Shake'n'Tumbl

Atlantis Blu Ray - Region Free?

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:44:26 -0400

I can't find a UK release date for the Stargate Atlantis Blu Ray set. Does anyone know if the US one is region free?

100reasonstobehappy: reason to be happy #1355

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:56:01 -0400

100reasonstobehappy:

reason to be happy #1355

Crazy watch

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:22:00 -0400

Crazy watch:

Is this cool? I can’t tell.

Let's keep SG alive

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:30:00 -0400

I’m interested in helping however I can, there must be a whole bunch of ways the fans can keep Stargate alive.

sokorra:

Part of me wonders about putting together a virtual series of Stargate to fill the void. Get a bunch of authors, make up a cast of characters (with some cameos from the other shows), everyone gets to write a story, and put up a website where those not writing can read along.

Anyone interested?

playingjax: BUT DID DANIEL JACKSON CAT EVER FIND HIS WIFE?

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:11:18 -0400

playingjax:

BUT DID DANIEL JACKSON CAT EVER FIND HIS WIFE?

ohhotdamnitsally: how cute :]

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:08:28 -0400

ohhotdamnitsally:

how cute :]

I sat looking at this for far too long lol

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:30:50 -0400

I sat looking at this for far too long lol

Bye bye, DVD. Hello, Blu Ray! It’s here! And holy shit the...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:59:14 -0400

Bye bye, DVD. Hello, Blu Ray!

It’s here! And holy shit the quality is amazing. I watched a little bit of the mini series today to get an idea of the difference and I honestly was taken aback. I’m really looking forward to getting back into/through these.

Great Python Ebook for $1.00?!

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:50:37 -0400

Great Python Ebook for $1.00?!:

I love Python. But I’m still fairly new to it, so today I purchased this - the second edition of Learn Python The Hard Way. And now I can read it on my iPhone for only a dollar?! That’s even less than a quid! WIN.

Put Some Meat On Those Bones!

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:39:54 -0400

I’ve been doing the odd bit of work on AbstractBone recently, adding a command line utility called “jab” that allows for quicker setting up of projects and rapid addition of controllers, views, and templates.

“Karl… WTF is AbstractBone?”

Oh yea, it’s a working combination of a number of useful JavaScript tools and frameworks: Backbone.js, RequireJS, jQuery+UI+tmpl, and uh.. oh yea there’s the i18n stuff too! It’s little more than a quick mash together at the moment, but it is usable if you know what you’re doing with the components already.

I’ll be working on a few more tweaks over the coming weeks and feel compelled to do some screencasty stuff. But that’s only if I can figure out why the hell Transmageddon simply doesn’t work on my machine.

petiteleo: Father’s Day Portrait Contest at Marukai Market,...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:23:55 -0400

petiteleo:

Father’s Day Portrait Contest at Marukai Market, Little Tokyo,L.A.

Tomorrow my Battlestar Galactica Blu Ray boxed set arrives....

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:13:00 -0400

Tomorrow my Battlestar Galactica Blu Ray boxed set arrives. Here’s a picture of my office wall in tribute.

Photo

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 17:44:51 -0400

fgfp: Mash-up Monday Presents Darth L. Jackson! Hold on to your...

Tue, 24 May 2011 06:39:26 -0400

fgfp:

Mash-up Monday Presents Darth L. Jackson! Hold on to your butts.

UFO News & Reports, The Truth is Already Here.: Germany News airs UFO Sighting in Fukashima, Japan of giant cigar craft flying low April 2011.

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:36:57 -0400

UFO News & Reports, The Truth is Already Here.: Germany News airs UFO Sighting in Fukashima, Japan of giant cigar craft flying low April 2011.:

ufo-news:

Germany News airs UFO Sighting in Fukashima, Japan of giant cigar craft flying low April 2011.

German News recently aired a video that was taken by their news people. This video has a cigar shaped UFO moving across the sky at Fukashima, Japan. The German news thought this was big…

Catching up with out of print manga on my iPhone!

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:51:49 -0400

Catching up with out of print manga on my iPhone!

Say Hello to DARPA - aka The Fringe Science Division

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:30:25 -0400

Say Hello to DARPA - aka The Fringe Science Division:

realcleverscience:

Awesome. Terrifying. Inspiring.

DARPA’s list of programs read like a SciFi novel and often evoke the same reactions. The only difference is that DARPA is producing actually working results.

Several of the amazing posts I’ve put up were funded by DARPA, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In researching a previous post about regenerative medicine (here), I stumbled upon some DARPA stuff (e.g. here) and began to peruse their site. And, wow, was I blown away.

So, here are the RCS Highlights of some of the projects and what they’re about:

Accelerated Learning - “Accelerated Learning will identify the neural basis of expert performance… ” (First step toward ‘downloading’ information Matrix-style.)

Antibody Technology Program (ATP)

Biomimetic Computing - “design a biologically motivated, large-scale neural simulation embodied in a mechanical (robotic) system that is embedded in a physical environment” (e.g. “intelligent robotic animals”)

Chemical Robots (ChemBots) - “It should.. traverse an arbitrarily shaped opening much smaller than the largest characteristic of the robot itself. Once through the opening, it will reconstitute its size, shape, and functionality and travel again to perform a task using an embedded payload” (Sound crazy? Check out this unrelated video by robotics guru Dennis Hong @ 7:28.)

Deep Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation (DBAC)

Engineered Bio-Molecular Nano-Devices and Systems (MOLDICE)

Fundamental Laws of Biology (FUNBIO)

Instant Fire Suppression (IFS) - “By using physics techniques rather than combustion chemistry, it may be possible to manipulate and extinguish flames.” (See a recent post of mine here.)

Low-Cost, Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics

Negative Index Materials (NIM)

Nimbus - “Nimbus is a fundamental science program focused on obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the lightning process, its associated emissions (such as x-rays), and its ionospheric components to better protect troops, ordnance, and other military assets.” (Imagine being able to control lightening! They should’ve called this the “Zeus” project.)

Plasma Sterilization of Wounds and Medical Devices

Programmable Matter - “a new functional form of matter.. that can reversibly assemble into complex 3D objects upon external command.” (Think, intelligent robotics origami.)

Protein Design Processes (PDP) - “will enable specification of a desired function and be able to rapidly synthesize a protein that performs that function” (Wow. That is just… ridiculous!)

Quantum Effects in Biological Environments (QUBE)

Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recovery (REPAIR)

Restorative Encoding Memory Integration Neural Device (REMIND) - “A biomimetic model of the hippocampus could serve as a neural prosthesis for lost cognitive function and memory impairment.” (Think Matrix meets Johny Mnemonic; download skills or instructions or possibly even be able to install and uninstall information from a soldier.)

Slowing Storing and Processing Light (SLOW LIGHT)

Surviving Blood Loss (SBL)

Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SYNAPSE)

Topologically Controlled Lightweight Armor (TCLA)

Z Man - “enable soldiers to scale vertical walls constructed from typical building materials, without using ropes or ladders.” (Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Does whatever a spider can!… though I guess it should really be “Gecko-Man”.)

Now, I think a lot of the projects have goals which everyone would be happy about, such as those related to human health (e.g. plasma sterilization, averting bloodloss, and even “intelligent” prostheses) or sustainability (e.g. eco-friendly goals involving solar technology). The “issue”, though, is that this research is going to fundamentally change war, on a level on par with the invention of guns - if not moreso. More importantly, this will fundamentally alter humanity and our conceptions of it. For instance, BCI (brain-computer-interfaces) is also being funded heavily by the military and is already creating a new breed of existential and philosophical questions which many, especially transhumanists, are considering. To be clear, this isn’t to say these are necessarily bad things, but we don’t yet know. And while I’m in favor of this type of research (partly because it’s inevitable and because it does have tremendous potential for good), it must be considered at length and monitored appropriately.

So, yea, this is some pretty terrific & terrifying stuff… And this is the stuff they’re telling us about!

It wouldn’t be surprising if they had other projects too top-secret for their user-friendly website. Even still, some of the projects’ descriptions seem to hide their true intent or capabilities. For instance, their site’s discussion of NIM (Negative Index Materials) is barely understandable and makes no mention of its application to invisibility cloaking - which is already well under way with several prototypes having been developed. Or consider the Nimbus project which claims it’s merely to protect soldiers from lightening. I’d be quite surprised if they wanted to limit it to that. Oh, and BCI is also touted as a way to restore perception (e.g. vision) to those injured in battle; and while I’m sure it’ll be used that way, I’m also sure it’ll be used to add all sorts of peripheral devices to soldiers - like eyes in the back of their head, internal infra-red vision, etc.

So, don’t be alarmed but do be amazed; don’t be complacent and do think this stuff over. We’re living in incredible times. Let’s make sure we use our science and technology to build the world we’ll all want to live in… cause the way science is heading, we may have the choice to be here for a very long time!

P.s. For your convenience, here’s a link to all references to DARPA on ScienceDaily.com ; and be sure to check out the links above for more info - some even have photos and progress reports!

Enjoy!

IE7 jQueryUi Button Bug?

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:19:00 -0400

Has anyone solved the #jQueryUI button problem in IE7 with overflow:auto? Found a bug report for it but no resolution?

Update: Here is the fix, add this to the scrolling div

overflow-x:hidden;
overflow-y:auto;
position:relative;
left:0;
top: 0;

"Man’s proper stature is not one of mediocrity, failure, or defeat, but one of achievement,..."

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:57:25 -0400

“Man’s proper stature is not one of mediocrity, failure, or defeat, but one of achievement, strength, and nobility. In short, man can and ought to be a hero.”

- Mike Mentzer

I rode out to Newark with my dad and some friends yesterday. I...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:21:00 -0400

Lambretta Li125, Lambretta Gp200

Me, Lambretta Gp200

Assorted Lambrettas

Lambretta Li125, Lambretta Gp200

I rode out to Newark with my dad and some friends yesterday. I was surprised at how much I missed riding one of these machines. Theres no feeling quite like being that close to the road at 70+ MPH. If I could fly, I imagine that is what it would feel like.