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Smart Car vs Hummer H1

December 31st, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Transportation

While it’s a bit like an apples to oranges comparison, it is funny.

$100.60 Refund From Verizon

December 31st, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Misinformation

It’s been a while since Verizon Wireless canceled my “Unlimited” cellular Internet access due to “Excessive Use”. That story is posted here: Note about Verizon Wireless’ Broadband Access.

Thanks to the New York Attorney General, Verizon should now be sending a check to everyone who was disconnected unfairly. You can read more info here: New York Attorney General Agreement.

Caulk Nipples from Lee Valley Tools

December 29th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Tools

caulknipples.jpgNozzle Caps – Lee Valley Tools

These small, natural latex rubber socks are excellent for sealing partly used tubes of caulking, replacing lost caps of glue bottles or lining chalk containers, etc.

Keep your caulk safe from exposure with these handy dandy caulk nipples from Lee Valley.  Just be careful how you pronounce it.

Heathkit Educational Systems

December 26th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Robotics

blackherobot.jpgHeathkit Educational Systems

Whether you and your students want to write custom algorithms for artifical intelligence or just want an entertaining learning tool, Heathkit’s HE-RObot™ can do the job. Built with a compact design for optimal mobility, HE-RObot™ utilizes industry standard PC hardware and software providing the most versatile and user-friendly robot on the market today. Controlled by remote or set to move autonomously, it is capable of sensing its environment, reacting and moving around obstacles. HE-RObot™ can talk, see, hear, transmit receive and process data, or if you like, just play a CD. By being able to do just about anything, HE-RObot™ provides students and teachers with a friendly, personable technological experience.

Very interesting, but I’m not impressed with the fact that it uses Microsoft Robotics Studio. There is a Flash demo here with a little more info. I couldn’t find a price, but my initial guess is somewhere north of $2k.

[update:] Thanks to Trevor for the price quotes. Looks like $8k in the US. All I can say is WTF. At most it’s about $1k in parts. I imagine a lot of the cost is the educational materials and software, but still, wtf.

[update 2:] The HERO is a re branded White Box robot which can be had for as little as $5500 or as much as $8000 and they do have a Linux version.

Hand Bell Hero – VML

December 21st, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

handbellhero.pngHand Bell Hero – VML

Just in time for the holidays.

400GB Frozen Drivecicle

December 20th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Misc

Happily I have successfully recovered the last bits of un-backed up data from my crashed HD.  It was a an early SATA drive from a 4 1/2 year old Dell Dimension 8300.

About a month ago (just before the move), the disk crashed with a horrid buzzing noise.  Attempts to reboot just produced an annoying click of death.  To salvage the disk, I put it in the freezer for 2 hours.  I pulled it out, plugged it into a SATA to USB adapter and it mounted right away.  I was able to copy off my old home dir and 2 days of photos.

I’ll add it to the pile of disks to do something artsy with some day.

Guinness good for you – official

December 19th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Beer

_39564693_203guinn3.jpgGuinness good for you – official

They believe that “antioxidant compounds” in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

Clusterssh: control serveral ssh sessions via a single interface

December 18th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Linux

img3.jpgClusterssh: control serveral ssh sessions via a single interface
Clusterssh is a graphical utility that allows you to open several ssh connections and execute commands simultaneously in all of them. I find it powerful in many cases, for example when I’ve to perform a dist-upgrade on many different servers.

Antonville – MyMiniCity

December 14th, 2007 | 3 Comments | Posted in Misc

antonville01.pngAntonville – MyMiniCity

Population 2.  Click through to increase the population.  Once you’re there you can create your own city.

Bacon chocolate chip cookies with maple cinnamon glaze.

December 13th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in Recipes

From the Never Bashful with Butter blog:

p1110477.pngBacon chocolate chip cookies with maple cinnamon glaze.

This whole thing started the other night when my husband and I were having a conversation about what foods could and could not be made better with the addition of bacon.

Sounds as good or maybe better than Pork Fried Rice Krispies.