News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
I’ve always wondered just how accurate Hollywood is in its depiction of people exposed to the vacuum of space. The short answer is that you have about 10 seconds of lucid thought/action, and you can survive if pressurized oxygen is restored within about two minutes. And, no, you don’t explode.
For those like myself who are old enough to remember the original Ultraman series from the late 60s/early 70s, here’s a history of the the franchise. While not that popular in the US, it’s still going strong in Japan. I have fond memories of the original series and recently got a chance to see it on DVD—man is it bad!
Link: http://slashdot.org/…
(via Slashdot)
David Pogue, a technology writer for the New York Times, had three 16×24 photo prints made at a professional photo lab. They were the same picture, taken at 5, 8, and 13 megapixels. In an unscientific survey, random pedestrians were unable to tell the difference. Out of the dozens of people who tried, only one was able to correctly identify which print went with with megapixel size—and she was a photography professor.
Link: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin hit a golf ball from the International Space Station. The whole spacewalk was plagued with problems, including his shot, which sliced to the right.
Link: http://www.physorg.com/…
A friend forwarded a list of Oakland Raider football jokes. Here are the ones I like the best (feel free to substitute your own most-hated team for the Raiders):
Oakland Raiders practice was delayed on Wednesday for nearly two hours. While on his way to the locker room, one of the players happened to look down and noticed a suspicious-looking, unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. The head coach immediately suspended practice while the FBI was called in to investigate. After a complete field analysis, the FBI determined that the white substance, heretofore unrecognizable to the players, was the goal line.
Q: How do you keep an Oakland Raider out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.
Q: What do the Oakland Raiders and possums have in common?
A: Both get killed on the road.
Q: What do you call 47 people sitting around a TV watching the playoffs?
A: The Oakland Raiders.
The Mapuche Indians in Chile are suing Microsoft (in Chilean courts) for translating Microsoft Windows into Mapuzugun, a Mapuche language. The Indians are contending that Microsoft needed their permission to utilize the language.
It seems to me that the real problem is a cultural clash between the technology of the West and the lifestyle of an indigenous people, and the court case is merely the Indians’ best way of responding to it.
Link: http://today.reuters.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the US Dept. of Transportation are campaigning to put interlock devices in the cars of all convicted drunk drivers. The devices are essentially breathalyzers that keep the car from starting if alcohol is detected above a preset level. Most states already require them for some offenders, but MADD wants them installed for everyone convicted of drunk driving—even first offenders.
Link: http://www.iht.com/…
Starting in 2007, the US Treasury will release “presidential” dollar coins. They’ll be phased in over time, similar to the state quarters, for all presidents up through Richard Nixon. Of note is that the coins will have inscriptions on the outside edge with date, mint mark, “In God We Trust,” and “E Pluribus Unum.” I’ve also heard that they will not tarnish as quickly as the Sacagawea dollars.
Link: http://www.usmint.gov/…
Link: http://today.reuters.com/…
(via Blogcritics Magazine via digg)
This video shows astronauts experimenting with a sphere of freestanding water.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/…
(via digg)
This article explains how the new Wii and PS3 motion-sensing game controllers work. The hardware can pick up spring deflections measured in tens of hydrogen atoms.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Check out this picture of a cheerleader toss. Just amazing.
The linked site gives away one free commercial software program every day. You have to download and install the software on the same day or else it won’t work. Don’t expect stuff like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Office, but in the few days I’ve been monitoring the site I’ve seen some decent programs.
Link: http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
