NASA Attempts To Assuage 2012 Fears

Come on, people! How can there be SOOO many people who don't understand the word FICTION?

It's already been proven that the date of 2012 was a miscalculation from bad astronomical observations and it should be 2212, if that even makes a difference.

Matthew 24:36 says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." and Mark 13:32 says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." That's the concurence of two witnesses.

Whenever someone says "The world's gonna end on . . ." I feel safe on that day.

NASA Attempts To Assuage <em>2012</em> Fears: "eldavojohn writes 'The apocalyptic film 2012 has dominated the box office, taking in $65 million on opening weekend. But with all those uninformed eyeballs watching the film, NASA has found itself answering so many common questions that their Ask an Astrobiologist blog offers calming, professional reassurance that there is no planet Nibiru, nor will it collide with Earth (although I do recall a massive solar storm forecast). NASA's main site even offers a FAQ answering similar questions. NPR has more on NASA scientist David Morrison and his efforts to calm the ensuing public hysteria, but survivalists are already planning for the big one. Pretty funny, right? Not according to Morrison: 'I've had three from young people saying they were contemplating committing suicide. I've had two from women contemplating killing their children and themselves. I had one last week from a person who said, 'I'm so scared, my only friend is my little dog. When should I put it to sleep so it won't suffer?' And I don't know how to answer those questions.''

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"

TV, Netbook, and Google toys

Well, yesterday was Friday the 13th, but as usual it was a reasonably good day for me (paraskevidekatriaphobia usually isn’t a problem for me, since my parents were married on Friday the 13th). The Pampered Chef party last night was fun, and I got to see some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.

But what you’re here about is most likely my new toys, so let me tell you about what’s been going on toy-wise.

First toy is the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo Hi-Speed USB Tuner. To be honest, I’m not too impressed so far. I got it because it has two tuners, one for NTSC broadcast, and one for cable, ATSC and Clear-QAM broadcast, which is unscrambled digital HD broadcast on cable, like Comcast does with the local channels. Either the box needs a very high gain on the Clear-QAM signal, I’ve got a lot of loss in my digital cable signal, or I’m doing something wrong, because I couldn’t get the Clear-QAM broadcast to pick up. I got signals, but none of them were strong enough to show an image. So, I need to spend more time with it.

 

I have that box connected to an HP Windows-XP Media Center box. I’ll have to try putting the Windows 7 x64 version on it (the RC, not the purchased copy). Maybe that will help matters. That and putting it on an amplifier or a shorter cable run. We’ll see what happens. No recommendation on that yet; I need to do more playing first.

So, This week I bought an Acer Aspire One from my friend Shawn at work. It came with Windows-XP installed, an outdated version of McAfee anti-virus that wouldn’t scan the computer, and a few apps. The first thing I did, after the procedure I have to connect a computer to my network, is install the Comcast McAfee AV software and scan the computer. Not surprisingly, it found 9 infected files, which I deleted. Shawn says there’s more (he’s a penetration expert (read as “white hat hacker”) but McAfee hasn’t figured them out yet.

Next thing I did was connect it to my home workgroup, then to the Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server has the ability to backup computers on the network, and provides the ability to boot off a CD (or thumb drive that “looks” like a CD) to restore the entire system from the last good backup. I thought this would be a good idea, since I was going to wipe the entire hard drive and put Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) on it.

I’m very impressed with UNR on the Aspire One. XP was S-L-O-W on the netbook. I’d move the curser on the touchpad and I wouldn’t know when it was going to catch up with my finger. But with UNR, no problem. Also, UNR found all my devices (so far), including sound, Wi-Fi, wired networking, etc. My next test is to put a USB to Bluetooth dongle on it and see how that works out. Hopefully I’ll let you know next week. Highly recommend UNR if you have a netbook; if you just use Internet and email, it’s spot on and easy to configure (and fast!). If you do more, there’s a few issues with screen size and things, but it’s workable (like, say, FarmVille on Facebook. The screen’s a bit small to do any real harvesting!).

I also highly recommend the Acer line of netbooks. The keys are a bit small for real work, but in a pinch you could edit a document or do spreadsheets and graphics. But for travel, nothing beats is for me so far. It could use longer battery life. Maybe a bigger battery?

I’ve also been playing with Google Voice. If you’re interested, I have 5 invitations I could send out. Let me know and I’ll pass it on to you. Shawn has played with it more than I have. One of the cool features I like is that I can SMS people (that’s “texting” for the non-techies our there) from my computer. So I can text with my youngest daughter in Louisiana, her on her iPhone and me on my computer! I need to play more with this, too.

Another item in the “more to follow” category is Google Wave. I’ve been invited to sign up (got the invite yesterday) but with work blocking the install of the Chrome add-in for IE and no other browser available, doing PT after work, and the Pampered Chef party, I didn’t get the chance to do anything yet. More to follow.

As a personal note, my back is starting to do better; either that or my meds are completely masking the pain. I do still have sciatica in my left leg at times. The worst it’s been is like having a wrong-side-out cactus on my leg and foot. Some days I have issues getting in and out of the car, most of them self-induced because I do something like twisting my torso without moving my hips at the same time. Not a good thing to do. I have 10 more PT visits (that’s about 5 more weeks, so almost to the end of the year). I don’t notice any improvement, but my upper body strength has been improving. I also got a Back2Life to try (don’t start on the snake oil comments) and also I have an inversion table that I’ll start using on a regular basis. The neurosurgeon said he didn’t want to see me again, so no surgery which is a good thing. I’m also getting trigger point injections at pain management. I’m beginning to doubt I will get back to 100% of who I was 2 years ago, but I’ll do anything I can do to get closer.

Oh, yeah, I’m using Windows Live Writer to compose these blog posts now. New toy. So far, I’m on the edge with it. I don’t like the way it does paragraphs, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t read the distructions like always. Maybe if I read, I can learn something!

Classic Pro-America Cartoon

Classic Pro-America Cartoon: "

This is an amazing, and timeless cartoon produced by Harding College in 1948!

Everyone in the USA should watch this video and learn from it!

IS the guy in the Zoot suit Obama?

Found by Dodd Vickers.

---

"

Now Linux Can Get Viruses, Via Wine

I always knew this would happen.

I warned you. Wine leads to all things that cause viruses!

Via Slashdot.org.

Now Linux Can Get Viruses, Via Wine: "fsufitch writes "Wine has advanced enough to make Linux not immune to Windows viruses. However, just like many Wine applications, it takes a bit of effort to get the program off the ground. Also, just like some Windows programs running via Wine, not all features may work — in this case, the crippling of the system, immunity to the task manager, identity theft, etc."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"

Case Closed, Recovery, and the Future.

Well, it has been a while since I told you what’s really going on in my life, so here’s an update.

First, FragMom’s Frag box is operational. I installed the 32bit version of Windows 7 RC, and it’s off and flying. I’m jealous, sort of. If we both boot at the same time, she’s up, logged in, and logged into WoW before I’m completely logged in. Yes, the stories are true, Windows 7 IS really faster.

Now that it’s running well, I put the case back together, and it looks like a normal computer again, not something that should be on an operating room table or a slab in the morgue.

On a personal note, I’ve not really been feeling good for quite some time now. Initially it was adjusting to the new medication, Gabapentin. “Gabapentin was initially synthesized to mimic the chemical structure of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but is not believed to act on the same brain receptors.” I really don’t understand all of what it does, but part of that is because of the medication itself!

The therapeutic dose of Gabapentin is 1800mg a day, but it’s not something you can just jump right into. The doctor started me on 300mg at bedtime for a week. Then we added in another 300mg at 2:00PM for a week, then 300mg at 6:00AM for a week. During the first week, I didn’t notice any effects at all (since I was sleeping!). However, when I started the 2:00PM dose, I was loopy and felt like I was drunk for several hours after the dose. These effects lasted for the first few days or so, and I adjusted to them by day three or four. When I added the 6:00AM dose, I had the same issues; 2 days of lost productivity due to feeling drunk / stoned for about 6 hours.

The “ramp up” for the next set of doses went about the same; replaced the 300mg at bedtime with 600mg, then the 2:00PM dose to 600mg and the morning dose to 600mg. Same side-effects; dizzy, loopy, feeling drunk or stoned. Basically, I was brainless for 2 days after each dose increase. The entire process took about 6 weeks.

A few weeks after the dose increase, I went in for a follow up with my pain management doctor. He was pleased with the progress using the Gabapentin, and did trigger point injections or TPI to relax the muscles in my back.That was on a Wednesday. Thursday I went in to work and felt the best I had in months.

Here’s the fun part, though. It’s been almost two weeks since the TPI. My back is feeling good, my left leg doesn’t hurt, but feels “tingly” quite a lot, and I don’t really trust it. But, (and here’s the point) soon after that I developed a dry cough, congestion, and I guess achy joints and muscles. It seems that I have a fever of about +2 degrees. Let me explain that comment; my normal body temp is 96.8 (I’ve always been a cold fish!), so when I have a temp of 98.7, that’s a fever for me, and equivalent to 100.5 for most people. So, on top of the meds and everything, I think I have a flu. It may be THE flu, but I don’t know for sure, and I don’t think I want to find out.

 

Right now, I just feel all rung out. I feel like I can’t get out of my own way. It’s really aggravating because I have two big projects planned for my geekieness.

 

First, I’ve put an older XP Media Center PC in the bedroom with a wireless card and hooked it to the TV in the bedroom. I need to find an older Toshiba USB Media Center Hub that we got a few years ago and hook that up so I can use a remote for it rather than a keyboard (that requires finding the Hub somewhere in the closet).

The second project is a little more software oriented. The old Dell that was the FragBox for FragMom may be a viable Linux server. If I can get a stable version of Linux running on it, I’ll start building virtual servers on it and see how much it can handle. If it’s good enough, I’ll move the Windows Home Server to a virtual server on the Dell, then move the drives over to it. That way I can have a variable size drive for the media content, and use the open space for other things.

With Windows 7 on the market now, I’m thinking of upgrading all my Vista systems to Windows 7, but there is no real cost effective way of doing that. Sure, you can get the Win7 Home Premium for 3 computers for $149.99 at the Microsoft Store, but I’d need 2 of those. Not the best solution. What I may do is finally get my business incorporated and get the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS). I still need to decide if that’s the right way to go, but I’m leaning that way. More to follow on those three things, so stay tuned!

Physical easter eggs: hidden drawer cabinetry

Like the President's and the Queen's desk in National Treasure, Book of Secrets, this cool desk has a hidden drawer! Personally, I would have made the hidden drawer a little bigger, but that's just me. This is a really cool, yet complicated design. Almost a Rube Goldberg! Click the link for the video of how it works.

Physical easter eggs: hidden drawer cabinetry: "

MAKE subscriber Tyler writes in to share this über-complicated hidden drawer, by carpenter Brian Grabski. To get the hidden compartment to open, one first has to open each of the other drawers, which then release a pin that is pressed to open the hidden drawer. Nice work! I think it would be the perfect place to stash some trick puzzles.

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BumpTop Goes Multi-Touch. Um, Awesome.

BumpTop, in my opinion, is probably the most intuative, well designed desktop interface I have seen.

I talked about BumpTop about a year ago. I was impressed with it then, now I think I'm ready to try it.

Take a look at this article from TechCrunch:

BumpTop Goes Multi-Touch. Um, Awesome.: "

What if the desktop on your computer was just like your actual desktop? That’s the core idea behind BumpTop, a really nice looking graphical overlay for Windows-based operating systems. But as cool as BumpTop looked, you still had to use your mouse and keyboard to manipulate it. As I made clear yesterday, I want those to die. So good news for me today: BumpTop is adding multi-touch support. And the result is awesome.

When we think of multi-touch right now, most of us think of the iPhone. But really, with such a small screen, there are only so many gestures you can do. Multi-touch BumpTop greatly expands that roster, and includes several gestures that it claims to have patents for. Basically, they have gestures that use all of you fingers, and both hands, and even the side of hands. You can “lasso” things, “shove” them, “scrunch” them, and “crop” them.

This graphic below shows a list of the gestures BumpTop offers that competitors don’t, including the ones that they apparently have patents on (labeled as “BT”).

Naturally, for these multi-touch capacities to work, you’ll need a computer with a touch screen surface that supports multi-touch. Right now, those aren’t widely available. But all indications are that soon enough, there could be a range of devices on the market with such capabilities (sadly, this is Windows 7-only — so no, it won’t work on an Apple Tablet). If you don’t have one of those however, BumpTop will continue to work on a majority of Windows-based PCs just fine with more traditional input devices.

The most obvious use of Mutli-touch BumpTop is with media, as you can easily manipulate images (watch the video below). But the service also works with documents (dragging them around, bunching them together, Google Gadgets, and even webpages as widgets. Also, there is social networking support, so if you edit an image in BumpTop, you can easily upload it immediately to Facebook or send it to Twitter.

I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that as soon as I have a computer that can run this, I want this. If not, you’re crazy, just watch it in action below. And below that find more examples of its multi-touch gesture support.

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Intel unveils Light Peak 10Gbps optical interconnect for mobile devices

This looks very interesting. Fiber for the desktop to other devices. Not specifically for networking (although that is an option, too, from the look of things). Can you imagine sitting down at your home PC, connecting your MP3 player to the Light Peak connection and downloading 20GB of your music in 15 seconds? But if this replaces USB, how am I going to charge my phone?

Intel unveils Light Peak 10Gbps optical interconnect for mobile devices: "

USB 3.0 might be one of the big stories here at IDF, but Intel just showed off a glimpse of the future: Light Peak, an optical interconnect for mobile devices that can run as fast as 10Gbps. That's fast enough to do everything from storage to displays to networking, and it can maintain those speeds over 100-meter runs, which is pretty astounding. Intel says the idea is to drastically reduce the number of connectors on mobile devices, which should allow them to get even smaller -- but the demo was on a huge Frankenrig, so don't expect to see any actual Light Peak devices ship any time soon,

Continue reading Intel unveils Light Peak 10Gbps optical interconnect for mobile devices

Filed under: Peripherals

Intel unveils Light Peak 10Gbps optical interconnect for mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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