aphexddb.com

This is just really, really cool. Neat to see the effect they have on everyone!

Frozen Grand Central at Improv Everywhere

The first sentence in this presentation (well, other than “can I have a beer please” in German) rocks my socks off.

[Drew Endy]‘s Programming DNA talk was by far the most interesting talk we saw at Chaos Communication Congress. No, DNA doesn’t have much to do with computers, but he points out that hacking principles can be applied just the same. Right now engineers are reversing genetic code and compiling building blocks for creating completely arbitrary organisms. This talk was designed to bootstrap the hacking community so that we can start using and contributing standard biological parts to an open source collection of genetic functions.

via Hackaday

You just got ruined by looking at this page! Looks like office cube size lice will be running rampant all over this thing, ick. I do like the idea of a… killer whale though.

A friend recently hit me with some good advice via IM: “Hang in there Manfred.” (Thats a reference to Accelerando for those not in the know)

The way William Gibson describes the future seems to fit better every year. “The future is already here – it is just unevenly distributed.” Most of the technologies that appeared in 07 were measurably cool: the iPhone, the end of analog TV, GPS in cars & phone / blue tooth proliferation, Moore’s law and multi-core CPU’s, etc., etc. These are things that a number of years ago I looked forward to the way I now look forward to neural nanonics, private space flight, bioengineering, and other amazing stuff. Now they appear rather blah, about as exiting as a car or television set. The future is already here alright. I guess I just need to be more patient.

However it was a good year in the reading department. Accelerando by Charles Stross, Spook Country by William Gibson, The Night’s Dawn Trilogy (paperbacks 1 2 3 4 5 6) by Peter F. Hamilton to name some of most interesting ones. Of course Cory Doctorow and the usual crowd had some excellent blog posts. Penny Arcade had some truly great comics reminding yet again that “my people” are out there and going strong. 2007 certainly had an abundance of daily slack to consume.

I’m still holding out hope for my tribe. I expect we will continue to kick some ass and make sure things end up OK, preferably with lots of super bad ass scientific stuff.

Here’s to 2008 and the pursuit of slack and knowledge!

via William Gibson’s Blog

Seriously, they are. You have no idea the difference a warm rear makes in the winter, especially with tiled floors. The approach the Toto website takes is both courageous and a little funny. Seen a toilet seat in Japan? They make ‘em.  Either way it worth a watch for the sheer hilarity factor. Totally G-Rated.

http://www.cleanishappy.com

 Thank goodness I found this post! Using a Firefox plug in you can block the Facebook beacon URL and this insulate yourself from the EVIL probing fingers of the Facebook people, who obviously have no interest in their user base. Textbook corporate sellout move.

link the Idea Shower » » Block Facebook Beacon

“When you’re married you’ll understand the value of fresh produce.”

- Tony Soprano

In a rare bout of rationality, I finally bought into my own downtown St. Louis yuppie urban hype. I started taking the train to work in Clayton instead of driving like I’m a suburbanite from O’Fallon burning 10 gallons of dinosaur oil a day in beige mid-size family sedan. My old commute was anywhere from 12 minutes (best case) to 45 minutes (worst case). Now my commute is 35 minutes every single day. Here are five reasons that it’s such a hit:

1. You get some decent exercise. Seriously, walking ~20 minutes to and from each Metro station does wonders for my energy levels. Normally in slug-like office worker mode I went from heated garage to company parking walking maybe 2 minutes total, spread across the entire day. It’s a real noticeable difference and my heart rate is up after breakfast and before dinner. I feel great.
2. It’s relaxing. You can stare out the window and listen to your iPod / read a book / people watch instead of thinking about how the guy in front of you can’t stop riding the brakes. If you are tired you can nod off a little bit, try that while driving in bumper to bumper.
3. It’s cheaper than buying gas, period. If your employer has a mass transit pre-paid spending account it’s even better. If my company had the foresight to offer PERC, commuting to work would literally be free. Some quick math: If the Metro costs $720 a year to ride ($60 monthly pass) the tax deferred amount is a savings is around $252 per year. Even though my car commute wasn’t that long its still marginally cheaper without the tax break. (Plus all the wear and tear on the car should drop well over 60% if you have a typical commute).
4. It lets you listen to more music. In the car you have to pay attention to the road no matter how tired you are, so you can’t really focus in on that news story or the song thats playing. With my new constant 35 minute commute time I can enjoy most of an album or a solid playlist. This is a big one for me.
5. The MetroLink is on-time and clean. A foregone conclusion you may think. Let me ask you this: when was the last time you took a ride on BART (San Francisco), the Chicago train, the T (Boston), or a urine soaked NYC subway and didn’t feel a pressing need to rinse your hands in disinfectant after leaving.

Unfortunately this doesn’t apply to our soon-to-be-screwed friends who live west of highway 170. You have no access to public transportation and come January 2nd, 2007 the main commuting route (highway 40) in St. Louis will be shutdown. To be honest I don’t really have any sympathy. If you choose to live 2 hours from your job and have no problem buying that much gas from our Iranian and Saudi friends more power to you. I’ll be casually strolling down to the station at 5pm with a little kick in my step and a smile on my relaxed face. Enjoy those red-taillights!