The Barber of Seville

The InterWebNetTubes is a truly wonderful place. When you least expect it, some things turn up that you were not looking for. I posted recently regarding some beautiful restored reel-to-reel tape machines that were big (in every sense) in the 70s and 80s. I tracked through many sites and ended up here. An audiophile site re speakers - incidentally this is taking music a bit too far as far as I am concerned - and the name prompted me to search for 'a capella'. This led to barbershop quartets and so on. I ended up (as you do) looking at old barber chairs. Further searching led me to the link below... well, that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Note to anyone prudish: This link is not for you. Here.

Games and more games

Something for weekend... here.

A Fascinating Web Site

Here.

Triskaidekaphobic

For those of you not venturing out today... here is the definition.

We are truly screwed...

... or planning to due to the recession. Here. Although there is a mass debate about this...

Steorn Update

Back in July 2007 I posted about the Steorn company who were announcing their perpetual motion / energy. While I do not pretend to have any true understanding of the physics / math behind it, there is something called Noether's First Theorem. This, as far as I am able to determine from the detailed Wikipedia entry, is to do with quantum mechanics and the Lagrangian Function which describes the dynamics of an object. Essentially to do with Newtons Laws of Motion and Einstein's Theory of relativity, it basically means that there is no such thing as perpetual energy/motion as natural forces will prevent this (e.g. friction will use up an amount of the energy input. That is about as simple as it gets for none mathematicians and those unfamiliar with quantum mechanics I believe. Judge by yourself by looking at the definitions.

There is however a relatively clearer definition of the principles here based upon a general understanding of the Steorn product.

Should the Steorn device actually work, there is the promise of unlimited energy. The theorem and function above are working against it though...

REEL Glory

I used to have one of these... a true object of adoration (by me) and envy (by others). It even had extender arms for the large reels that allowed me to play music for a looooooooooooooong time. It was in black and was a true dust magnet. This guy does pure artistic magic to these.

If anyone is stuck for a birthday present for me NEXT Jan 29th...

StatCounter

Today I added StatCounter to my blog. It appears to work and the stats are a little bare currently...

Sometimes a little thought goes into design

This time too little. www.bbc.co.uk has a "Add Your Comment" option where I have an account. I was entering my password, redirected to another screen due to a typo, decided to go back to correct my mistake when an error message popped up and redirected me to a different screen. The 'Return to previous page' does not take me back to the previous page but instead to the original screen... wiping out the information I had already typed in

This is what is known as "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr about backwards"

Most Excellent Diversion

Here.

Come home to .... errrm...

... no home. Here. As if the American housing market is not already bad enough, this scam is, in certain regards, rather clever.

What WILL we do for political humour

With Bush out of office it is forecast that there will be mass redundancies (on top of the thousands already created as a result of his tenure) in the field of punditry, cartoonists, and journo-bloggers who have had an easy meal ticket with regard to the supply of materials. The doom and gloom merchants have been able to transition easily by simply switching their focus with regard to subject matter. Similarly the last incumbent of the Presidential office has provided them with ample topics for debate.

With that in mind, I will make this 'oldie but goldie' piece a form of memorial for simian appreciation and general buffoonery...

Colin Powell: Mr. President, I’m sorry to tell you that 3 Brazilian soldiers have died in Iraq

George W Bush: That’s awful. Errrrm, how many is a Brazilian?

Thanks to GR for that input...

Very dark, very interesting

Here... and rather odd also.

Hundreds Gather to Protest Global Warming

Thought for Today

Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. – T.S. Eliot

Dr. Who in his Prime

Nice collection of Tom Baker adverts from waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back here. Do you think he and his assistant have something going on?

Meltdown in every sense

I think that this piece explains a lot of how people feel with regard to the way banks have handled the economic situation. A lot (and I mean a LOT) of what is said will echo what many are thinking but do not have he guts to say it.

Note that this is an audio piece that is DEFINITELY NSFW. It also shows how NOT to handle a customer... here. Call Centre Person - Important Note - Do not. I repeat. Do NOT engage in a confrontational situation with someone like this...

Savage Love

If you think that your life is exceptional then try here. Afterward you will seem rather normal... whatever that is... here. The podcast is Jerry Springer for your ears...

What's a Trillion ACTUALLY?

Recently this word has entered common usage. Some good definitions of what it actually means.

My favourite?

"A trillion is roughly equivalent to 300 to 400 shitloads, or 500 to 600 assloads (depending on geographic location and weather conditions.)"

Others:

TIme Magazine has a good view on it here.

THE US NATIONAL DEBT INTO PERSPECTIVE

$ 7,937,463,000,000.00

Seven trillion, nine hundred and thirty seven billion, four hundred and sixty three million dollars

A trillion in perspective to other common terms of reference... here.

Or let's look at this from a time perspective. Stopwatch ready? This is based upon 10:00 AM GMT +1 on 10th February 2009

1,000,000 (1 million) seconds equals = 0.031 years

1,000,000,000 (1 billion) seconds equals = 31.6 years

1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) seconds equals = 31,688.8 years

Therefore...

1 million seconds ago it was summer (or winter for my Oz friends).

1 billion seconds ago it was it was May of 1977!

1 trillion seconds ago it was 29,679 BC or thereabouts (give or take a second or two)

Now, where did we put the paddles???

UPDATE: A good visualisation is found here.

Kindle 2.0

As an avid reader of books I am torn regarding the true value of the Kindle. Further, the price tag of around $359 (244 sterling) will buy me a lot of books. Any comments re this yourselves?

Economic Crisis - The HOW...

For many people, understanding what on earth is going on with the banking system is difficult. It is akin to a form of voodoo or magic whereby 'stuff happens' in an inexplicable way. There was an interesting piece in the Sydney Morning Herald regarding the inequitable approval given to banks over investors. Much has already been written in relation to the greed and excesses of traders and bankers shown in the 'rewards' and bonuses given to them so I will not dwell too much on this here. I will reserve that one for another time.

Getting a grip on what is actually going on is difficult. On Steve Keen's web site "DebtWatch" he provides what I believe to be a good explanation into the workings behind the creation of this mess. The graphs and charts are quite startling. See what you think. It's lengthy but worth the effort. Clearly, for the foreseeable future, we are screwed economically.

Social Networking

What is it with Facebook and the many social networking sites? I just do not get it.

I have looked at it but can find nothing for me there. My wife uses it and a lot of people I know use it but I can see no use or benefit to my laying my life out there for all and sundry.

This Slate article seems to think I am an oddity.

Bank Bailout

Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, as well as current market conditions, "The Light at the End of the Tunnel" has been turned off.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thanks to DF for that one.

It does what it says on the tin...

... or rather into it... here. Now, my question is, do I file it under 'torrents'?