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Prolific Printer

Ever heard of Sliverbrook Research? Didn't think so... They've never produced a product, but after years of research claim to have created a 60 pages/minute printer *. In fact, they also claim (and a video appears to show) the "ink jet" prints 30 pages/minute in full color! Now that would be something to see become mass-produced...

*external link to technabob.com

Deleted...uh, completely!

Accidental deletion of not only the main HD but also the backup* resulting in a technician needing the tape backup of some very important data. Unfortunately, that copy was found to be unreadable. ~$220,000 later the data was reentered and the mistake corrected. Ooops indeed!

Oops! IT technician wipes out $38B fund (external link to usatoday.com)

*external link to jonbart.com

Artificial Planetary Chronometer

Now this is a novel idea for a clock: The "hands" are portrayed as orbiting planets around the central larger planet. Evidently, you can only tell the time by looking at the device from top. I think I would like one; part of the problem, however, is that it's from Japan*. Oh well...

Image courtesy of: technabob.com
* external link to technabob.com

Automatic Bicycle Transmission

Trek Bikes, along with a couple of other manufacturers, has released bicycles featuring Shimano's new automatic shifting transmission. Called the Shimano Coasting, this three-speed transmission auto-shifts gears as you ride.

Obviously, three gears limits the bicycle to "around-town" riding but none the less, the actual production of an automatic transmission bicycle is a major milestone. Trek calls their bicycle using this technology the Lime*; a rather hideous looking machine in my opinion.

Image courtesy of trekbikes.com

*external link to trekbikes.com

Spring Skiing

Yesterday marked the first time I've ever skied in +60 degree weather! I have to say it was amazing... Arriving at the hill around 3pm we had a sunny sky for the afternoon. Since our tickets were until the hill closed at 9:30, we also took in some night skiing.

More photos here

IE 1.0 Anyone?

If you just happen to be looking for Internet Explorer 1.0 (first released in 1995), then OldVersion.com is the place to go. In fact, the site claims 1466 versions of 131 programs.

Today I was looking for the previous version of an audio editing program which I found at OldVersion.com. This is not a site one would use regularly, but it definitely has it's place on occasion!

A cell phone is one thing, but...

...using a laptop while driving is quite another! Sadly, this one fellow in CA didn't live to learn his lesson:

Car crash kills man believed to be using laptop while driving*

It also seems this story gives one more good reason to drive a Hummer!

*external link to sfgate.com

Corn Construction

From my experiences in recent days, I'm beginning to think I should become a corn farmer. Ok, not really...but corn does seem to be the new ecologically-friendly answer to disposable consumer products.

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters* is using a disposable paper coffee cup lined with a bio-plastic made from corn, rather than a petroleum-based product.
• Mountain Equipment Co-op+ has switched to "plastic" shopping bags called BioBags** made mostly from biodegradable corn starch.

*external link to greenmountaincoffee.com
+ external link to mec.ca
** external link to biobags.ca

Justice & Grace

This evening I am sitting at an ice cream/coffee shop writing a paper for my Sociology course. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of Charles Colson's book Justice That Restores. Here is an excerpt from my almost-finished paper:

As I write this portion of the paper in Ben & Jerry’s a live band is playing and singing “Amazing Grace” in the background. Surely it is only God’s amazing grace that affords any hope to the transgressor. Mr. Colson so poignantly points out in his book that no other religion, worldview, or approach, save the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can give an adequate answer to the sin problem; a problem that is at the true heart of crime. Not only does the Biblical worldview provide a transcendent authority for law, recognize the reality of sin and provide a mechanism to restrain it, but it also provides the only way out of the human dilemma through redemption (Colson, p. 157-158).

Windows Vista Wallpaper: Inside Story

This morning I read an interview with the (somewhat unlikely) photographer for the Vista Wallpaper photos. I thought it was an interesting/inspiring article worth sharing:
Interview with Hamad Darwish, Flickr photographer shooting Vista wallpapers (external link to istartedsomething.com)

Here also is a link to his Flickr album with other images from the same photo shoot:
Windows Vista (external link to flickr.com)

Live from Green Mountain

...Coffee Roasters, that is! This evening, as Mr. Glick conducts some interviews for a project, I'm working on a paper for one of my classes. Here I sit in a Ben & Jerry's* in Clifton Heights making use of their free wireless with my laptop. Well, I should finish off the page I'm writing on the topic of poverty.

* external link to benjerry.com

Friday Evening Fun

Last evening after the PowerPoint Party several of us went to see Hurricane on the Bayou* at the Cincinnati Museum Omnimax. Following the presentation we went to Ben & Jerry's+ to relax for a while.

Photo by Vita
*external link to cincymuseum.org
+ external link to benjerry.com

Don't cry over broken eggs...

...even if there are thousands of them all over the highway!

Truck wreck spills 165,000 eggs on Virginia highway (external link to msnbc.msn.com)

Afternoon Sledding

This afternoon Keith organized a sledding trip to Eden Park. We spent ~one hour at the hill during which time we managed to not hurt ourselves too badly. The jump created by Keith and others another day provided an array of spectacular crashes (and a few successful landings)!

More Crash (and other!) Photos Here

This bus is going where?

Perhaps the individual in this story should have asked that question...at least once more!

Thai woman lost for 25 years after boarding wrong bus (external link to msnbc.msn.com)

Bid on eBay for one year of university!

No, this isn't for some dodgy diploma mill! Oklahoma Wesleyan University* is actually auctioning one year of tuition and room/board (normally costs $23,000) on eBay+. As of this post, the auction is at $6,500 with 30 bids.

* external link to okwu.edu
+ external link to ebay.com

Party at the Profitts

This evening the Profitts* hosted a party at their house for GBS students. Great company, food, and games made for a very pleasant evening "off campus" (but within easy walking distance). A big "thank you" to the Profitts for opening their home to us!

Kristen, Hector, Ednita, Alisa

Shane and I were having fun...really! :-)

Photo by: Ednita

More photos here!

*external link to diningonadime.blogspot.com

Megacryometeor?

Now this could make you afraid to meander outside:

Mysterious ice chunk smashes car (external link to msnbc.msn.com)

Survival Hint for today: Listen for whistling noises from above...