 16 inch"

best.online.docus - Best Online Documentaries

best.online.docus - Best Online Documentaries

MetroActive Movies | Bell Science

MetroActive Movies | Bell Science: "Capra ended up writing and directing the first three--Our Mr. Sun (about solar energy), Hemo the Magnificent (all about blood), and The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (on the very trendy subject of radiation)--and producing a fourth, Meteora: The Unchained Goddess (about weather), directed by horror movie star Richard Carlson.

Mr. Sun debuted on CBS in 1956 at 10 p.m., making it clear that Bell Labs was not aiming at an audience of children, but at adults. The others came along, one per year, until Capra left the project. After a hiatus of three years, five more Bell Lab films were aired: Gateways to the Mind (about the five senses), The Alphabet Conspiracy (about the history of language), Thread of Life (about DNA), About Time (self-explanatory), and a Disney-produced final entry, The Restless Sea.

Except for the last one, all of the Bell Science films starred Dr. Frank Baxter, who was introduced each time out as Dr. Research--and displayed a great knack for explaining complicated things in simple language. Perhaps a bit too simple. Critics at first applauded Capra's creative use of animation and humor, but many soon tired of the films, complaining that they oversimplified science."

MacDevCenter.com -- Scripting Dot Mac

MacDevCenter.com -- Scripting Dot Mac: "Accessing the iDisk via WebDAV from Linux"

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | The Most Hated Family in America

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | The Most Hated Family in America: "Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by 'Gramps', preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family."

ayb_calvin_and_hobbes.jpg

ayb_calvin_and_hobbes.jpg

All Your Base

Nobby Tech. Ltd. : 株式会社ノビテック - 製品紹介：高速度カメラ

Nobby Tech. Ltd. : 株式会社ノビテック - 製品紹介：高速度カメラ: "ハイビジョン対応スーパースローカメラ
HD-SDIフルスペックハイビジョンモデル Phantom HD"

So Thats Why Its Called a PYRAMID SCHEME

So Thats Why Its Called a PYRAMID SCHEME: "Crazy Eddie and the $120 Million Ripoff
“I’m Crazy Eddie!” a goggle-eyed man screamed from the television set. “My prices are I-N-S-A-N-E!”

If you were anywhere near the East Coast in the 1980s, you undoubtedly saw those TV commercials. The raucous ads saturated the airwaves in the tri-state area and helped Crazy Eddie’s quickly become the dominant consumer electronics retailer in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

As it turned out, “Crazy” Eddie Antar, who was behind one of the twentieth century’s most infamous financial statement frauds, wasn’t crazy at all—just crooked. Indeed, the face on the tube wasn’t even his (it belonged to an actor). The real Eddie Antar didn’t have time for acting. He and members of his family were too busy engineering a $120 million rip-off. Much of the ill-gotten loot was placed in secret overseas bank accounts. Once discovered, Antar spent several years on the lam and another several behind bars. According to a senior SEC official, “This may not be the biggest [financial statement] fraud of all time, but for outrageousness, it is going to be very hard to beat.” Even though the fraud is more than a decade old, it provides vivid examples of how these crimes can be pulled off and how auditors can be deceived."

squidsquid.com - find out your squid quotient

squidsquid.com - find out your squid quotient: "Take the carefully designed test in order to determine your Squid Quotient/ Squintelligence Quotient (SQ). Your SQ reveals your affinity for squid."

"Your Squid Quotient = 138.5

Interpreting your results: An average Squid Quotient is around 100. A SQ of 100 means you have a normal affinity for squid. A SQ above 100 means you have an attraction or fondness for squid. Below 100 means that you should probably stay away from the deep ocean."

ReadyMade Blog � Blog Archive � Diet soda cupcakes?!

ReadyMade Blog � Blog Archive � Diet soda cupcakes?!: "“Take a box of regular cake mix,” she said. “Substitute the oil and egg nonsense with a single can of diet soda, mix, bake, and voil�! Cupcakes!” It sounded way too simple and strange to work, but believe-you-me, it makes for a tasty, tasty treat. Alyssa used white cake mix and diet 7-Up for the lemony yumyums we’ll be enjoying today, but recommends using a dark soda if you’re making a chocolate or fudge dessert."

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Austen 'too ugly' for book cover

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Austen 'too ugly' for book cover: "Novelist Jane Austen has been given a makeover for the cover of a book about her life after publishers decided an original image of her was unattractive."

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Austen 'too ugly' for book cover

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Austen 'too ugly' for book cover: "Novelist Jane Austen has been given a makeover for the cover of a book about her life after publishers decided an original image of her was unattractive."