Posts tagged 'Random Musings'

How Much Is A Stamp?


With e-mail replacing letters and the web providing an easy way to pay bills, I’ve found no need to buy stamps. So when the rare occasion arrives when I need to mail something off with a stamp, I’m clueless as to what they actually cost. Thankfully there is HowMuchiIsAStamp.com, which like the name says, tells you how much a US postage stamp costs. Stamps cost 42 cents now!?!? When did that happen?

Google Chrome’s Logo Looks Like…

The Google Chrome Ball

Google’s snazzy new browser, Chrome, is slick both in looks and performance. But look at that logo. It kind of looks like…

the Death Star?

The Death Star

(via Paul Jacobson)

Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey?

HAL 9000

(via Jaireh aka exuberantfool)

the Windows Media Player 10 icon?

Windows Media Player 10 Icon

(via me)

Samus Aran’s Morph Ball from Metroid?

Metroid Morph Ball

(via Metro Mapper)

the eyes of the Martians in War of the Worlds?

The Martians Eyes from the original War of the Worlds

(via John Wohn aka JDub)

the game Simon?

Simon the game

(via Going Like Sixty)

a Poké ball from Pokemon?

a Poké ball from Pokemon

(via various people)

So as you can see Google was inspired by a multitude of geeky things when it came up with the logo for it’s latest project. Let’s hope it wasn’t really inspired by Pokemon. Eck!

Facebook App Proves A-List Bloggers Are Better Than You

Comparing Web Celebrities

I added the popular Facebook application Compare People for shits and giggles. The basic premise, for those unfamiliar, is you compare two friends on random questions that range from “who is more tech-savvy” to “who would you rather sleep with.” Every now and then Compare People will send out an e-mail showing random facts from your social graph.

One such e-mail (copied below) proved that A-List-Internet-Web-Celebs are way better at everything than you will ever be.

This email was sent by Compare People. You can disable emails here.

Highest ranked in each category

* “Who is funnier”
1. Jeff Macpherson
2. Leo Laporte
3. Jason McCabe Calacanis

* “Who is more creative”
1. Leo Laporte
2. Jeff Macpherson
3. Jason McCabe Calacanis

* “Who would I rather be trapped on a desert island with”
1. Leo Laporte
2. Jeff Macpherson
3. Danielle Cohen

* “Who is more famous”
1. Leo Laporte
2. Jeff Macpherson
3. Jason McCabe Calacanis

* “Who is more popular”
1. Leo Laporte
2. Jeff Macpherson
3. Jason McCabe Calacanis

Thanks for crushing my inner-geekdom self confidence Compare People.

Who are these people?
Leo Laporte – Is the founder and Chief TWiT at twit.tv where he runs many podcasts including This Week In Tech.
Jeff Macpherson – Otherwise known as Dr. Tiki, is part of the trio behind TikiBarTV, a comedy show based on cocktails.
Jason McCabe Calacanis – Founder of Weblogs Inc. and now Mahalo, the human powered search engine.

Best Facebook Graffiti Ever

Lots of people have added the Graffiti application on Facebook allowing friends to draw a picture on their wall. Most Graffiti drawings look like they were drawn by a gifted and talented ardvark but sometimes real gems emerge. Like this one below:

Not only is it well done technically but conceptually it is brilliant! It was drawn by Bing Han on my friend Todd Rickert‘s wall. Todd Rickert? Why does that name sound familiar? Oh yea, he was the Man in Hot Dog Suit with Cash.

Using A Skateboard To Control Music

Who would think to strap a MIDI controller to a skateboard? Apparently new media artist Simon Morris did with his project Musique Concrete which aims to “explore sound and the urban landscape through the movements on a skateboard.”

The Musical Skateboard Set-up

This is how it works according to the site:

Mounted underneath the skateboard is an interface which transmits data wirelessly to a laptop computer. Physical actions are detected using three sensors connected to the interface. Acceleration, turns and vibration are monitored by a photoresistor, a flex sensor and piezo sensor respectively. Using the MIDI protocol, a software program enables the skateboarder to control and modify real-time sounds directly from the skateboard.

There are a couple of videos showing the set-up in action but the results aren’t really music, more like a cross between a machine gun and a jack-hammer. It is still a cool idea nonetheless.

For Sale: One Interesting House

When I was in elementary and middle school I would walk to and from school. And everyday I would pass this unusual, dome-shaped house hidden away in a drove a trees. Apparently it is up for sale.

Exterior of 10696 GRAELOCH Rd LAUREL, MD 20723

Garage view of 10696 GRAELOCH Rd LAUREL, MD 20723

Besides the odd shape, all of the windows are triangular making it a nightmare for buying curtains and blinds. The ceiling also appears to have fuzzy carpeting on it.

Triangular windows at 10696 GRAELOCH Rd LAUREL, MD 20723

Fuzzy ceilings at 10696 GRAELOCH Rd LAUREL, MD 20723

If I owned it I would paint it orange like a pumpkin with a green chimney for a stalk. But considering how small it seems, the asking price is $475,000 ($45,000 less than the original asking price.) You can see all the details on the Redfin listing or the slideshow.

If Guns Kill People… Do Pens Misspell Words?

Today the supreme court overruled the 1976 Washington DC gun ban in a 5-4 vote. But other than the fact that a bullet proof vest might be a good investment for my daily commute, this isn’t the interesting part of the story. The best part of todays decision was the odd protest sign that made the homepage of two major online news sites.

Check out this screengrab of the CNN homepage today.

Gun Ban Sign CNN.com

and then this capture of the U.S.News & World Report homepage a few minutes later.

Gun Ban Sign USNews.com

I can’t decide what is more stupid: the statement “If Guns Kill People… Do Pens Misspell Words?” or the guys face in the first picture.

Animatronic Animatronic Band Plays Usher

The Rock-afire Explosion was specifically manufactured and created for Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1991. Now Chris Thrash will program the band of animals to perform to any modern song for a mere $100. Check out the list of songs that are currently being bid on and throw a couple of dollars their way. Below is Ushers “Love In This Club” as performed by The Rock-afire Explosion

(via Ryan Dudek via blog.suchmann.com)

Irony: MacBook Pro And A Zune

Irony:A MacbookPro and a Zune (closeup)

That’s right, I use a Zune with my MacBook Pro and it works just fine.

Irony:A MacbookPro and a Zune (wide)

Meet Snardr, My Spore Creature

Everyone on the net is buzzing about Spore, the latest simulation game from The Sims creator Will Wright. The idea behind Spore is you create your own free-form creature and guide it from a simple-cell organism to an interstellar exploratory civilization.

The game is being praised for its social features built right in to the game like profile pages for your creatures, YouTube integration, and the ability to interact with other players characters in your game. The full game will be released in September but the Spore Creature Creator was released yesterday.

There’s not much to do in the creature creator except for, well, creating creatures. It’s similiar to (and just as addictive as) the Mii Creator found on the Nintendo Wii. After opening it up and getting my orientation with the program I started working on my first creature: Snardr.

Snardr Spore Creature

Aww isn’t it cute. But some people have gotten a bit naughty making phallic creatures, for example. A quick search on YouTube brings up more than 350 Spore Penis Creatures The Spore Penis Monster is my favorite. I guess it is to be expected.

What does one of your Spore creatures look like?