tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41453256480687009662024-03-06T00:14:58.812-06:00Keyhole full of lollipopsFindings and musings from real and cyber life. Leaning toward puns, technology, science fiction (and literature in general), and life in the Texas capital.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger227125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-45422209907334392862014-04-03T09:06:00.000-05:002014-04-03T09:06:09.835-05:00Get your dose of science fiction by earAudio science fiction podcasts are available at <a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/">http://www.starshipsofa.com/</a>. If you think life is too harried and your reading time is cut beyond belief, then this podcast blog might be the answer, if you have an MP3 player or phone that will play back MP3 files.<br />
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One of particular note is "The Vicar of Mars" by Gwyneth Jones. You can find it on this site, read by the author.<br />
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Isn't modern life cool?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-22437491786182342162014-03-21T11:09:00.001-05:002014-03-21T11:10:38.677-05:00Austin move Since moving back to Austin in the summer of 2013, there have been many differences in our lives. While down on the Texas Gulf coastal plain, we had a strict weekly schedule of events, we now have more ability to modify our plans. For instance, we now have a good-sized garden plot with some plants already coming up by equinox day. On that same day, we became a larger group of live creatures on the lot by gaining six pullets. Two are Production Rhode Island Reds and four are Dominique. They are about nine weeks old. This will entail a major life change in daily routines.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-33843755384493748132012-09-03T12:53:00.000-05:002012-09-03T12:54:04.042-05:00Labor Day 2012In this Labor Day pictorial essay, I believe I felt most like image #5 in my daily work before retirement.<br />
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<a href="http://todayspictures.slate.com/20120831/">http://todayspictures.slate.com/20120831/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-3783044403111507262012-05-30T13:14:00.000-05:002012-05-30T13:14:02.154-05:00Adam Savage's Maker Faire 2012 Talk: Why We Make<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I like the MAKE: movement. This is a video of this season's keynote address.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_otrgJ8Lmx4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_otrgJ8Lmx4</a><br />I'm not so much interested in the magazine (I've tried it), but the blog<br />has a level of consistently interesting posts. I share some of them. Others<br />do not seem to rise to the level of things my friends would enjoy seeing.<br /><br />I got caught up in the ham radio/electronics projects from PopTronics/<br />little radios/larger transmitters/Electronics Specialty Explorer Post<br />that was sponsored by General Telephone HQ engineers in San Angelo/<br />Air Force MARS meetings where they FORCED you to take old radio equipment<br />home to tear up and reuse/Saturday mornings in good weather as a teen, <br />riding the city bus across town, tool box in hand, hat on head to tear<br />up old technology from telephone gear, military, car radios, household<br />radios, etc. to scavenge parts.<br /><br />I want today's kids to find that: In the MAKE: movement, I believe they have.<br />They are the excitement that will lead to tomorrow's engineers and another<br />surge in technology design creativity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-24952829643289622702012-03-21T11:42:00.000-05:002012-03-21T11:42:05.276-05:00Software Defined Radio Receiver: DC to 1,700 MHz!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ae5x.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fcd+conv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.ae5x.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fcd+conv.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Modern electronics is really capable of being tiny. If you look at the projects outlined here, equipment that used to be mounted in 19"-wide metal rack panels for the military when I was in the Navy in the mid-1960s is now able to fit on a thumb-drive-sized "dongle" that plugs into your USB computer port on almost any modern computer! And the abilities of this equipment to do things the older stuff couldn't do are near boundless. When I used the specialized receivers in small communications vans or containers similar to today's shipping containers for overseas commerce, I never expected this degree of reduction in size.<br />
Here are some links to look at this equipment, if you are interested:<br />
<div>A UK project for SDR:</div><div><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.funcubedongle.com/" href="http://www.funcubedongle.com/">http://www.funcubedongle.com/</a></div><div>About page:</div><div><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=2" href="http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=2">http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=2</a></div><div>And an option for HF:</div><div><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ae5x.com/blog/2011/12/19/funcube-dongle-hf-converter-kit-dc-to-1-7ghz-all-mode-receiver/" href="http://www.ae5x.com/blog/2011/12/19/funcube-dongle-hf-converter-kit-dc-to-1-7ghz-all-mode-receiver/">http://www.ae5x.com/blog/2011/12/19/funcube-dongle-hf-converter-kit-dc-to-1-7ghz-all-mode-receiver/</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>It may be old news to you, but I thought I'd share this.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-76196118861809354902012-01-16T16:47:00.000-06:002012-01-16T16:47:04.362-06:00Ending incandescent bulb production: Are LED bulbs the answer?<div style="text-align: center;"> ∙ ∙ ∙</div><br />
I got an email today from a non-tech friend with this link in it.<br />
<a href="http://www.asiapacificnews.net/story/202667941#.TxO7Bn2Wej0.email" target="_blank">http://www.asiapacificnews.<wbr></wbr>net/story/202667941#.<wbr></wbr>TxO7Bn2Wej0.email</a><br />
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It gave me the opportunity to think about and compose an answer for that audience about my own major doubts about the state of LED bulb production as a successor for the ubiquitous incandescent illumination bulb. U.S. law caused the "phasing out" of all production of standard household incandescent bulbs beginning 1/1/2012.<br />
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/story/2011-12-28/light-bulb-rules/52256656/1">http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/story/2011-12-28/light-bulb-rules/52256656/1</a><br />
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Here is my reply to him...and to you:<br />
Thanks for bringing that up. I first have a <a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/02/10/the-light-bulb-showdown-leds-vs-cfls-vs-incandescent-bulbs-whats-the-best-deal-now-and-in-the-future/">quote for you</a>:<br />
<blockquote>Quite a bit of the GeoBulb’s light is directional. It’s very bright directly underneath it, but if you move far off to the side, it’s not producing nearly as much incidental light as the incandescent bulb. For many situations, this isn’t a problem at all – recessed lights and lamps won’t skip a beat. However, for other uses (such as a single bulb that lights a small room), you may want to wait for next generation LEDs.</blockquote><br />
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That is exactly the problem with LED bulbs. The physical function of how LEDs GENERATE light is behind the problem. Incandescent bulb filaments squirt out light as if from a point source. (Imagine a point in space that emits the same light as a 100W bulb in all THREE dimensions.) You can see the shape of the light intensity in this diagram. It is the large set of lines...just extend them all the rest of the way around the bulb.<br />
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The way an LED works is that the light is instead generated out from the SURFACE of the "semiconductor junction" that creates it. So, in the same mental state, imagine the light of a 100W bulb squirting out instead from the SURFACE of a tabletop straight up from it with some spread, but mainly only UP. Now think about how many tiny LEDs it would take to accomplish sending light in all the directions we use light from a generic home light bulb to illuminate! Being drastically efficient at squirting light out of a tiny hole (too simple, I know) is NOT the same as sending it effortlessly in all directions.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imigyled.com/Upfile/201167/2011060755490881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://www.imigyled.com/Upfile/201167/2011060755490881.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Part two of the problem is that in order to WORK, incandescent bulbs have to incandesce or get hot enough to glow white hot. So heat is part of what makes 'em work and the distribution and dissipation of that has been solved over the last 120+ years. But the heat generated by the LED function is the BANE of their existence. And dissipating it is one of the major problems standing in their way of being successful. The hotter they get, the WORSE they work. That is why the bottom part of most of the LED bulbs is a metal heat radiator. Having that metal all over the base is also one of the things that means they eat up lots of resources (metal production and crafting of the heat sink) to create. See the image below. That may be partially done away with by the top developmental quote where a company has new bulbs with liquid cooling.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF-I3O8sqJ-7KuWT1I8XY9HaiFN80bdDAG6dWolU2ZWSeI0uQvaEPQFUFebarKB08Zyrla4CjU-lpBebX217gXyr1NQtjx4Mi1_dIHmM_pDbeZ1RH91-J1VN5rFaD0pPxnzH55MQb5y4/s1600/Junk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF-I3O8sqJ-7KuWT1I8XY9HaiFN80bdDAG6dWolU2ZWSeI0uQvaEPQFUFebarKB08Zyrla4CjU-lpBebX217gXyr1NQtjx4Mi1_dIHmM_pDbeZ1RH91-J1VN5rFaD0pPxnzH55MQb5y4/s320/Junk1.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br />
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In order partially overcome the part one above, the makers put many, many LEDs inside the bulb to attempt to squirt light out in several directions. But it takes a whole lot of "several" to equal "all", so they compromise by only squirting light vaguely less than that above some horizontal plane surface. That is the part of the quote about not having light off to the side of straight out the end of the bulb. This is shown by the 60º beam angle shown below where the light has already dropped off to only half what it is straight out the end of the bulb. This makes the bulbs seem more like spotlights instead of general light bulbs. If you are viewing really wide items, you might have to move the item you're viewing around to stay in the bright part of the light pattern. I do not like this.<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.polar-ray.com/assets/images/WebGraphics/Beam-Angle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.polar-ray.com/assets/images/WebGraphics/Beam-Angle.jpg" style="display: block; height: 442px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a></div>Part three of the problem is that there are several common methods out there for powering LED's. Why all the fuss? It boils down to this:<br />
1) LED's are very sensitive to the voltage used to power them (ie, the current changes a lot with a small change in voltage)<br />
2) The required voltage changes a bit when the LED is put in hot or cold air, and also depending on the color of the LED, and manufacturing details.<br />
Incandescent bulbs work over a fairly wide range, but their target brightness and effective color temperature is only achieved in a few volt range of the 120 volts we have from household power. But the above numbered statements say we can't power the LED bulb the same if it is in a 140º attic as we can when it is dangling outside in -10º blizzard. The circuits have to be very careful how they arrange this, which means NO direct application of the household power: there have to be electronic control circuits containing many components built into the base of the bulbs, thus adding complexity and room for failure of one of the tiny parts to ruin your whole $30-40 bulb, as there is no replacing parts inside the bulbs. They are manufactured so the parts are NOT replaceable by the consumer.<br />
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See how hard it is to explain the idea of what the makers of the WONDER LED BULBS gloss over in their gushing rush to get ya to buy their bulbs? These makers are trying really hard to get you to buy these darned bulbs at $30-40 a pop, but THIS EE is not havin' any o' dat. They have to get mucho better-o before I bite. And they darned well better get a heap cheaper.<br />
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Hope I didn't lose you in the discussion. I tried hard to keep it on a non-EE-level basis. But feel free to ask comment.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-79721789322637507772011-12-15T13:57:00.005-06:002011-12-15T14:04:40.681-06:00New use for mini-copters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions/field-test/nichols-serengeti/img/nathan-copter-385.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 385px; height: 257px;" src="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions/field-test/nichols-serengeti/img/nathan-copter-385.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions/field-test/nichols-serengeti/assignment">This National Geographic assignment</a> was just called to my attention. They are being used on the Serengeti to enable new views of lions and other wildlife there. There are a series of posts at the linked page that detail the photographer's assignment and the ways he has chosen to get around obstacles to achieve the best photos possible. It is worth a read.<br /><br />Comments are welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-84204239319848014432011-11-08T00:43:00.002-06:002011-11-08T00:50:29.554-06:00No fade, no run, no erase, no disappear<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://friedmanlabuw.wikispaces.com/file/view/lab_notebook.jpg/215625934/lab_notebook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 185px;" src="http://friedmanlabuw.wikispaces.com/file/view/lab_notebook.jpg/215625934/lab_notebook.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/11/study-tests-best-writing-instruments-for-lab-data.html">Here is a blog post</a> that features a set of tests for a pen with which to write your lab notes, if you plan on them being around through some sort of accident after they are written. Several different kinds of pens are tested, and the winners of permanent writing are discussed.<br /><br />Comments are welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-67383615899556042912011-10-21T00:20:00.004-05:002012-09-03T12:58:31.885-05:00Ridin' the rails to nowhere<a href="http://cdn.thegreenestdollar.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1410440243_68a1ca1ac0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.flyertalk.com/topflyer/files/post_photo/thumb/post/BUDGET_HOUSING_MEXICO_1984.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" title="Home sweet home" width="320" /></a><br />
In case you are one of those folks who are desperately in love with old train cars or never got over the tug at your heart over a toy train set, there's <a href="http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/02/homes-made-from-old-cabooses/">this fellow's post</a>. He details some of the interesting homes people have made out of cabooses or other train cars long retired, but still serviceable from a domicile point of view.<br />
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I found the page while I was researching a scene from a 1973 trip across the Sierra Madres on a passenger train. It was the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad. Far up in the mountains, I saw families living in old boxcars on short sidings. They had cheery window boxes with flowers in them during the June trip. Children were at play outside of the several boxcars. They had cut doors and windows more suitable for a dwelling in the sides, with stairs leading up to the doors.<br />
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From the quick perspective of passing the homes out on a mountain siding, they looked very minimal and near infinitely remote. But think...they had company pass right by several times a week in the form of the train I was on.<br />
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Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-14542245781203575222011-10-12T12:32:00.003-05:002011-10-12T12:39:16.008-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/1012-art-clokey-google/10817899-1-eng-US/1012-art-clokey-google_full_600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/1012-art-clokey-google/10817899-1-eng-US/1012-art-clokey-google_full_600.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Today's Google logo has paid 90th birthday tribute to artist Art Clokey and his creation, Gumby In <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2011/1012/Art-Clokey-How-Gumby-got-his-name">this tribute page</a>, you can see Clokey's first clay film, done on his parent's table tennis table. It does not star Gumby, but it is a fun, early animation in modeled clay.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-36410323847838529432011-09-26T23:56:00.003-05:002011-09-27T00:05:33.559-05:00Location of ALL Austin Moonlight Towers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRDgwovCtyVlQ7PabP19WJ87GhJNec_NTM1eNGlGgiij2y2NOz2vQ"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 90px; height: 400px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRDgwovCtyVlQ7PabP19WJ87GhJNec_NTM1eNGlGgiij2y2NOz2vQ" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Moonlight towers are one of the really fun things left from the end of the 19th century in Austin. There is a dark story behind their creation that <a href="http://www.examiner.com/true-crime-in-austin/the-hush-hush-history-of-the-moonlight-towers">you can read here</a>. They have been decimated by construction permission, accidents and "accidents", as well as benign neglect. Expensive work was done not too long ago to refurbish them and prevent further failure for some time to come. I was trying to answer a question about an old photo tonight that showed a moonlight tower in the background. In my research, I found <a href="http://g.co/maps/ywqaw">this map</a> at the Austin History Center Web site. If you are interested in the topic, all current and past tower sites are marked on the map.<br /><br />Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-61182730119690770922011-09-09T22:55:00.003-05:002011-09-09T22:58:12.137-05:00Project Gutenberg Founder Dies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.makezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/michaelHart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 296px;" src="http://blog.makezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/michaelHart.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Wow. Somehow I didn't expect THIS fellow to disappear on us. The founder of Project Gutenberg died at 62. Whether or not you have a Kindle, you can download readable eBooks of many, many, many books written further back than a valid copyright goes. Pretty much any classic you can think of is available for free. It won't smell musty and won't take up space on your bookshelf, but there it will be, waiting on you to read it when you wish to do so. Worth a read...and a follow-up visit to see what you can snag to read....and a bookmark in your browser.<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/09/project-gutenbergs-michael-hart-builder-of-public-libraries-tinkerer.html">http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/09/project-gutenbergs-michael-hart-builder-of-public-libraries-tinkerer.html</a><br /><br />Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-2464741806532782382011-09-01T09:25:00.003-05:002011-09-01T10:32:28.341-05:00A man for THIS season: Al Yankovic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bea.fngeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/WeirdAl-StopForwardingThatCrapToMe-poster.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 270px;" src="http://bea.fngeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/WeirdAl-StopForwardingThatCrapToMe-poster.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<br />Al Yankovic (some call him "Weird") is a man who is so intimately plugged in to our society that his lyrics sound like they were written for me...just for me to send out to those people like you hear about
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"> ==> RIGHT HERE <==
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/Al%20Yankovic%20%28some%20call%20him%20%22Weird%22%29%20is%20a%20man%20who%20is%20so%20intimately%20plugged%20in%20to%20our%20society%20that%20his%20lyrics%20sound%20like%20they%20were%20written%20for%20me...just%20for%20me%20to%20send%20out%20to%20those%20people%20like%20you%20hear%20about%20==%3E%20RIGHT%20HERE%20%3C==%20http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-76801335257903926712011-09-01T00:07:00.003-05:002011-09-01T00:14:00.946-05:00A maze within a maze within a photograph<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUZiyPtUAXwZWmVf9j75h9Idp7WwQtZgqGJ6do2KFX0c3PqDS7"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 182px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUZiyPtUAXwZWmVf9j75h9Idp7WwQtZgqGJ6do2KFX0c3PqDS7" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<br />Wow. If you have the time, read this:
<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/15/korea.photography?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/15/korea.photography?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487</a>
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<br />Every revelation of a facet of life in N Korea strikes sparks of fear in my heart that one day others will not only wish to emulate that country's leaders, but successfully DO SO. Yow.
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<br />As a citizen of the world, there is not much other than instant annihilation that is quite so repugnant to me.
<br />
<br />I'd love to see the book, though, in order to see the sheer, steely face of maximum repression...and still be safely a half world away.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-7532314022112343622011-07-29T12:03:00.002-05:002011-07-29T12:08:09.820-05:00Scraping two photos together...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crestock.com/images/2920000-2929999/2923041-xs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 340px; height: 263px;" src="http://www.crestock.com/images/2920000-2929999/2923041-xs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I just went through the several years of this blog and refreshed the photo entries. (You don't think *I* really took all those photos, did you?)<br />It wasn't a long and completely arduous task, since it gave me a chance to once more mull over what I've written. This post today is just a reminder that there is more to the blog than what you're reading this minute. If you have some spare time, please go back and re-read all that amuse or edify your consciousness. You be the judge.<br /><br />Comments still encouraged.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-76443403286520568262011-07-22T11:41:00.002-05:002011-07-22T11:45:14.649-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1aBLNlNuAdRT2Zcf-EYvr7CB2239OYH5v5myXt3kY3v6pQiastw"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 173px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1aBLNlNuAdRT2Zcf-EYvr7CB2239OYH5v5myXt3kY3v6pQiastw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Huzzah! Comics from the Web, specifically tailored for daily read for ME! I figured out how to get beyond the recent merge of my favorite comics site (Comics.com) with GoComics.com. I lost all my RSS feeds, which had given me daily strips not carried in my local paper. Now they are back and arranged in any order I want with ability to read 6-10 days of back strips, should I fail to catch them daily.<br /><br />If you need any help doing this, drop me a line and we can probably work it out. All you need is a browser for your computer and a free subscription to Google and GoComics.com!<br /><br />Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-81658155935492530462011-07-18T00:39:00.003-05:002011-07-18T01:04:20.212-05:00The power of one<div style="text-align: center;">1<br /></div><br />If you only had ONE word to share with the world, what word would that be?<br />Imagine taking your moment of universal fame and blurting that word to a worldwide audience, some of whom might actually take it in.<br />Imagine what they would do with it.<br />Would it change their lives?<br />If not, then how many words WOULD it take to change ONE person's life?<br /><br />Would TWO?<br /><br />Comments welcomed.<br />[also, see<br /><a href="http://atthewindow.blogspot.com/2011/07/one.html">http://atthewindow.blogspot.com/2011/07/one.html</a><br /><a href="http://rtmulcahy.wordpress.com/2010/09/">http://rtmulcahy.wordpress.com/2010/09/</a>]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-77707075811895255642011-07-13T20:38:00.003-05:002011-07-13T20:44:25.041-05:00An Assortment of Sentiment: Dang Me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvC3xxcoloI7dMRPO4TqUabD-HmN6ZuZ8ihf5D3yvQpDrjslXu5A"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 192px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvC3xxcoloI7dMRPO4TqUabD-HmN6ZuZ8ihf5D3yvQpDrjslXu5A" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There I was, just sitting here in my daily currents and undercurrents of life...then I got around to really paying more attention to a recent email from ole ham radio & college buddy, Bill Byrom of Irving, TX. In the email, he threw out a couple of links that made my hair (and my backbone) just stand up straight, wake up from daily life and decide that there might be more out there than meets the ear. Check it out.<br /><br />Quoting:<br />was listening to <a href="http://www.undercurrentsradio.net/UC/Playlists_files/UC2122playlist.htm">Undercurrents</a> on the local KXT public FM station and heard the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Miller">Buddy Miller</a> band version of the old Roger Miller (unrelated, as far as I know) song Dang Me. Listen to these versions: <ul><li> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y7EIaWRzMg">Roger Miller</a> (who wrote Dang Me) on Hee Haw. It started out as a comedic country song.</li><li> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOT2RglJEw8">The Majestic Silver Strings</a> (featuring Marc Anthony Thompson on vocals) live -- isn't this a great blues version! That's Buddy Miller with Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Greg Leisz.</li><li> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/buddymillermusic/music/songs/dang-me-feat-chocolate-genius-79852456">Buddy Miller (featuring Chocolate Genius - Marc Anthony Thompson)</a> -- The studio version I heard on Undercurrents.<br /></li></ul>Comments welcomed...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-24856673642338500542011-07-11T22:03:00.003-05:002011-07-11T22:19:38.167-05:00Buggin' the 21st Century<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mccookgazette.com/photos/15/03/45/1503457-L.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 188px;" src="http://www.mccookgazette.com/photos/15/03/45/1503457-L.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />A friend sent a link to <a href="http://www.mccookgazette.com/blogs/hoag/entry/42361/">this blog post</a> today. It was written by a fellow who uses one of my favorite tools: A semi-automatic key or <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">bug</span>. That is what the manufacturer of them, Vibroplex, calls these wonders of very old technology. I won't stand in the way of the nicely written blog post. Enjoy!<br /><br />Comments welcomed.<br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-8780897279292362032011-05-22T00:12:00.002-05:002011-05-22T00:17:55.724-05:00Science Fiction on the Web: Pioneer One<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS964Ol_5yBYSuHg_qviAmaWmqxNvlpsktPTTCixmQU6DRW2gVI"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 194px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS964Ol_5yBYSuHg_qviAmaWmqxNvlpsktPTTCixmQU6DRW2gVI" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />A friend just told me today about an exciting series on the Web: Pioneer One. Here is what I know about it so far. You can watch it via YouTube.<br /><br />About Pioneer One<br /><a href="http://www.pioneerone.tv/about/">http://www.pioneerone.tv/about/<br /></a>Pioneer One Trailer<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYnnsiicwE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYnnsiicwE</a><br />Wikipedia article<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_One">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_One">Pioneer_One<br /></a>Pioneer One Episode 1<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68RD46kl8ng">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68RD46kl8ng<br /></a>Episode 2<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-iLENGDrk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-iLENGDrk</a><br />Episode 3<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YBygD3_iM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YBygD3_iM</a><br />Episode 4<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbThDmSGCNM&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbThDmSGCNM</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-47080870229958693382011-05-16T21:39:00.002-05:002011-05-16T21:46:17.255-05:00Sharing of "Your So-called Education"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTs5c6itcuNfvjR9MaJhJuJ7s3Qkye21B-oZPNIB43LoQ2rcO7hzQ"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 182px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTs5c6itcuNfvjR9MaJhJuJ7s3Qkye21B-oZPNIB43LoQ2rcO7hzQ" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This article from the New York Times exactly counters the Texas governor's wish for "$10,000 degree" plans, and evaluation of professors largely by student reviews. If you are of an age to be working your way through a college or university or if you have close relatives who are, please take the time to read this.<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/opinion/15arum.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/opinion/15arum.html</a><br /><br />And if you wish, comment on what you think as a result of having read it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-13070416243853923062011-04-11T13:59:00.003-05:002011-04-11T14:04:06.207-05:00Social networking?: That’s How We Roll<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.makezine.com/make/blogs/blog.makezine.com/2011/04/rhonrad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 409px;" src="http://cdn.makezine.com/make/blogs/blog.makezine.com/2011/04/rhonrad.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Who knew that this bizarre looking device was the basis for a whole sport in Germany?<br /><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/awesome-rolling-guy-makes-awesome-rolling-contraption.html">http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/awesome-rolling-guy-makes-awesome-rolling-contraption.html</a><br /><br />I think with my loss of half my balance center (my left inner ear), this might make me very sick. But I would have really enjoyed it, I believe, before this happened. It even seems to be oriented to electrical engineering...at least the way this fellow gained the hoops to use.<br /><br />Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-81464169879518777882011-04-06T10:00:00.003-05:002011-04-06T10:03:55.062-05:00New physics rider on a dark horse<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/134839492_f8e4c072a2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/134839492_f8e4c072a2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There may be a new cowboy in Physics Town, riding in on a dark horse, just as the saloon is closing down for good. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/science/06particle.html?_r=2">Check the link</a>, pardner.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-24791066482708855622011-04-04T16:34:00.002-05:002011-04-04T16:42:44.863-05:00How to (possibly) get your lost camera backI followed <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/postpoints_tip_add_contact_info_to_your_cameras_memory_card/2011/04/03/AFnu4WaC_blog.html">this Washington Post Technology tip</a>'s advice today. I created a textual image of the default camera image size that told how to get the camera back to me by various ways AND I included a small image of my face, in case I might be in the room with the finder when they discovered my missing camera. That last is something the article failed to mention. I also made the filename of the file one that included what it was for and my name. I pasted the photo image in the default sub-folder of the card where my images live AND in the root of the card in case I forgot and removed the special image from the sub-folder when I remove the photos.<br /><br />But, this only works if you create and store the suggested image RIGHT NOW to your camera's memory card. And, while you're at it, also store the image to the extra cards you keep in your camera bag. Someone finding THEM might return the bag to you if they see your request.<br /><br />Comments welcomed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145325648068700966.post-83488563547560062312011-03-18T00:37:00.002-05:002011-03-18T00:43:26.461-05:00The seeming inevitability of "progress"Another name for "progress" in instances such as the site I use to type in this blog entry (which is http://www.blogger.com) is to do the same things differently. I just read that the site is going to change things for those of us who type things in. How much fun is that? We will get to mentally run around like rats in a maze, checking out what could possibly have changed (WHAT!? Tell the users? Why would we want to do that? It is far more fun to see 'em run around like ants.)<br /><br />So, I don't see any changes yet in what I see as I type this in. If you see that things are different from YOUR point of view, please send me a comment and tell me what you've found. Unsettling as change is, I suspect that I can cope with all that it brings.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0