Uhm, I said, kaboom. No, really.

Here's a look at what happens when careful planning (and a few sticks of dynamite) just isn't enough.

Sadly, this isn't the first mishap these guys have had. With service like that I wouldn't be surprised if they lost their license. Oh well. The demolition business is always boom and bust

Today's statement of the obvious

Reminders of a great time

It looks like I'm pretty well unpacked and settled in. It's nice to be back, but I really did enjoy myself on this trip, especially in Australia. All that's left of the trip is some unexchanged money and some souveniers. And memories of course!

The good news is that I'm going back to Australia again very soon (from what I hear, it could be as soon as the first week of January!!)

The morning routine

What is a computer nerd?

A computer nerd powers on the computer, and while booting, runs through to the coffee pot and gets the coffee started. While the coffee is starting to brew, he runs back and begins the load of the editor/compiler/whatever.

He then dashes back to the coffee pot and replaces the pot with his mug (you can recognize his mug, the glaze has been etched off the inside), and fidgets or hits a few more keys while the mug is filling with that first, high-impact slug. He probably drinks the entire thing before beginning work, because it's hard to edit a file before the screen comes into focus.

Monday attitude

Back to work everyone.

(and I've got my Monday attitude set on high!)

Quote of the unspecified temporal interval

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Aristotle

Hats off.

OK everyone, you can take your foil hats off now. Some fellows at MIT went to the effort of explaining why they won't help protect you from government mind control devices. (with a touch of humor of course)

Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. .

The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and 1.4 Ghz. . . It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government, possibly with the involvement of the FCC.

I really don't know who is more amusing, the people who wear these helmets or the guys at MIT investigating them.

Just when I thought I'd heard it all

There are inventions which improve the quality of life in society, and there are inventions which eliminate inconvenient parts of our lives. Then there are inventions that are highly amusing.

Siemens' domestic appliances division has come up with the ultimate invention for the lazy bachelor (or other domestically challenged individual) who happens to have $1700 dollars begging to be spent.



Introducing the "Dressman Shirt Iron!" This little beauty does anything an old fashioned iron could and more! (But not much more) It's fully adjustable to different shirt sizes, and has 12 different programmable options for different fabrics. I don't know why you need 12 different options as I can only think of about 4 major types of fabrics that are used in shirts.

The thing that really struck me about this, is that someone with my (limited) needlecraft skills and a little determination could easily buy some army surplus parachute material, build some kind of support stand, and hook it all up to a hairdryer. It wouldn't look as fancy, and wouldn't have the bells and whistles, but would do the same thing for 1/10th of the price.

Or we could all just go back to using those "old fashioned" things called ironing boards instead.

Brrrrr

I don't know who is responsible for initially discovering polypropylene or who first thought to use it to make underwear, but they have won my eternal gratitude.

14 F??!! Now that's just silly!!

(I'll shut up about the weather in a couple weeks when I've adjusted.)

Quote of the unspecified temporal interval

It takes an engineer to undertake the training of an engineer and not, as often happens, a theoretical engineer who is clever on a blackboard with mathematical formulae but useless as far as production is concerned.
- The Rev EB Evans
Letter to Frederick Handley Page