Saturday, May 31, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

mass games with a flat

if you got bored with your hole flat

who sayed that fastfood makes you fat

Some new law introduced in July says that all New York fast food restaurants need to show there calories for each snack. The reason for this is to let people think about the fat fast food they eat and so created a healthier population. The New York Magazine didn't believe that the fast food restaurants where the only places where there is served some fat food. And they tested the 9 dished menu (c0sted 250$ + extra's )of a 3 star high end place called Per se.

Here are the stats of the meal. One meal there equals 2,400 calories (4,5 big mac). That are more calories then an average women need for a day. Conclusion fast food restaurants are not the only that serve fat food.

On the other side, If you can buy for 250$ on big macs you can eat for a stunning 53,300 calories. Yummie!


Rainbowboys taking over Hawai!

when i was on rainbowboys i saw on the Geo-traffic map a dot in the middle of the ocean. With some zooming i found out that we got a visitor from Hawaii! so i say Cowabunga!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Phoenix Mars Lander

Phoenix, NASA's Mars Lander, landed successfully on Mars, 10 light minutes away from earth, on monday morning. Phoenix first used its heat shield to slow down in Mars' thin atmosphere, then opened a parachute, dropped the heat shield, then dropped the parachute and used small rocket engines to make a vertical soft landing on a predetermined place near the pole of Mars.

Active control from Earth is not possible since it takes 10 minutes for a signal to reach Mars; the whole landing sequence took only 7 minutes. That means that it had already landed/crashed before ground control received the signals about the start of the atmosphere entry procedure.

"The mission has two goals. One is to study the geologic history of water, the key to unlocking the story of past climate change. The second is to search for evidence of a habitable zone that may exist in the ice-soil boundary, the "biological paydirt." " - wiki

One of the amazing things that I hoped would be possible is imaging a lander while performing its 7min landing on Mars, with a man made telescope satellite orbiting around Mars. Sounds like a hand-standing monkey on a goat on a cup on a tightrope to me. They did it, how cool is that? They designed the orbits of MRO(a Mars satellite with telescope) and Phoenix so that MRO could take pics of Phoenix's landing(decent on parachute).

And while standing on Mars (click for high res):
Here are the first images taken by Phoenix.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Homeless 007

IED in Iraq, bystander survives

Skip to about 0:50 annoying autostart video removed

Monday, May 26, 2008

Third red spot erupts on Jupiter

A third giant red storm has flared up on Jupiter, joining the Great Red Spot and the recently developed Red Spot Junior. The spot, along with new measurements of record-high wind speeds on Red Spot Junior, come at a time when the solar system's largest planet is experiencing a time of global upheaval.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is an ancient, hurricane-like storm that may have been raging for 340 years or more, based on early observations with telescopes. At three times the width of Earth, it is the largest storm in the solar system.

It was recently joined by a similar, but smaller storm called Red Spot Junior. Red Spot Junior grew out of the merger of three smaller, white storms between 1998 and 2000 and turned red in 2006. It is about the size of Earth.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Kasparov Attacked by Flying Penis

Former World Chess Champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov has been attacked by radio-controlled penis during a meeting of opposition activists. Around 700 opponents of the Kremlin were attending Kasparov’s address in Moscow at the weekend. Pro-Kremlin demonstrators decided to interrupt Kasparov’s address, designed to unite opposition political forces, by launching a rotor-assisted plastic phallus towards Mr Kasparov. [...] The prank was staged by "a couple of pro-Kremlin Young Russia activists" reports the Moscow Times. Mr Kasparov was unharmed. Kasparov laughed off the incident remarking that it was "below the belt" . Article
The pro-Kremlin protesters are basically the Putin Jugend.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Real McCain

Not only is McCain really old, he is also a liar.

Tracking How Far Soccer Players Run

Some time ago when I was watching a Champions League game and they were showing the stats on how far the players had run. For the euro 2008 tournament this technology will be fully used. They use 16 camera's around the field and 3 laptops that calculate in real time the distance each player runs. This technology can also calculate what the movement speed of each player is, and is within 3% accurate with the stats. I couldn't find more exact information about how this technology works. These statistics show that soccer players can run huge distances (up to 14 kilometers) in a game. You also can see who are the real workers in a team and who are the lazy fuckers. This technology already showed some fun stats like: "Chelsea goalie Petr Cech ran much farther to celebrate a Champions League win against Barcelona last year. The sprint, captured by UEFA’s system when it was in testing, was the fastest run of the game, by any player, UEFA’s Mr. Lewis said."

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Common Agricultural Policy

The EU will spend 49bn euros (£33bn) on agriculture (subsidies) in 2005 (46% of the budget), while the OECD estimates the extra cost of food in 2003 at 55bn euros.
~bbc
That's 100 euro per citizen per year.

Today the EC announced plans to change the policy and lower the subsidies. Farmers aren't happy with that so let's see what happens (read: how long french farmers have to put their tractors on the highways to make them bend).

Odin IQ test - part 2

Here the second, and final, part of the Odin IQ test. This is the BBC test that I used. Here is part 1. The first test is to see if the cat walks around objects, walks away from the food, to get food that it can see very close, but can't reach. The second test is to see if the Odin will use a rope to get the food. I don't think Odin really was intended to use the rope, but she did (half points). I also hid the food on the rope under a pillow, not part of the test, Odin failed, but found other food :) For the last test I had to hide some food, while Odin was watching, then remove Odin from the room, get her back and see what happens. Odin didn't like that I put her outside and when she came inside she didn't go for the food but left the room.
Odin's IQ: 18

Monday, May 19, 2008

Things Younger Than John McClain

"There is an entire site dedicated to things younger than McCain, these are my favorite in no particular order.

  1. Penicillin
  2. The Minimum Wage
  3. The Lincoln Tunnel
  4. BOTH of Barack Obama’s Parents
  5. The Area Code
  6. Nylon
  7. Velcro
  8. Israel
  9. FM Radio
  10. The Polio Vaccine
  11. Bugs Bunny
  12. Alaska
  13. Ronald Reagan"
- http://next-thing.net/?p=2320

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Best Clip I've Seen This Week

Break dance was invented way before most people think. As exemplified by the adding of Run DMC to this classic video of Soviet Soldiers doing a dance-off.

Odin IQ test - part 1

RE: kamielkaze's post about IQ tests for pets. The first two tests are to see if Odin always uses one paw. Odin is left-pawed. The second test is to see if Odin can comprehend 3D space. Odin could not see the food on the pillow. The third test is balletje-balletje with one cup.

"moving animations" optical illusion

This optical illusion, works pretty simple and the effect is cool.

Crazy Rasberry Ants

DALLAS - In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers. The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" -- crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an exterminator who did battle against them early on. Read more...

Saturday, May 17, 2008

IQ test for pets

I was playing with my parents cat and found out his extreme stupidness. That bought me to the question if there was an IQ test for animals. with a little bit surfing on the Internet and i found this test on the side of the BBC. Its kinda bullshit but fun to do with a cat. My parents cat scored 8 points, so we don't have to worry that he will got for world domination. I wonder how odin is doing on this tests.

Scientology Commercial

Can you spot the parody in this edited clip of a real scientology commercial?
On a less funny note, here is The Un-Funny Truth About Scientology.

n00b crop circles

Compared to other cropcircles I've seen, this is peanuts.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Thursday, May 15, 2008

two giant animals

we already got some posts about giant animals, i remember me some cats, ligers and a bunny. Somehow i find giant animals fascinating so here are 2 more for the collection.


I would have mount this cow and ride to india and life as a god there for the rest of my life.

this little piggy would be nice for a ride to the middle east

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Gnu vs a Team of Rhino's

This would be the same as me fighting hulk hogan, mike tyson and bruce lee at the same time. Only i would have run.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

pimped trafficlight of the future

This pimped traffic light uses a plasma laser that is creating a virtual screen. This virtual screen is as wide as the road so its simply impossible to miss the red sign. This projection also can be use to project some commersials on.

This invention is made by lee han young

When i was searching for more information about this traffic light, i also found some information about a new dutch traffic light. This traffic light gives automatically green light for bicycles when it raining to hard. see here for some more information

Chaiten Lightning

Another post on Chile's erupting Chaiten volcano. This must be one of the most stunning photos I've seen in a while.
As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano's crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze.
More pretty pictures and text here. Most recent news article.

AHN: Actual Height model of the Netherlands

The AHN (Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland) is the most detailed height map of the Netherlands. It has a sampling density of at least 1 point ever 4x4m, the previous most detailed map of the Netherlands had a density of one point every 100x100m. The AHN-2 which is currently being worked on has a density of up to 10 points every square meter in urban areas. The Netherlands is unique among the world for having the whole country mapped this way. It was made using airborne laser altimetry.
Even though it was commissioned by the government it's not for free, but you can still find some nice images at their website.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Chile’s Chaiten Volcano is shown spewing ash and smoke

Another beautiful remote sensing image. It is approximately 1000km wide.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The long-dormant Chaiten volcano blasted ash some 20 miles (30 kilometers) into the Andean sky on Tuesday, forcing thousands to evacuate and fouling a huge stretch of the South American continent.

The thick column of ash climbed into the stratosphere and blew eastward for hundreds of miles (kilometers) over Patagonia to the Atlantic Ocean, forcing schools and a regional airport to close. Citizens of both countries were advised to wear masks to avoid breathing the dangerous fallout.

The five-day-old eruption is the first in at least 9,000 years for the volcano in southern Chile, according to volcanologists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Chilean officials ordered the total evacuation of Chaiten, a small provincial capital in an area of lakes and glacier-carved fjords just six miles (10 kilometers) from the roiling cloud.

Full AP article...
Google Earth link...

my last will

My last will

Burial wishes.

I want to be cremated and my ashes spread out over a field. I also want a statue of me on that same field. It doesn’t have to be a big statue, 3 meters will do. The statue also has to look like I was somebody important. The music isn’t very important on my funeral, you may ask for requests. The only song a want is I did it my way by Frank Sinatra. I also would like to have Bill Clinton to speech on my funeral. He has to tell how I could’ve solved world hunger and bring an end to poverty, how I could’ve cured cancer and aids and bring world peace if I wasn’t so lazy.

My possessions

Al the things that have emotional value to my parents I leave to them. Everything else is just for the taking. But if two or more people want the same stuff they have to fight to the death over it.

My savings go to the anti-panda bear foundation, which I trust Annom and Cybrbeast to lead after I’m gone.

Last request

I want my life turned into a movie in which my part will be played by Sid Haig

Some last words

To my friends and Family

I love you all and I hope you’ll live long, healthy and happy lives. But remember if I died it’s partially your fault. You all knew this was a stupid idea and no one tried to stop me.

To the rainbow boys.

Annom: When are you finally going to run of with a man?

Cybrbeast: There is a future in drillings holes in the ground

Dekus: Don’t ever stop smoking. It will save your live one day

A-Pimp-named-slick: I guess you’ll have to build the bat bike alone

Douche: I always hated you; I always hated you the most

Kamielkaze: Grow fat again, you’re prettier that way.

ExpendableAsset: Where to start? It’s people like you that make me a racist. You deserve to be beaten repeatedly on the head with a golf club. I hope you die a very painful death in the near future. I can’t emphasize this enough. I HOPE YOU DIE.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Mosques

In Istanbul, I set food in the first Mosques of my life. I had seen them before in Egypt, but was not allowed inside. In the large touristy ones in Istanbul, woman don't have to wear a scarf inside. I was pleasantly surprised by their space inside. I like the design with the domes, one large open space inside and a thick carpet on the ground. The ones I saw didn't have as much detail as catholic churches, but they build one of largest mosques in Istanbul in 8 years. As a worshipper, I would prefer the design of the large mosques in Istanbul over the large cathedrals I have seen in Europe. I, however, don't understand why they fill the large open space under the domes with hundreds of cables to support hanging lights.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

TED: The Pentagon's new map for war and peace

25 min donwload mp4 5 years ago, when America went to war in Iraq, I thought the US would have a plan and the power to possibly bring peace, freedom and prosperity in Iraq. I thought it wouldn't be easy, but if America got the support from the majority of the Iraqis (and stay friends with them) there was some potential to bring something better than Saddam. We all saw/see what happens when you don't have a plan after kicking Saddam. America can only play the game of war. They are good at it, but it's only a small step towards "liberating" a country. In this TED talk, a security strategist, talks about what to do after the war phase of "liberating" or intervening in a country. I thought it was very interesting and entertaining. He is a good presenter, although he uses wordart.

Istanbul panoramas

and our track in a high resolution Google Earth screenshot (the pro version can do that)

Simulation of a Type 1a Supernova

A slightly more complex simulation than Annom's :P
Robert Fisher and Cal Jordan are among a team of scientists who will expend 22 million computational hours during the next year on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, simulating an event that takes less than five seconds. Article and HD videos here

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Satellite photos show cyclone fury

The two satellite photos above from the US space agency Nasa show the devastating affect of Cyclone Nargis which swept over the Irrawaddy delta region of Myanmar on Saturday.

The image on the left taken in April 15 shows the Irrawaddy river flowing south and splitting into numerous distributaries.

Rivers and lakes are sharply defined against a backdrop of vegetation and fallow agricultural land.

The image on the right taken on May 5 shows the entire coastal plain is flooded after the area took a direct hit from the cyclone.

The city of Yangon (located by the red rectangle) is almost completely surrounded by floods.

Onager simulation

I wanted to make a general method/program to create a model of a (simple) physical system (connected rigid bodies in all basic shapes). The basic analysis is done by hand, but scripts/programs in Matlab and Mathematica do all the mathematical and computational work. I applied it to an onager. I want to build, at least, a mini onager based on this model. This is the onager concept:

What I modelled is a stiff beam with a weightless stiff rope/pipe connected at the end. The projectile at the end of this rope is modelled as a point mass. A constant moment on the first beam was added to model the force that the rope/spring exerts on the beam.

The input variables for the model are: mass of beam, mass of projectile, length of beam and length of rope.

While it may look like a simple problem, the mathematical description of the motion (equations of motion) of this system is rather complex. This is one of the two equations of motion:
Here is the resulting slow motion animation of the motion, with velocity vectors and velocity (in m/s) added to the animation. It simulates a mini onager (30cm arm) with a large, but realistic, moment on the arm shooting a mass of 10g:

And here are some animations of the motion when the moment on the arm is zero (no force on the rope). This is a chaotic system where very small changes in initial conditions result in a very different motion. This also means that small computation errors (for example the limited number of digits used in a computer or the error of the numerical integration) result in a different motion. It should behave natural though.


very large mass

equal mass beam and weight

animation of system on earth.
same system but on the moon.
I don't really have an easy way to verify my model other than by visual inspection.

Free Nine Inch Nails album - The Slip

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

for those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july. details coming soon.
Download here...

zombie survival guide

this is a very interesting book. It has some answers to our questions about zombies. I suggest that in the next discussion we use the rules in this book. ZOM-BZE: (Zom'be) n. also ZOM-BIES pl. I. An animated corpse that feeds on living humanjlesh. 2. A voodoo spell that raises the dead. 3. A Voodoo snake god. 4. One who moves or acts in a daze "like a zombie." [a word of West African origin] What is a zombie? How are they created? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their needs, their desires? Why are they hostile to humanity? Before discussing any survival techniques, you must first learn what you are trying to survive. We must begin by separating fact from fiction. The walking dead are neither a work of "black magic" nor any other supernatural force. Their origin stems from a virus known as Solanum, a Latin word used by Jan Vanderhaven, who first "discovered" the disease..... here is the torrent.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

The Color Marketing Group


Color Marketing Group, founded in 1962, is a not-for-profit, international Association of 1,100 Color Designers involved in the use of color as it applies to the profitable marketing of goods and services.

CMG’s major focus is to identify the direction of color and design trends. CMG members then "translate" that information into salable colors for manufactured products.

CMG's Consumer and Contract Color Directions Forecasts are developed annually through the collaborative efforts of approximately 400 members that attend CMG's Conference.

STEP 1:

This unique method of color forecasting is an ongoing process and begins well before CMG members convene. Conference registrants develop individual forecasts that encapsulate a wide variety of influences or trends that each Color Designer identifies within his or her industry.

STEP 2:
More than 400 CMG members from around the world collaborate during two International Conferences each year to analyze color trends.

STEP 3:
Color Forecast Workshops take place concurrently in which CMG members interpret the direction of color and influences ranging from the economy, the environment, politics, sports, demographics, social issues, technology to cultural events, worldwide.

STEP 4:
Following a day-long discussion of the many influences on colors and the shifts likely to occur in the coming years, a Color Forecast is developed from each of the Workshops.

STEP 5:
Through a Steering Committee, these Workshop Forecasts are consolidated into a final Forecast.



Slate:
How do the CMG members choose their colors? The official line is that they look at economic trends (pastels in bad times, saturated colors in good times) and also examine social trends. What this boils down to is six hundred people sitting around in small groups, trying to figure out the next big thing. Gray, for example, was chosen in part because of the craze for technology and space-age stuff as the millennium approaches: "People associate gray with futuristic things like silvery metallics and anodized aluminum," a CMG spokeswoman said. And why blue? "Water is a big social issue, what with the current emphasis on designer water and water conservation."

The Color Marketing Group forecasts up to three years. In my opinion, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nobody is obliged to follow CMG's colors, but a manufacturer who ignores them is likely to find that all his competitors’ products are in fashionably colors, while his own clash.
So if most manufacturers are using the CMG colors, it clearly isn't a coincidence your window covering choices match perfectly with your carpet choices.
background article (Dutch)

Google Earth 4.3

The sun has been implemented
Streetview has been integrated
And some buildings are much more realistic and render faster.
Also you can finally see when an image was taken
Read more...