crazyskillsbloginitiative

Microsoft Web Apps Beta:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=27d81b1c-18ae-4983-8e1c-224bb747eb99 [microsoft.com]

The Telegraph reports [telegraph.co.uk] that comic books are “just as sophisticated as other forms of reading, children benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other kinds of books, and that there is evidence that comics increase children’s vocabulary and instill a love of reading.”

Haha. No I didn’t smoke - that’s been 193 days. Nope. I’m talking about my new job! Yup. I am now in the business of selling all things computers. Today went well. It is a cool environment - I think I ought to do fine there. They’re giving me plenty of hours and a couple of weeks to train. Yes I’m back in the retail sector. But you know, I really do like it. I really like my customers.

“Some date the dawn of the net to September 12, 1969, when a team of engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) connected the first two machines on the first node of ARPAnet, the US Department of Defense-funded network that eventually morphed into the modern interwebs. But others — including Professor Leonard Kleinrock, who led that engineering team — peg the birthday to October 29, when the first message was sent between the remote nodes. ‘That’s the day,’ Kleinrock tells The Reg, ‘the internet uttered its first words.’ …A 50kbps AT&T pipe connected the UCLA and SRI nodes, and the first message sent was the word ‘log’ — or at least that was the idea. UCLA would send the ‘log’ and SRI would respond with ‘in.’ But after UCLA typed the ‘l’ and the ‘o,’ the ‘g’ caused a memory overflow on the SRI IMP. … ‘So the first message was “Lo,” as in “Lo and Behold,”‘ Kleinrock says. ‘We couldn’t have asked for a better message — and we didn’t plan it.’”

engadget.com/2009/10/26/brother-nec-look-to-invade-your-retinas-next-year [engadget.com]

Engadget.com reports today that NEC is developing a new type of computer display, one which beams an image directly onto your retina using lasers. This image will appear to be about a meter in front of you and be about 10cm wide.

You may have heard, GeoCities is shutting down today. To commemorate the occasion, one of my favorite sites, xkcd.com [xkcd.com] has redone their site in true 1995 fashion. You’ve got to see it!

As it turns out, earlier reports of the world ending in 2012 were incorrect and based on a misunderstanding possibly caused by poor translation. The date we all need to fear is now December 23, 2220.

German shepherds: 1.1 hectares, compared with 0.41ha for a large SUV

Cats: 0.15ha (slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf).

Hamsters: 0.014ha (two of them equate to a medium-sized plasma TV).

Goldfish: 0.00034ha (an eco-finprint equal to two cellphones).

For more information, read the full article on New Scientist [newscientist.com]

I was even a boy scout, believe it or not. Oh I know - it doesn’t get any worse than that. And OMG I owned a fork, knife and spoon [huffingtonpost.com].. And even a pocket knife [cnn.com]. And you know what? I still carry one with me much of the time. Bad bad Orb I know. The thing is.. If anyone had known and if anyone had cared, they would probably have just had me put it in my car, or put it in the office for me to pick up at the end of the day. But these days being a Boy Scout can get you in a lot of trouble. There is a difference between having a 2 inch pocket knife in your car and stabbing someone with a kitchen knife [foxnews.com].

I just don’t get it. Sometimes I think people forget why rules were created and just go on blindly following.

Reports from pcpro.co.uk and subsequently through slashdot report that Windows 8 is in the works and will either be a 128-bit OS or include a 128-bit filesystem, depending on who you ask.

story @ tech.slashdot.org

Check this out — It has got to be the biggest thing to happen to the net since Flash:

unity3d.com/gallery/live-demos/tropical-paradise

It is a 3D environment demo of the new API, Unity3D, by Unity Technologies. They are marketing it as a “multiplatform game development tool”, “the most powerful engine this side of a million dollars.” I think it may very well be much more than a game development tool. I think this is the future of the net.

You won’t want to miss this.

I just heard, from a very reliable source that the world is going to end in 2012! Isn’t that fun? The 21st of December actually is what I hear. Seems the Mayan calendar ends then, and obviously the Mayans knew when the world was going to end. I’m a little disappointed. I would have figured we’d have figured more out by the time time ends. Like more advanced space travel - you know, warp speed stuff. Or maybe time travel. At least holograms. Yeah. Well, here’s to the last few years we have. Nice knowing you.