From the webcomic xkcd, which is an entertaining read, the Tech Support Cheat Sheet. It hits the nail squarely on the head… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : computers, geek cool, humor Del.icio.us : computers, geek cool, humor Zooomr : computers, geek cool, humor Flickr : computers, geek cool, humor

From Gizmodo.com: Pole Dancer Doll Doesn’t Really Set the Perfect Role Model There’s so, so many ways this is just wrong… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : toys Del.icio.us : toys Zooomr : toys Flickr : toys

From something I read today: The word socialism, however, has lost its usefulness in this debate. It has been tainted, perhaps forever, by the malevolent Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who succeeded somehow in linking it with the godless Commies. America is the only nation in the free world in which “socialism” is generally thought of in negative terms. The only nation in which that word, in and of itself, is thought to bring the discussion to a close. -Roger Ebert I lived in France for two years,...

Another beautiful image of the day from NASA, combining data from two different space-based telescopes. – Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Recently, I posted about being uneasy with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, specifically regarding the use of composite materials. Today NewScientist has a short article that gives a clue as to why there have been so many delays: Why large carbon-fibre planes are still grounded Clearly, composites are a work in progress. The trouble, says aviation engineer Philip Irving at Cranfield University in the UK, is that computer simulations often differ from reality. “Computer models are good at calculating...

There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. -Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) Technorati : journalism, media, quotes Del.icio.us : journalism, media, quotes Zooomr : journalism, media, quotes Flickr : journalism, media, quotes

NASA has posted the first infrared image taken with the newest weather satellite, and it is amazing. Hurricane Bill is visible in the full disk view of the Earth, and the photo shows how huge these storms are. — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Studying how zombies might take over the world sounds like something for The Journal of Irreproducible Results, but it’s really serious science: Science ponders zombie attack — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : humor, research, science, zombies Del.icio.us : humor, research, science, zombies Zooomr : humor, research, science, zombies Flickr : humor, research, science, zombies

From The Onion: Congress Deadlocked Over How To Not Provide Health Care WASHINGTON—After months of committee meetings and hundreds of hours of heated debate, the United States Congress remained deadlocked this week over the best possible way to deny Americans health care. “Both parties understand that the current system is broken,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday. “But what we can’t seem to agree upon is how to best keep it broken, while still ensuring that...

The Image of the Day from NASA today is the launch of a rocket that carries a payload to test an inflatable re-entry system. Note the light pole and picnic table on the lower right of the picture, showing the scale of the rocket. Looks like it could have been launched from a freeway rest area. Not every space-related engineering test has to involve rockets tens of stories tall… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Boeing has had a tough time getting the first production 787 Dreamliner planes delivered. Some of the recent problems have involved the composite materials used in the construction of the fuselage and wings. Ordinarily, I’m all for the use of new technologies and new materials. The carbon composites being used in the 787 are significantly stronger than aluminum for the same weight, which for airplanes is a good thing. What makes me uneasy about them is how they fail. Metals like aluminum bend...

On The Tonight Show, William Shatner did a “reading” of the poetry inherent in Sarah Palin’s farewell address as governor of Alaska: I’m speechless… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : Sarah Palin, William Shatner Del.icio.us : Sarah Palin, William Shatner Zooomr : Sarah Palin, William Shatner Flickr : Sarah Palin, William Shatner

This excerpt from The Daily Show titled “The Born Identity” illustrates exactly how idiotic the “birther movement” is: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c The Born Identity www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day — Is it “post-partisan” to say that some political stance is idiotic? I say it is, because if you cannot call a spade a spade (and before anyone gets upset, “spade”...

One of my earliest memories is seeing this on television: Which happened four days after the launch on July 16, 1969. Forty years ago today we launched Apollo 11 to land men on the Moon. In commemoration of the event, there is a website called We Choose the Moon that is playing back audio of the radio transmissions during the mission in real time. (Warning, the site is very Flash intensive, to load it requires a lot of bandwidth, and systems with slow processors or lacking RAM may choke on it) Amazing,...

This is unsettling: Swine flu resembles feared 1918 flu, study finds New H1N1 strain more likely to cause pneumonia than regular flu viruses The 1918 flu pandemic killed between 3% to 6% of the entire world population, and possibly may have killed more people than the Black Death. Yet, where are we putting most of our efforts? — Cross-posted to Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : H1N1 flu, H1N1 virus, influenza, swine flu Del.icio.us : H1N1 flu, H1N1 virus, influenza,...

As more is revealed on the secret warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance of American citizens that President George W. Bush authorized illegally, supposedly to fullfill his “duty” to “keep Americans safe from the terrorists” this quote comes to mind: When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty. -George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) We should all be ashamed we let those small men do such great damage. — Cross-posted...

Even today, well after the memorial service and weeks after his death, Michael Jackson is still dominating the news. Why do I say this? Look at this screenshot of Newsmap: This site is a news aggregator and displays headlines of topics sized according to the number of current articles on that topic. Normally for my configuration, the red blocks, which are world news, and the gold blocks, which are national news, cover more than half the screen, the blue, which is entertainment news, covers what...

It’s a few days late, but I don’t recall seeing much comment on this milestone: CompuServe has been shut down by AOL, the current owner of the name and whatever was left of the company. To enlighten those younger than their forties, CompuServe was one of the first online services, back in the dark ages before the Internet (which was indeed capitalized in the early days…) and the World Wide Web (again, capitalized before becoming ubiquitous), starting 30 years ago in 1979 to be exact,...

At The Huffington Post, there is a very unsettling entry titled “Trying to Fix the Broken 401(k) System“. It reveals that as has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt in the past year, those on Wall Street are more than ready to utilize any and every means to exploit their “customers” in the quest for profits. Sigh… With pension plans disappearing, the 401(k) was pretty much the only replacement that would aid people in retirement, yet they are being used to enrich those...

From MSNBC.com: Report: Palin resigning as Alaska governor I generally don’t try to anticipate the strategies of politicians, I have a life to live, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to resign her office this early, before campaigning for the 2012 Presidential election began in earnest. I’m sure even if there is a follow-up announcement regarding the reasons for the resignation, speculation will run rampant. This is why personalities matter in history....

The headline says it all: LAPD Under Scrutiny After Jackson’s Death Let the speculation and creation of conspiracy theories begin… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : LAPD, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson death Del.icio.us : LAPD, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson death Zooomr : LAPD, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson death Flickr : LAPD, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson death

Many amazing things were accomplished in the days before computers became ubiquitous and the world wide web became a distraction as well as a tool. Nazi Germany built the first jet fighter in the world, and was in the process of building a plane that bears a remarkable resemblance to the modern B2 bomber (although I think the stealth aspects of the “Hilter’s Stealth-Fighter” were an accidental byproduct and not the result of considered design). There was no computer modeling available...

It’s almost 15 minutes long, but it’s very funny. John Hodgman, the “PC” in the “Hi, I’m a Mac… And I’m a PC” commercials speaks at the Radio and Television Correspondent’s Dinner: President Obama flashes the Vulcan salute twice, so he really is our first nerd President. Cool… — Thanks to TrekMovie.com for the link to the video. — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : John Hodgman,...

Iran had an election yesterday, and the results are not exactly what were expected (if you want updates on the situation, Andrew Sullivan is posting frequently, if rather breathlessly, on this news). Current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected by apparently unrealistic margins, especially when the reported election results over time are examined. From Kevin Drum at his weblog hosted by Mother Jones: I was at a book party for Bob Wright’s The Evolution of God last night, and...

With the transition to broadcast digital TV and the ending of brodcast analog signals, there has been much discussion and heartburn. Given that the vast majority of people who live in urban and suburban areas get their TV signals via cable, those most affected live in rural areas and don’t get good reception in the first place. Since the video card in my computer has a digital TV input, I decided to buy an inexpensive antenna to check it out. For around $16 I was able to get a Philips set-top...