Monday, January 7, 2013

D.W. Griffith made the original 'eagle snatches baby' viral video way back in 1908

D.W. Griffith made the original 'eagle snatches baby' viral video way back in 1908

@Slate: D.W. Griffith made the original 'eagle snatches baby' viral video way back in 1908--WATCH: http://slate.me/ZV8WrT
Shared via TweetCaster

And so it begins...

Ahaghhaf

Well, that will melt the snow, anyway.

Eiheccch

Not couch potatoes; coach potatoes.

Boeing uses 20,000 lbs. of potatoes to check aircraft wireless network signals

Boeing Project SPUDS used potatoes rather than humans to test wireless nets


Boeing calls it Project SPUDS or rather Synthetic Personnel Using Dielectric Substitution - that is, using sacks of potatoes perched on aircraft seats to test the effectiveness of wireless signal in an airliner cabin.

Boeing said it was researching an advanced way to test wireless signals in airplane and needed a way to effectively simulate say 200-300 people sitting in seats throughout the aircraft.

more:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/boeing-uses-20000-lbs-potatoes-check-aircraft-wireless-network-signals

Another eagle-child incident, this time from 1890 (via the Library of Congress)

The Morning Call, December 09, 1890

A Child Carried Away by an Eagle and Rescued Unhurt 

http://1.usa.gov/VPZmjc

Similar eagle-grabs-child incidents in old newspapers.

The Petroleum Centre Daily Record, January 07, 1869, via the Library of Congress:

http://t.co/6dkI1hre

Saturday, January 5, 2013

2012 Rankings: Boston is the Smartest, Happiest, Naughtiest, Least Sexually Satisfied & More

"Rankings are a dime a dozen, yet we still love them. We thrive on knowing what we’re the best at, what we suck at, and where we can improve in the coming year. From innovation to health, style to trick-or-treating, both the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts snagged the top and bottom spots on several national rankings lists in 2012..."

Media_httpcloudfront4_kkbql

click for list: bostinno.com

Thursday, December 20, 2012

About frickin' time people got pissed.

This tool is reportedly capable of cracking BitLocker, PGP, and TrueCrypt disks in real-time - The Next Web

Russian firm ElcomSoft on Thursday announced the release of Elcomsoft Forensic Disk Decryptor (EFDD), a new forensic tool that can reportedly access information stored in disks and volumes encrypted with desktop and portable versions of BitLocker, PGP, and TrueCrypt. EFDD runs on all 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as Windows 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

efdd s This $299 tool is reportedly capable of cracking BitLocker, PGP, and TrueCrypt disks in real time

Man Who Will Die In Great Eastern Seaboard Flood Of 2023 Preparing For Mayan Apocalypse | The Onion

[snip]Displaying more concern for the dire predictions of numerologists than the warnings of modern scientists regarding the changes in climate that will eventually lead to his unceremonious death, Massey confirmed he has spent much of the year fortifying his basement to create a bunker capable of withstanding “doomsday-level forces.”[/snip]

Media_httpoonionstati_ffcbj

full story: theonion.com

Cheer up, pal.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Generationals.

State of America, via the Oatmeal

See that little blue dot?

See it, at the 10 o'clock position just outside the brightest inner ring? That's us. That's Earth, as seen from behind Saturn.

Bhefgdhb

The image was taken by the Cassini spacecraft as it passed through Saturn's enormous shadow -- a 12-hour journey.

Story, more pix:
http://www.ciclops.org/view.php?id=2230

You aren't supposed to know anything about Ron Cohen. But you should.

Excellent, righteously angry, profane article about how gun makers -

better link for those very funny online/real-life shopping videos

User error, sorry. Looks like I cut-and-pasted the whole thing instead of snippets, as intended. Apologies.

Here's a link to the original site of the videos:

http://analytics.blogspot.ca/2012/12/google-analytics-in-real-life-what.html

Hilarious: Videos Illustrate How Bad Online Shopping Experiences Would Look Like In Real Life

Google Analytics has produced a trio of hilarious videos to help web stores improve their customer service by illustrating what not to do.

Moving the common mistakes and bad practices that online merchants make to a real life grocery store, the videos shows how alienating bad web design and marketing can be for potential customers by ruining the experience of shopping on the internet.

For instance, one of the videos highlights—with a regular check-out counter at the supermarket—how frustrating it could be to check out online when there are too many security measures and hidden costs for customers to get through.

These videos are great to watch for both online retailers and customers alike—check them out below:

[via Google Analytics]


The Perfect Gift: For geeks who give names to their gadgets
Anatomy art of Apple iPod, Canon Camera, Sony Playstation, and more tech toys

For more gift ideas, check out http://bza.co

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Writers | TechCrunch

Media_httptctechcrunc_kjigd

"...The average American reads only 17 books a year. (Others say it’s a mere 6.5, but let’s be optimistic.) Call it 1,200 books per lifetime. If every author on the planet fell down dead tomorrow, there would still be far too many good books out there — heck, too many great books — for most people to get through before they died.

"I can’t see that books-per-year number drastically increasing any time soon, given the shinier distractions everywhere we turn these days. Meanwhile, the supply of books just keeps growing, and growing, and growing–it seems that tens of thousands of new novels are published every year. So, Economics 101: when supply skyrockets, and demand stagnates, what happens to price?"

anyone know how to change this background?

It's the Android "card" space background (circles below); the one you get when you open Google with a swipe up from the bottom.

None of the normal "change google search background" tricks work...

Ebebgdfb

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Exploring Boston; early Winter in the Fens

Exploring Boston: Early Winter Fens Birds

It's early Winter here in Boston -- not too cold yet, but the growing season is mostly done. The Fens Victory Gardens are mostly brown, although a few hardy flowers still bloom in protected spots.

Untitled

There are still a few roses blooming in the Kelleher Rose Garden (http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/kelleher-rose-garden/); it's odd to see blooms next to a lighted Christmas tree.

Earlier this week, I was doing my usual 2-mile exercise loop when I saw this large fellow in the tree. I only had my phone with me, so the photo's not much.

Photobucket

I went back the next day with a real camera, and he was still there: a glorious red-tailed hawk.

Photobucket

He was working on his chest and belly feathers; I assume his winter plumage was coming in. He'd puff out the belly feathers in a way I'd never seen before, and then dig in underneath with his beak. I wonder if new plumage itches as it grows in.

Photobucket

Photobucket

A while later, I saw a pileated woodpecker, but he was too fast for a photo.

This female cardinal, however, was happy to pose.

Photobucket

Winter will close in soon, but it's nice to see the last vestiges of summer life still hanging on.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Ilulissat Glacier Break-Up Caught On Tape In Largest Calving Event Ever Recorded (VIDEO)

According to The Guardian, the glacier's calving (estimated to be 4.5 cubic miles/19km3 in size) was captured by a team assembled by filmmaker James Balog near the Ilulissat glacier in Greenland. The entire ordeal took 75 minutes.

"Pieces of ice were shooting up out of the ocean 600 feet, and then falling," says one of the filmmakers describing the event.

"The only way that you can really try to put it into scale with human reference is if you imagine Manhattan, and all of a sudden, all of those buildings just start to rumble, and quake, and peel off, fall over, and roll around. This whole massive city just breaking apart in front of your eyes," he aids.

Media_httpihuffpostco_updli

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Romney finally won something!

Alas, it was Politifact's "Lie of the Year" award.

(Politifact is a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking project.)

http://tinyurl.com/bwwgyyx

The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012

Example:

The Globe And Mail:
François Mitterrand, the former French president, is reported to have said that Margaret Thatcher had the mouth of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula — not Stalin, as reported in an earlier version of this article.


Article and full list:
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/197279/the-best-and-worst...

This was unexpected.

Guy Kawasaki, former Apple Evangelist says "Android is better"

Apple evangelist responsible for marketing the Mac switches to Android
"To me the great irony is that Apple’s slogan was `Think Different,’ but today if you think different you’re looking at Android,” said Kawasaki. ...

"Kawasaki is following in Steve Wozniak's footsteps in declaring plenty of support for Apple's rival. Wozniak told The Daily Beast website: 'My primary phone is the iPhone. I love the beauty of it. But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do.' "


http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipad-iphone/news/?newsid=3416167

http://www.talkandroid.com/144289-apple-icon-guy-kawasaki-abandons-ios-for-android/

check the clock at lunchtime...

You already missed the midnight one, but at midday today, for a fleeting moment, it'll be:

12:12:12 o'clock on 12/12/12

Monday, December 10, 2012

But...but...but you do that, too!

True love.

@TweetsofOld: Mr. Arthur Antle presented his wife with a new 3-legged milk stool on the occasion of their wedding anniversary last week.

Oklahoma1900

Some bugs annoy. Some can kill you.

Misguided Apple Maps Could Kill You: Aussie Cops - Mulltiple motorists using Apple maps get stranded in desolate wilderness

Http ://www.newser.com/story/159049/aussie-cops-using-apple-maps-could-kill-you.html

Simpson & Bowles: Budget Superheroes! Or something.

That hoax study on Fox News viewer IQs was actually carried out by conservatives!

"A study that claimed Fox News viewers were significantly less intelligent than average Americans is a hoax, Michael Giltz writes. The “study” was ordered up by a group of conservatives who hope to move the Republican party in a more moderate direction, lead hoaxer “P. Nichols” told Giltz."

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/197573/fake-study-says-fox-news-viewers-have-low-iqs/#

Friday, December 7, 2012

Yum! Or not.

Help-you-28

This is NOT, repeat, NOT, an Onion story.

Intelligence Institute Study shows Fox News viewers
have an IQ that is 20 points lower than the U.S. National average.

The results of a 4 year study show that Americans who obtain their news from Fox News channel have an average IQ of 80, which represents a 20 point deficit when compared to the U.S. national average of 100. IQ, or intelligence quotient, is the international standard of assessing intelligence.

Researchers at The Intelligence Institute, a conservative non-profit group, tested 5,000 people using a series of tests that measure everything from cognitive aptitude to common sense and found that people who identified themselves as Fox News viewers and 'conservative' had, on average, significantly lower intelligent quotients. Fox Viewers represented 2,650 members of the test group.


more:
http://news.yahoo.com/intelligence-institute-study-shows-fox-news-viewers-iq-034622242.html


Got an extra US$1.4Billion? You and a friend can go to the moon.

How Golden Spike's Moon Landing Plan Works (Infographic)

Media_httpispacecomim_grkdx

Liquid water on an asteroid?

BBC News - Dawn probe spies possible water-cut gullies on Vesta

Media_httpnewsbbcimgc_igjbh

story: bbc.co.uk

Monday, December 3, 2012

The humble barcode turns 60.

A National Security Expert Says What We All Know To Fox News's Face (video)

So Pulitzer-Prize-winning national security expert Tom Ricks, who is widely respected across both sides of the aisle, went on Fox News. Then they asked him some questions they probably shouldn't have. At 1:00, he asks a really tough question in response. And suddenly his interview that was supposed to last seven minutes only lasted two. Because he told the truth and stuff.