Matthew at defectiveyeti.com is being brilliant again –
excerpt from
The Lou Dobbs Fantasy Camp for Peevish Elders
* Simulated
yes, you should go read the rest of this.
HAHAHAHAH! I wish I could find that Amazon review spoof on the three wolves t-shirt.
I found this here.
Found a funny tweet to with this:
Those people in line for Sarah Palin’s book signing would vote for a cheeseburger if they thought it believed in Jesus. –Sarah127
New Scientist (11/18/09) Aron, Jacob
Daniel White has created an image, the Mandelbulb, that he says is the most accurate three-dimensional (3D) representation to date of the Mandelbrot set, a fractal equation named after Yale University mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, who coined the term “fractal.” Previous attempts at a 3D Mandelbrot image do not display real fractal behavior, White says.
“I was trying to see how the original [two-dimensional] Mandelbrot worked and translate that to the third dimension,” he says. “You can use complex maths but you can also look at things geometrically.”
White’s approach works due to the properties of the “complex plane,” a mathematical landscape in which ordinary numbers run from east to west while imaginary numbers run from south to north. Multiplying numbers on the complex plane is the same as rotating it, while addition is like shifting the plane in a particular direction. Creating the Mandelbrot set requires repeating these geometrical actions for every point in the plane.
In 2007, White published a formula for a shape that was close to a 3D Mandelbrot, but still lacked true fractal detail. White then began a collaboration with Paul Nylander, who realized that raising White’s formula to a higher power would create the desired effect. White acknowledges that the Mandelbulb is still not quite a “real” 3D Mandelbrot, as there are still areas without enough detail.
“If the real thing does exist–and I’m not saying 100 percent that it does–one would expect even more variety than we are currently seeing,” he says.
I believe I’ve mentioned (probably 3 or 4 times) that David Pogue, a writer and gadget reviewer for the NYTimes, is my tech hero. He’s so funny and his reviews are always spot on and a pleasure to read. This made me laugh today.
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Every now and then, something for sale on Amazon.com seems so monumentally stupid that it inspires a spontaneous community comedy festival. One person after another leaves phony reviews, each more heartfelt and over-the-top than last, sardonically praising the Amazon item for its astonishing, life-changing abilities. Perfect strangers, entertaining each other in the comments, laughing their heads off—until Amazon gets wind of the stunt and shuts it down.
Well, don’t look now, but it’s happening again. Actually, DO look now, because it probably won’t be there long.
This time, the item for sale is the AutoExec WM-01 Wheelmate Steering Wheel Desk Tray. As the ad says: “Easily convert your car into your personal automobile office!” For $25, you get a plastic shelf that clips onto your car’s steering wheel “for easy access to a writing and drink storage surface.”
I mean, has there ever been an idea so dangerous, so impractical? That’s the question underlying some of the hilarious phony reviews. Some excerpts:
* (one-star review) “Imagine my surprise when I made a left hand turn and not only spilled my plate of ham, but I now have a nasty red mark on my face from being slapped in the head by the desk, which turns along with the steering wheel. I wrote a letter to the company and they did offer me a new ham.”
* “I have only had two accidents since I bought this product, but in that week I have easily gotten more work done than in the last two months!“
* “Wow is this thing great! I can quickly fix multiple shots of tequila for myself and the friends as we drive from one bar to the next.”
* “I got one for my 90 yr old mother. She is an avid crossword puzzle fan and now she can work on them while she is driving.”
* “As a school bus driver, I was never able to check my email and update Facebook while at work. Now I am networking more than ever!”
* “Here in Massachusetts, they have some law that learner drivers can’t drive without a licensed passenger. With the Laptop Steering Wheel Desk, my daughter is now able to sit her MacBook right there in front, and I can supervise her driving over Skype, from the comfort of my couch!”
* “I thought it would be great for those long nights driving cross county, but by the time I passed through Omaha, my sand mandala was finished.”
Okay, I like this theme. Fifth time’s a charm!
Figures, it’s by the same guy that did my other favorite that I used for several years. Well, I’m predicable, if nothing else.
Facebook Offers Poor Personal Data Protection (or, tell us something we didn’t know!)
SINTEF (11/17/09)
A study of Norwegian Internet users and social media found that people are willing to post their personal information on social media sites even when they are not aware how it will be used.
Conducted by SINTEF for the Norwegian Consumers’ Council, the researchers found that 60 percent of Norweigan Internet users are on Facebook. SINTEF’s Petter Bae Brandtzaeg and Marika Luders conclude that Facebook offers relatively poor personal data protection due to the service itself, its design, the level of competence of its users, and their lack of awareness of how to protect themselves.
“Facebook has become an important arena for social participation in our personal environment,” Brandtzaeg says. “However, it is becoming ever more easy to gather and aggregate personal information, outside the control of users.”
Still, people are willing to post their personal information because so many other people use Facebook, and they rarely hear of unfortunate incidents. Respondents were usually not aware that Facebook uses personal information for commercial purposes, and their personal information also can be used against them, such as when they apply for a job.
The researchers say that people and objects will be woven together ever more closely by the next wave of Internet media such as Google Wave and mobile smartphones. “This can make us even more vulnerable to failures of personal data protection,” Luders says.
Matthew at Defective Yeti shared a really great kid story. It involves glue. You should read it right now!
Two days ago: I was farting around again with different blog skins today and managed to lose my text widgets. I have no idea how I did that. For being such a geek, I surely can get buffaloed easily. But, I miss my random quotes of the $TIME PERIOD. No idea how to get them back.
And all the skins I tried were worse than this one. This would probably be easier if I knew what I wanted.
In other news:
We saw Elvin Bishop and Buddy Guy at the Marin Center Friday night. It’s a Frank Lloyd Wright building, quite nice except for dearth of women’s stalls. The show was awesome. I have never seen Buddy in person but have numerous albums. He rocked my socks off, if you can say that about an old blues cat. He was fabulous. So much better in person than on CD.
Today: I’m still farting around with the skins, trying something new and infinitely weirder, but I kind of like it. Still can’t find the text widgets. Dammit! But I did find some pictures from the show.
Elvin Bishop on top of his game
Blurry pictures from my camera but you can tell what great seats we had. That’s because our blues buddy Pat let me know when the tickets went on sale and we went online that minute and bought them.
Buddy Guy – absolutely the greatest.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites next door to the Marin Center. Had a great room, cheap, with free booze before the show and breakfast the next morning. Their only ding was that we all came back from the show ready to party through the night and they closed the bar at 11:00. Sheesh, talk about a missed opportunity. They should know that us blues lovers can drink our weight in hard liquor before and after and the show, and really, really want to prove it.
November 14: Weiner Cousins
When two men have had sex with the same woman/women, they become weiner cousins. This is a bond that can never be broken.
We’re weiner cousins now, that means we’re closer than brothers.
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Heh heh. Good one. They don’t mention if it has to happen at the same time. I suppose not. But that IS immediately what came to mind.
My credit union has a Facebook page. Wants me to be a fan, because it’s good policy to tell everyone on the internet where you bank (especially if you do a lot of quizzes that have personal info on them).
Feh. What are they thinking?
compu-diva.com 
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