Update: I am getting married this weekend and heading out for my honeymoon after that, so there will be only sporadic (if any) updates for the next two weeks. If I happen upon an Internet cafe I may try and drop a line but otherwise you’ll have to wait until I get back for the news!
The upcoming SimCity 4 looks pretty cool…
Japanese ice cream can be pretty weird.
New advances in plastics technology have led to the flexible television. There are a lot of potential applications for this, although I hope that wearable TV ads don’t become one of them…
I know, Friday is usually the day most people post fun Flash games, but I had Friday off. So enjoy a belated game of Marbles.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article on the development of the F-22 Raptor, the USAF’s next-generation fighter. Many of the features of the fighter showcase how much aerospace, structural, and sensor technology has advanced, but one quote demonstrates that integrating new technologies isn’t always easy: “When avionics problems crop up now, pilots must restart the entire system as if rebooting a personal computer.” This can’t be good.
Thankfully, the F-22 is not running a MicroSoft OS, although making a joke about that is quite tempting. As
Homer Simpson is Canadian, says The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Homer is named after Matt’s father, who was born in Canada. Of course, this revelation sheds no light on the location of Springfield in the United States, which should come as no surprise to those who follow the Simpsons.
Follow-up: The basis of the case that caused the 9th Circuit Appeals Court to declare the phrase “under God” in the Pledge Of Allegiance unconstitutional is on increasingly shaky grounds. Michael Newdow, the dick atheist who brought the case, initially claimed that his daughter was being made fun of in school for not saying the Pledge. First of all, as Newdow has already admitted, the daughter suffered no alienation or ostracism at school. Secondly, he does not have custody of the daughter, and she is not even being raised as an atheist.
Her mother, who has full custody, has stepped forward and made this clear in recent interviews: “I see my role as just correcting the record and making sure that the American people know that my daughter is being raised in a Christian home. …She attends Sunday school and I teach Sunday school. And I believe the court record indicates or implies that my daughter is an atheist.” I think that the most telling quote is from the daughter herself: “That’s OK, Mom, because even if they do change the Pledge of Allegiance, I’ll still say ‘under God,’ and no one will know that I’m breaking the law.”
IANAL, but it seems to me that if the basis for starting the case in the first place is flawed, then it follows that the verdict shouldn’t stand. Let’s hope that the court thinks so too…
Can you imagine watching a movie or show on TV and suddenly a 10-second ad pops up, interrupting the program? Well, TV executives are contemplating just that concept and ran experimental pop-up ads this summer on TNT to test the waters. TNT general manager claims that the ads “didn’t spark a wave of angry phone calls or e-mails from viewers,” so he considered them a success. I can’t imagine that people wouldn’t have been pissed off at this; I know I would have been and would definitely have complained! The main reason for this travesty is the conception that people are either ignoring conventional ads or skipping over them with their new PVRs like Tivo or ReplayTV. Well, if commercials were more entertaining and less intrusive, I think people would be more likely to tolerate them. I’ve had quite enough prescription drug commercials, though, thank you very much.
LMDC has unveiled six concepts for the World Trade Center memorial. 3D renderings, site plans, elevations, and more are available for viewing on the site, resulting in a thorough look at each concept. This Saturday a public meeting will be held to discuss the concepts, where judging from early criticism of the plans I imagine there will quite a lively debate on the different ideas.