New Stella photos

These are long overdue, but what can I say. It's been nice outside.

Sambot

Sambot has a cool Flickr photostream. Check it out. I especially like this one and this one.

Fancy Pants Adventure

A hip, creatively illustrated Flash-based game with a unique soundtrack. Even though this is just a beta version, it has a very polished feel to it. The style feels more like an unorthodox children's book than a video game.

Minimum wage is at a post World War II low

Those at the bottom of the pay scale are now earning the least ever, as a percentage of the average wage. Congress has not seen fit to raise the minimum wage in years, even as they have voted for raises themselves several consecutive times. This is by a government run by "compassionate" Republicans. Their kind of compassion is propelling millions of the working poor into ever increasing poverty.

"I think energy independence is going too far!"

So said John Hofmeister, president of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the biggest oil companies in the world. His reasoning is that he believes US dependence on foreign oil is good for global relations. That, and the profit that his company sees from the 57 percent foreign-supplied oil (according to government statistics) of all the oil used in this country. Never mind Big Oil's record profits and the fact that oil dependency makes this country less secure.

Robo-ethics

Roboticists are planning to lay down guidelines for intelligent machines that are likely to become increasingly a part of our lives over the next few decades. How to balance perpetual robot subordination to humans versus the potential of android rights and free will is at the core of the proposed rules.

More about those sounds only young people can hear...

You've probably recently heard about those special high frequency ringtones that high school kids are using to skirt around cell phone usage rules. Here's a detailed blog entry about the high frequency sounds that mostly only younger people are able to hear. You can test yourself to see where your hearing threshold is. The highest frequency sound I can hear is apparently between 14,000 and 15,000 Hz.

A couple of make your own art links

Here's a site about how to make a photorealistic image starting with just a sketch and using Photoshop for the rest. Ever wondered how a woodblock print comes about? Wonder no longer as you follow the steps.

Star Trek fans make their own series

Now that there is no currently running Star Trek series, fans with the video equipment and know-how are creating their own episodes and distributing them via the internet. This is either laughable or a great idea, depending on your point of view. The linked article contains further links to sites where you too can watch the fan episodes.

2,500

Sadly, we've reached another milestone in the number of US service members killed in Iraq, currently at 2,500. Don't expect much sympathy or any new ideas beyond the typical political grandstanding from the Bush administration.

It's official: we've returned to the dark ages

When a powerful religious leader thinks it appropriate to dictate acceptible research subjects to perhaps the most intelligent living scientist, we are no longer in the age of reason.

flOw

A master of fine arts thesis project that is at once a game, digital art and something of a practical science lesson in evolution. Mesmerizing and fun.

Senuti is iTunes in reverse

An ingenious little freeware program, Senuti adds capabilities to your iPod that Apple intentionally left out. It's easy to copy songs from your computer to your iPod. But what if you want to copy songs from your iPod to your computer? Apple doesn't allow this procedure because of fears of copyright abuse. What if it's your music and you've already paid to download it or ripped it from cds you legally own? Take for instance my recent predicament. A hard drive failure meant the loss of my iTunes music library. After replacing my computer's hard drive, I would have lost all of my songs still in existence on my iPod if it were not for Senuti. After a few simple steps, my music was restored in its correct folder on my computer. I can't recommend Senuti more highly.

A stealth ringtone for kids

A new ringtone for cell phones is becoming popular with young phone users. It is a high frequency tone that goes unheard by most adults, but is easily heard by kids and young adults. Click here to determine whether or not you can hear it. I could just barely hear a faint, high pitched tone.

Wendy's gets rid of "Biggie" sizing

What may sound like good news and at least a partial return to responsibility for a fast food chain, is actually only a change in name. At Wendy's, the former 32 ounce Biggie size will now be the medium drink size. A Wendy's customer ordering a "large" size drink will receive a ridiculously large 42 ounce beverage, equivalent to 3 1/2 regular 12 ounce cans.

A quarter of Americans age 18-50 are tattooed

A new study reveals that a fairly large segment of the population are sporting ink. As is the case with most trends, it will at some point fall out of favor with the young, then only old people will have tattoos. Just think about all those future grandpas with barbed wire tattoos around their sagging biceps and future grandmas with celtic swirls on the smalls of their backs.

iPod triumphs over beer

In a survey of college students, Apple's ubiquitous digital music device surpassed the bubbly, inebriating, longtime favorite in popularity. If only Apple could somehow integrate iPods and beer, that would be unstoppable.

One laptop per child project: Update

Some of you may be aware of the ambitious project to provide hand-rechargeable networked laptops costing $100 each to children in developing countries. There is now a working prototype.

Bio-magnetic implants for your fingertips

Are you lacking a magnetic personality? No worries, you can now have a sense of magnetism surgically implanted. Body-modification experts are now tinkering with the implantation of rare earth magnets into fingertips to develop a new sensory system. Implant recipients reportedly learn to sense electro-magnetic fields and become more aware of electro-mechanical devices.

Photoshop your way to a new you

No plastic surgery required. If you have the correct software and can follow instructions, then you too can change any photo of a person into a pixel-engineered artificial being. Learn how professional image manipulators create those too perfect to be real people that grace covers of women's magazines everywhere. You won't believe your eyes.

Largest cities throughout history

A great resource for those of you who are interested in geography and civilizations, About.com has a listing of the largest cities of the past and approximately when they gained their stature. For instance it is interesting to note that Baghdad, Iraq was the first city to reach a population of 1 million in the year 775.

Magazine articles in MP3 format

Tired of the same old music on the radio every day? Already heard the morning cycle of NPR stories? If you have an iPod or other MP3 capable portable device, here's your chance to listen to among other things, some great articles from the New Yorker during your commute. The New Yorker isn't your thing? Assistive Media has a wide variety of articles from numerous publications available in MP3 format.

Romica Puceanu

A Romanian singer of gypsy music, Romica Puceanu died a few years ago. I recently heard about her on BBC's program "The World" and was very impressed. Known as the Billy Holiday of the east, a new archival release of her music is now available.