Daily Placebo

  • Thursday, June 30, 2005

  • Here's what we've all been waiting for. Satellite pictures of the Guinness Brewery. I feel like a kid trying to get into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Or, more acurately like an irishman trying to get into the Guinness Brewery. They've seriously got 12 foot walls all the way around that place to keep the goodness in, and the drunkards out. And don't tell me to take the tour cause they've got a whole separate fake brewery that they try to pass off as a tour. Most expensive free pint ever.

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    At 8:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    maybe the separate fake brewery is where we get our guinness from... haha. okay, going to go see about this google earth thing...

     

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    Vertical panorama

    This is a building in Vancouver. That place is nice. I can only imagine the bomb-digity Suite on the top floor. You can see part of the tree they have planted in the 'back yard'. Yeah, like a real tree.

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    Phone blues...


    So I went and dealt with the boys at Verizon lastnight. If anyone wants to send them flowers, they're at Holy Cross Hospital on Forest Glen Rd. No, just kidding. Turns out that signing up for two more years:
    1) Is cheaper than paying the month to month rate
    2) Gets me more minutes per month
    3) Gets me a new phone
    4) Eliminates roaming and long distance charges
    5) Gives me free night and weekends

    Hmmm, why didn't I do this sooner? Oh and I took this picture lastnight with my new camera. I can just feel the meticulous documentation of stupid things coming.

    P.S.
    Call me if you want to be in my new phone, I didn't pay the $10 extortion to have my numbers transfered.

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    4 Comments:

    At 7:43 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Dude! Have you seen that picture? It's the worst picture ever! I can't enven tell what its supposed to be of....you should take that phone back to Verizon...stick to pics wihtteh CAMERA, not the phone

     
    At 9:59 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Yeah, I'll admit the 'flash' isn't too much help. So this is what you get when you're too lazy to get up and get the light controller. You know, I bought another one so I'd have one in the livingroom and the bedroom. Apparently I need one on my nightstand too.

     
    At 11:15 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Now I REALLY don't want to know that this is a picture of...

     
    At 12:18 PM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    You perv. Its a negative of my computer and the light shining on the wall behing it. I think its family guy on the screen.

     

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  • Wednesday, June 29, 2005

  • Oh man, me and Steve should get together some time and bash stupid people in the face. Granted he wrote this two years ago, but I think he'd probably feel the same way today. Last week i went grocery shopping and I actually almost tried to swipe my card for the woman in front of me when she broke out a checkbook to pay $8.39. How can you not atleast have a check card if you have a check book?

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    Strange meatness











    Has anyone noticed how terribly similar Stouffer's "Meatloaf" is to its "Salisbury Steak"? I mean, come on; am I (a well informed and educated consumer) to believe that there is actually a separate facility or process for each of these concoctions? I think they should just come out and say "beef product with potato-like side" and "beef product with pasta-like side".

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    At 11:31 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    If they actually contained "beef" don't you think they'd already be playing that up? They're both called "Meat &..."

     

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    More map stuff


    I know I said I'd stop talking about Google maps. But to be fair, this isn't Google maps. It uses Google Maps. Its called Google Earth, and its an application that uses Google's query service to request data about locations. I thought it had a distinct keyhole feel and I was right. It displays street, topology and land image data as available for each location. Major cities are being modeled for a building layer, and there are even options to display schools, hospitals or restaurants. The real kicker for me is that it saves all the data it receives, so if you look up the same area twice, it doesn't need to reload anything. Of course this might just interest me because its like they took my St Mary's project and added their street data and searching capability. I'll say it again, I like the boys at Google.

    Update
    Check out how ridiculously good the elevation data is of Mt Avachinsky, on the Kamchatkan peninsula. (basically the middle of nowhere)

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    4 Comments:

    At 7:50 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Hey Map boy... can you get me something useful... I WANT the distances bewteenteha actual racing mark positions in Round Bay?... you precious Google Maps can't even show them!!!! HA, HA HAHAA HAAA (think evil and sinister villan laughing) No seriously, get on it, I wanna know the distances in nautical miles...

     
    At 10:14 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Wait wait wait. You’re chastising a natural language searchable global satellite and aerial photography database because it doesn’t show a 6 inch diameter piece of PVC pipe floating in some estuary? Ok, I’ll get on it. It’d be easier if you’d get your ass out there for some lat/ long readings.

     
    At 10:59 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    The real question is if someone could assemble the map from this data without prior knowledge of it.

    A-E .42
    A-S .32
    A-B .64
    A-V .92
    A-N 1.29
    A-C 1.97

    C-N .84
    C-V 1.10
    C-B 1.45
    C-S 1.83
    C-E 2.06

    E-S .73
    E-B .95
    E-V .97
    E-N 1.52

    N-V .71
    N-B .68
    N-S 1.09

    S-V .88
    S-B .40

    B-V .62

    Of course all these measurements (although in Nautical Miles) are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, erosion or other events may cause water conditions to differ from the map results.

     
    At 11:13 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Oh, you mean like Hurricaine Kelley draggin' mark A all over the place in the prestart? I've seen that crap....how did you get the positions of the marks? off the RBSA website? 'cause they haul them out and paint them every year and try to put them back... but the positions have to be moving...HAve you got GPS that I could you... one of the paddlers has one in his car.

     

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  • Tuesday, June 28, 2005
  • "It's easier to make nerve gas than manufacture cola"


    So i like open source stuff. It just makes the world a brighter place. Open office is nice; Paint.Net... money. There was open source beer on some blog last week. I hadn't really know that Opencola actually made open source cola till now. Makes sense when you think about it. OpenCola (There's a lot of text, but its funny.)

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    4 Comments:

    At 11:50 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    You're just bored, and sockless, today aren't you?

     
    At 11:59 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    OK, fine, blog faster then.

     
    At 12:02 PM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Caffeine: It's best not to store caffeine in any amount. Caffeine can kill people in relatively small doses. The median lethal dose for an adult human is around 10 grams, or approximately one third of an ounce. You can find out more by reading the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for caffeine at http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/c0165.htm. Don't yeild to the temptation to create a "Super-Jolt™," adding tons and tons of the white stuff to your cola, our you'll be in a world of hurt. If stored, store in a secure area away from children. Toxic by inhalation and ingestion: If inhaled, remove to fresh air, If ingested, call a physician. Possible teratogen and mutagen. If product comes in contact with the eyes, flush with plenty of water. There is some great information on caffeine and it's over-consumption at http://www.thecaffeinepage.com.

     
    At 1:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    is this third comment directed at anyone in particular?

     

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    20 min summary


    I just ran across the MAKE podcast on my iPod from May 10th about the DRM Broadcast flag. Cory Doctorow is well spoken and knowledgeable. Keep in mind that his summary is only up to mid-may and there are new developments in the fight. Nevertheless, it is an excellent overview of the history for anyone who isn't quite sure what the big deal is.

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    sbemail


    Oh man, I'M wearing leather shoes with no socks today. It is pretty great.

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    Tires



    On TotT:
    Consumers generally won't buy a bicycle with completely smooth or treadless tires, even though the tread pattern serves no purpose and tires would be cheaper to make (and therefore buy) without it.

    People think bicycle tires should have tread because car tires have tread. But car tires have tread for a reason. In wet conditions water has to be given a way to flow from under the tire's contact patch, so the rubber can remain in contact with pavement and prevent hydroplaning. A car tire is much larger than that of a bicycle tire, thought, and the water has much further to travel.

    Physics dictates that the pressure forcing water from below the car's tire is equal to the pressure of inflation, typically 30-40 psi. With a bicycle road tire, however, inflation pressure is typically 80-120 psi. In other words, in comparison to car tires, bicycle tires have much smaller contact patches and much higher pressure -- the two physical parameters of concern in hydroplaning.

    The speed required to hydroplane on a bicycle has been calculated in the region of 90-100 mph.

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    At 8:56 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Yeah, I saw that yesterday, my bike started out with practically treadless touring tires (Michelins) which I naively thought should have been a problem... ah, what a fool.

     

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    Himeji, Japan


    This is Himeji Castle in Japan. It stands beautifully atop a hill in the flatlands. There is level upon level inside, filled with racks of weapons and resting places for henchmen. As you ascend you feel an appreciation for what it may have been like to wait in apprehension for assailants. It also got me thinking of the nature of castles. About the concept of walls and gates. Security in general. The walls are the strong points and gates the weak. Even though the gates were heavily fortified, they were breakable and the castle could be viewed in the various sections between gates as they progressed in a spiral up the hill and to the top of the castle. A castle is in fact a means of delaying attack for as long as possible.

    Update
    Oh yeah, this is the castle where they shot the ninja training scene in "You Only Live Twice"

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    Insane boat thing


    Has anyone seen this? I don't know if I'll buy one, but that guy is gonna make a lot of money.

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    1 Comments:

    At 7:00 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    I would use that for about two minutes before I ran it into something and shattered it into a million (surely) expensive little pieces.

     

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  • Monday, June 27, 2005
  • Incongruity abounds


    What??? This is like Amnesty International buying and raffling off a prison camp. I'll admit that the scale might not be the same, but its an endorsement nonetheless. A buncha Canadians raised money for an Eco-Center by having an H2 raffle. Benefactors could sleep easy knowing they're driving us all to hell at no more than 10 mpg.

    Update
    Yes, I'm well aware that the Carrera GT gets 10 mpg in the city. But its so pretty. I guess its just a little more incongruity for you to choke down today.

    Fun Fact: Gas mileage figures are not posted on Hummer window stickers because the car weighs so much it is exempt from mileage-reporting requirements.

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    Zero to 60 in 4.4s


    Pardon me while I wipe the drool off myself.
    Thanks. This is one of 48 club edition 911 Carreras that Porsche is releasing in honor of the Porsche Club of America. So quick, I need to get into this club and scrape together 99,911 dollars.

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    This is exactly what the internet was created for.

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    Food tragedies in history: BMD


    I have a feeling that Snapple is going to take it on the chin for quite a while as a result of their sicle-snafu . But hey, at least no one died. Beware the molasses.

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    Uh, you listen to what?


    The Sneeze has a post asking what your most played song is in iTunes. I was curious, so I checked it out. It turned out to be White Houses by Vanessa Carlton. Highly embarrassing. But wait. The play count is 16,794,634. I find this HIGHLY unlikely since the next song has only been played 32 times. Its almost as if Steve had access to my ipod over the weekend and is playing an elaborate joke on me.

    Update
    Also note that you can listen to a 224 second song 385 times a day. And then to get to 16,794,634 times you'd need 43,622 days, or 119 years. I think.

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    32 inches of manliness


    So I kinda want to buy this TV. Although I just can't quite seem to justify spending 1200 on a TV when I've already got two. But if I can get five people to give me a hundred each, I could justify spending 700 dollars on one. I'll let you come over and watch it any time you want. Really.

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    Decision time


    Great, here's a review on the Nokia 8801 that I was bitching about last week. The Nokia Execs must be Placebo addicts. Anyway, the review wasn't glowing, since they compared it to the Razor which is already pretty established as the bomb digity. So now we have to be very careful. The battery life, memory space, and pricetag are all sub-par. Nokia needs to improve on the phone, and they'll want to release another model. We need to convey this to them as consumers. Some people need to buy the phone though so the line isn't just dropped. Regardless, it comes down to I'm not spending that much for a phone now anyway. Anyone have an audiovox 8910?

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    3 Comments:

    At 8:37 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Anything you'd like to tell us? From the linked site: "everything seems to be in pastels and item is targeted mainly towards women and people who love cutesy stuff (ex. outside LED shows hot air balloons when you turn it on)"

     
    At 8:48 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    Uh, no i didn't read that one. and now the site seems to be down. very convenient... I tend not to worry about marketing though, and i assume you can change the hot air baloon pic. I can't be held responsible for every moron who writes a review.
    another link

     
    At 8:50 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    No Bluetooth though.

     

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    Auckland


    In Aukland, New Zealand they have something called the Sky Tower. Its like the space needle, but in New Zealand. You can go up and get a nice view of the city. But they also drop people from it. There are cables of course, otherwise it'd be a big mess. But the really funny part is that they dangle you out there and you look kinda like this just waiting for them to pull the switch. I didn't really feel the need to participate, the clear floors made me feel uneasy enough.

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  • Friday, June 24, 2005
  • Oh, look its the eye of... Run away!


    Yowza, this is kinda freaky. Which of these do you think is from the night sky and which from a fantasy movie?

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    Screw the taser... R2D2 gets pimped


    So this article came up a while ago but I wasn't really motivated to post it till now. Maybe it was the thought of strapping gattling guns onto baby Aibos, or maybe I've finally succumed to the coolness of this device. Basically it solves the problem of mobile mortar attacks by monitoring the sky and shooting down incoming projectiles with a hail of exploding bullets. It also computes the origin from the trajectory and sends return fire or UAVs to check it out. All well and good until our UberAibo overlords figure out we're expendable.

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    Please madame, keep your tails together.


    HAHA, this is great. Ever wonder where in the world corporate logos came from? Well, Starbucks' little green seal is a heady homage to the lonely seaman's life.

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    Baby robots


    Again, AI roxors. And Machine Learning is even better. Apparently Sony has a robot nursery in France where they're stripping out little dog's electric noodles and putting in curiosity schemes. The video is fairly amusing; for those of you who don't appreciate a good neural network prepare to get your anthropomorphism on. Also: how you I get my hands on one of them 'bleak black' evil Aibos?

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    Broadcast flag THIS [gestures toward crotch]


    Good job everyone. Its good to see that some of the American public can be motivated. All you have to do is threaten our TV and we're like mother eagles defending our young.
    from boingboing
    "Within the space of a few hours, the committee was Slashdotted, BoingBoinged and Instalanched.

    By 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the 27 members of the Senate Appropriations Committee received more than 11,000 emails and faxes. That's nearly 500 faxes an hour. Dianne Feinstein alone received more than 2,600 messages in her inbox. Kay Hutchison, the senior senator for Texas, received 1,441 letters."


    That's actually fairly impressive. And if you don't know what a "broadcast flag" is you're a bad person. Go apologize to your TV.

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    More like freeuse though.


    I admit my name isn't as catchy but this is a kinda neat idea. Its like yard sales except more organized and (hopefully) less annoying. Find the freecycle group near you (there's actually quite a few in MD) and you could be involved in an open exchange of goods instead of constantly throwing away and buying new.

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    A great day for one man makes another man's head explode in rage.


    Makes perfect sense when you think about it. I mean, its the old "trash is treasure" quip; except completely different. Its more like the old "My wife sold my Lotus on ebay for half a quid cause I cheated on her" quip. Yeah, its the first time I've heard that one too.

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  • Thursday, June 23, 2005

  • This is what girls are doing when they take forever in the bathroom.

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    Please please PLEASE stop being BITCHES!!!


    That's what I want to walk into a Verison Wireless and scream everytime I think about getting a new phone. Ok, fine, its time to be a big man and admit that you jumped on the wrong bandwagon (its going on right now with HDDVD and Blueray) -- CDMA sucks. Bite the bullet and go buy a GSM system so that you can provide your constituents with the badass electronics they want. And all you "I'm already on GSM" bitches? What the hell are you guys doing? Get on your horse and go to Europe or Japan or Korea; go anywhere but the wartorn precision bombed markets of Iraq and bring back the phones you find laying around. Right now I'm looking at a grand to import the phone and hoping to find a GSM carrier that can run it. Can anyone even find out how much wireless service costs without signing the 2-year-we-get-your-first-child-and-right-testicle-contract?

    Update
    Sorry, that all came out of trying to see when the N90 will be onsale at Ritz and for how much. Neither of which have I accomplished.

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    2 Comments:

    At 10:20 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    OK, I'm with you on the rant, I'm sick and tired of everyone having cooler shit than us. I mean, we rule the friggin' world, we're the richest most wasteful people on it. Why aren't we extorting some third world nation to build this junk for US?

    That being said, the phone you win comes with a T-Mobile sim card, so I'm guessing you can at least use it on their network.

     
    At 10:26 AM, Blogger Dee S. Nutts said...

    GSM Service Maps

     

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    Lets leave the thinking to cardboard cutouts


    Ok, no one's buying Snapple, what do we do?
    Start selling Snapple Popsicles!
    Brilliant! How will we advertise it?
    Break the world record for the largest popsicle!
    Brilliant! Where and when should we do this?
    New York City in the summer heat!
    Brilliant!

    What could go wrong? Besides the normal kiwi-strawberry popsicle flood, of course.

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    Cooking with Soapstone


    We've come a long way since cookware like this. Apparently there are still advantages to using stone though. MetaEfficient seems to have a few interesting listings like that, some different ones anyway from the usual suspects. I'm not gonna get one, but that's only because I don't have a gas stove. I can still daydream.

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    Does UPS ship stuff this big?


    Either way this is wonderful. I wish more people would create huge objects of interest and put them in the middle of now