Sunday, July 29, 2007

I was Born a Poor black Child

On this day of celebration, what better way to continue it with remembrance of one of the best comedic movies of all time:

The Jerk:

Today is a holiday because yesterday Steve finally married his girlfriend of a few years (former The New Yorker contributor -and 25 years his junior). His marriage was set in true Steve Martin fashion - he arranges a party at his house with 65 of his closest friends, and doesn't tell them he's getting married until they arrive and gather for the party.

 Some notable quotes from the movie (courtesy IMDB):

Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi.

Navin R. Johnson: For one dollar I'll guess your weight, your height, or your sex.


Navin R. Johnson: Well I'm gonna to go then. And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need you. I don't need anything except this.
[picks up an ashtray]
Navin R. Johnson: And that's it and that's the only thing I need, is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray. And this paddle game, the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - I need this. The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches, for sure. And this. And that's all I need. The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair.
[walking outside]
Navin R. Johnson: And I don't need one other thing, except my dog.
[dog barks]
Navin R. Johnson: I don't need my dog.
Mother: Navin, I'd love you if you were the color of a baboon's ass.
[a sniper keeps missing Navin and hitting cans of motor oil]
Navin R. Johnson: He hates these cans. Stay away from the cans.
[Navin recites some wisdom]
Navin R. Johnson: Lord loves a workin' man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it.
Navin R. Johnson: [singing] I'm picking out a Thermos for you. Not an ordinary Thermos for you. But the extra best Thermos that you can buy, with vinyl and stripes and a cup built right in.
Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now.
[Speaking to Marie in bed while she sleeps]
Navin R. Johnson: I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it.
Mother: Navin, it's your birthday, and it's time you knew. You're not our natural-born child.
Navin R. Johnson: I'm not? You mean I'm gonna STAY this color?
[Stan Fox's glasses keep slipping off]
Stan Fox: Damn these glasses.
Navin R. Johnson: Yes, sir.
[to the glasses]
Navin R. Johnson: I damn thee.
Navin R. Johnson: Why are you crying? And why are you wearing that old dress?
Marie: Because I just heard a song on the radio that reminded me of the way we were.
Navin R. Johnson: What was it?
Marie: "The Way We Were."
Navin R. Johnson: First I get my name in the phone book and now I'm on your ass. You know, I'll bet more people see that than the phone book.
[in bed]
Navin R. Johnson: You look so beautiful and peaceful, you almost look dead. And I'm glad, because there's something I want to say that's always been very difficult for me to say.
[pause]
Navin R. Johnson: "I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit." There. I've never been relaxed enough around anyone to say that.
Navin R. Johnson: I'm gonna bounce back and when I do I'm gonna buy you a diamond so big it's gonna make you puke.
Marie: I don't wanna puke.
Navin R. Johnson: Good things are gonna start happening to me now.
[Crazy guy with gun scrolls through a phone book]
Sniper: Johnson, Navin R... Sounds like a typical bastard.
Motel Guest: Don't call that dog "lifesaver;" call him "shithead."
Navin R. Johnson: Now be totally honest. You do have a boyfriend don't you.
Marie: Kind of
Navin R. Johnson: I know this is our first date but do you think the next time you make love to your boyfriend you could think of me?
Marie: Well I haven't made love to him yet.
Navin R. Johnson: That's too bad. Do you think its possible that someday you could make love with me and think of him?
Marie: Who knows maybe you and he could make love and you could think of me.
Navin R. Johnson: I'd be happy to be in there somewhere.
New Accounts Bank Manager: I will need two pieces of identification.
Navin R. Johnson: Ah yes. I have my temporary driver's license - and - my astronaut application form... I didn't pass that though, I failed everything but the date of birth.
Marie: I don't care about losing all the money. It's losing all the stuff.
Sniper: Die, you random son of a bitch.
[shoots at Navin but hits a display of oil cans]
Navin R. Johnson: He hates these cans!
[last lines]
Navin R. Johnson: [voiceover] I was so glad to be going home. I remembered the days when I sang and danced with my family on the porch of the old house. But things change, and with all the additions to the family, we had to tear down the old house, even though we loved it. But we built us a bigger one.
Navin R. Johnson: Good Lord - I've heard about this - cat juggling! Stop! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Good. Father, could there be a God that would let this happen?
Marie: You live here? Oh, it's nice. Did you decorate it?
Navin R. Johnson: Yeah, I got all this stuff from the old Cup 'o Pizza place before they tore it down.
Marie: Good pizza.
[the two are eating pizza in a cup]
Navin R. Johnson: Oh, this is the best pizza in a cup ever. This guy is unbelievable. He ran the old Cup 'o Pizza guy out of business. People come from all over to eat this.

Ali Lohan

Okay, this scares the heck out of me. Unfortunately, as the article points out, this is another Lindsay and Dina in training. (courtesy of StupidCelebrities.net)

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Ali Lohan Defends Sister Lindsay Lohan

Ali Lohan Defends Sister Lindsay Lohan

In an email to 24sizzler.com Ali Lohan writes in defense of her sister-

Hi david this is ali lohan, i want everybody to know the truth out there. My mom is a single mom of four children she has always been there for us, she was my mother and father and still is. My father is telling all lies to people and saying he was such a great dad and was always there for us, my father was never there for us, My mom was always there souporting[sic] us. i think that the whole reason why my sister is upset with her self and not as cofident[sic], is because of my dad not being around, and always staying out late and not coming home for days, he would come back home never himself, he was always was making excuses for his bad behavior . And would always blame my mother. He just wants everybody in the world knowing that he was a great dad. He wasnt that is all a lie. I just want my sister to stick throught[sic] this okay, and my mother and brothers and i are there for my sister 100% and have always been. I’ve wanted to say this for so long and get this out there and let everyone know that our family is like a normal family but of course we are put under a microscope because of lindsays fame, lindsay will be fine she is just going through a rough time right now but she will be fine. i know this for a fact. My sisters is just like a normal sister. her and I have so much in common. My mother and sister are huge insperations[sic] to me, they have made it through so much in there lives.
Thankyou for your time god bless, Ali

“my mother and sister are huge inspirations to me.”  - looks like we have another crazy lohan on the way!

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We should be scared, very scared. Also, rumor has it that Lindsay is back in NY now and visiting Long Island. Stay off the highways and byways at night, for the risk of being involved in celebrity crash derby is extreme.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Will It Blend?

A necessary ingredient - we'll call it Emeril's Essence - to America's being is capitalism. Our fore-fathers did one heck of a job developing this country to get us where we are today.

In honor of this I stumbled across another interesting site called, appropriately, Will It Blend. Initially I thought this was just some crazy blogger who decides to blend objects to see what happens. Then I realize its a blender company hawking their product. (Don't loose me now.)

I took a look at some of there video's and wow!!! Its worth a few minutes gandering at what Mr. Dickson has blended. All from BlendTec. Now that's what I call a blender!!!. Is $399 too much to spend on a simple blender? Maybe, but who wants a crappy Kitchen Aide doing the death jig in the midst of entertaining. Not me. I think I'll give one a try.  

33,000 foot pounds per minute

That's the answer. What's the question?

 

Hint:

How to Order a drink

Order a Drink

http://www.wired.com/images/howto/hl_order_drink.jpg

Photograph by Darren Braun

Life is too short to let indecision or inexperience cut into your drinking. When you belly up to the bar, it's go time.

1. Watch your timing. Friday night when the bar is four people deep is not the moment to admire the flavored vodka selection. This isn't a social call; this is business.

2. Know what you want. Unless you're getting wine, do not ask for recommendations. It exposes you as an amateur. Be ready to order.

3. Start a tab. Have your credit card ready. If you hold everything up digging for your plastic, you can kiss a long pour or free drink good-bye.

4. Never order Long Island iced teas. No Jägermeister shots. Nothing with sex in the name. And never, never anything requiring a food processor. Gauge the patience and biceps strength of your bartender before requesting drinks that involve muddling, such as mojitos.

5. Know your bar. Places with no top-shelf selection are not where you should be ordering Chardonnay. Get a well drink. Places with bartenders in white coats, standing behind arrays of silver cocktail shakers and freshly cut fruit, are good places to order martinis. Or Negronis. Try a Negroni.

6. Alternate rounds. Buy a drink for everyone in your party; graciously accept one for yourself. But don't deploy a round just to pick someone up -- that's cheesy.

7. Get a free drink by tipping well at the start of the evening ($1 per cocktail is the bare minimum). Be friendly with the bartender but not needy. Use references: If you know a regular -- who just happens to be the hottest woman in the room -- say so. Better yet, be the hottest woman in the room.

(courtesy of Wired How To Wiki)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Non-fictional news

Swimming Pool and Water Stolen From Yard

The Associated Press

PATERSON, N.J. - Daisy Valdivia is annoyed that someone stole her backyard pool , and baffled at how they did it without leaving behind a splash, drip or trace of the 1,000 gallons of water it contained.

Valdivia awoke to find her family's hip-high, inflatable, 10-foot diameter swimming pool gone from her back yard Wednesday.

Valdivia told The Record of Bergen County the theft must have occurred between 1 a.m., when her husband went to bed, and 5 a.m., when she awoke.

She's amazed someone could steal the pool that quickly and just wanted to know "what the heck they did with the water," she said.

 

Bus Driver Fired for 38,000 Text Messages

The Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland - A Polish bus driver has been fired for sending 38,000 text messages on his company cell phone in a losing effort to win contest jackpot, a spokesman said Thursday.

Leszek Wojcik, a bus driver in the northwestern Polish city of Slupsk, ran up a tab of some 94,000 zlotys ($34,000) with his text messages while trying to win a 100,000-zloty ($36,000) SMS contest that ended June 30, Slupsk city transport spokesman Hubert Boba told The Associated Press.

Boba said a city bus drivers' monthly company phone bill is supposed to be limited to 15 zlotys ($5).

Wojcik sent an average of 1,200 SMS text messages a day, each costing 2.40 zlotys ($0.86), on his work cell phone.

Wojcik told TVN24 television he wanted to buy a second car with his possible winnings.

"Now I'm without work," he said.

 

292 Dirty Calls to 911 Land Man in Jail

The Associated Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A man charged with dialing 911 to chat with dispatchers nearly 300 times in the last month remained in jail Wednesday. Cheveon Alonzo Ford, 21, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with making obscene and harassing telephone calls.

He told authorities he began calling 911 because "I have no minutes on my phone and 911 is a free call," the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Ford was being held on a $50,000 bond Wednesday afternoon.

Officers used GPS coordinates from Ford's cell phone to track his location to the west Pensacola home where he was arrested, the Pensacola News Journal Reported.

"His phone service had been cut off and 911 was the only number he could dial from the phone," said Bob Boschen, communication chief for Escambia County.

Boschen said many of Ford's 292 calls were sexual in nature.

"When he would call and a male dispatcher would answer, he would hang up," he said. "Our policy says that if a caller is belligerent in nature we have to get enough information to process the call and then we can disconnect," he said.

Ford never asked dispatchers for help or indicated he was in trouble.

Another day of Bro'ness

Here, he's (Doug) helping me out during my fathers 70th B'day celebration, while I'm inside cooking in the kitchen. Thanks again bud!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

A day of a few events to be thankful for..

This great man...Ward Churchill, was finally voted out of the University of Colorado. This is the same man who compared, in an essay he wrote shortly after 9/11, some victims in the World Trade Center to Adolf Eichmann (who was involved in carrying out the Holocaust.)

 

This great young woman was arrested, yet again, in Santa Monica, Ca early this morning. Turns out she was pissed off that her personal assistant quit (rumored because Lindsay was yet again out of control with drugs and liquor). Her assistant left with her mother and someone else in her car. Lindsay gave chase in her own car, with two other people in the car with her. This seemed to scare the first car, forcing them to call 911 and, a block away from a local police precinct, pulled into a theatre lot and stopped. Lindsay's car pulled in as well and then, its reported, she got into a screaming match with the now former assistant. That's when police arrived.

She was severely belligerent to the police. She refused an alcohol blow test and then submitted to a physical field sobriety test, which she failed. She was arrested. Taken to the precinct, searched - where they found cocaine- and then administered the blow test (humorous) which she reportedly served up a .12BAC, (.08 is the legal limit).

I pray and hope that she gets help, or is forced by the system to get it, so that she lives out the rest of her 21st year, and those around her survive as well and are not mowed down by her in a drunken and drug induced state.

Beware young readers, this woman's family is like mold on cheese. Dangerous and infectious to all that are near. 

Saturday, July 21, 2007

In the 'dumbest things we pay for' category

Okay, as I continue to wake-up this morning I'm filtering through Eurekalert. This is where I come across a small press release from the American Society of Agronomy, who are reporting findings of a study conducted by the University of Minnesota. I think I'm reading this wrong, I believe what they're saying is that they've found levels of contaminants (fertilizers) in test samples taken from rivers and water tables near farms. That its their belief that if the farmers reduced or stopped using fertilizers, then there would be a reduction or elimination of those contaminants in the rivers and water table. ????????????????????????????????

I'd like to know what congressman or professor wrote the grant request for this study...and POUND them in the head.

 

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Also from Eurekalert, this one is taken from the publication Justice Quarterly.

Seems that Ohio State University needed to do a study on adolescent crime in NYC. Here's the opening sentence from the press release;

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A study of young, violent criminals in New York City found that they used fear and intimidation to keep adults from interfering with their criminal activities.

Am I missing something, or is the most appropriate word...Duh!!

 

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Then on to Weird News of the World

Jonathan Powell, 17, was convicted in April of sexually assaulting a college student in Iowa City, Iowa, after his DNA was found in several places on her body. Powell explained the DNA by claiming that he had merely bumped into the woman accidentally while jogging and had become so "entangled" with her that he was unable to free himself for about "45 minutes." [Des Moines Register, 5-1-07]

 

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in an April car crash after he collided with a stopped tow truck on Interstate 64 in the middle of the night, and according to a police report, Hancock was intoxicated, speeding, un-seat-belted, and talking on his cell phone at the time. Nonetheless, in May, Hancock's father filed a lawsuit claiming that the causes of the crash were (1) the tow truck operator, (2) the driver who was being assisted by the tow truck operator, and (3) the manager of the restaurant in which Hancock had been drinking. [Houston Chronicle-AP, 5-25-07]

 

The local government in Dalkeith, Scotland, has decided that, notwithstanding global warming and carbon "footprints," the lights will stay on all night, every night, in the building that formerly was Dalkeith High School (but which has been vacant since 2004) because councilors fear that trespassers would hurt themselves in the darkness and sue them. [Daily Telegraph (London), 6-1-07]

Long Days of Summer

So, I'm buzzing through Wired.com and trip over an alternate article about a chap named Michael Hearst, and his band called One Ring Zero.

Synopsis - he lives in Brooklyn, small apartment. A couple years ago he hears the sounds of summer emanating from the busy streets (read - jingle of Ice Cream Trucks). The same song over and over. So, he does a Google search and finds there aren't too many alternate songs out there for ice cream trucks to play. So, he and his band-mates decide to change things. Thereafter they begin recording, in his small Brooklyn apt., the album below.

Its an interesting interview to read through, and an even more interesting (you may wish to imbibe first) web-site to partake in and listen to the bands various creations. Ice Cream men (masc.) around the world are, I'm sure, rejoicing because they now have a selection of tunes to get the youngsters gastronomic juices flowing in all sorts of creative ways.

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks

Friday, July 20, 2007

On the lighter side of things to end this week

Checkers Anyone?

Straight from the University of Alberta comes this dramatic story of intrigue, beguile, challenge and mystery...up 'til now that is.....

Game over — scientists solve checkers

named after a famed American helicopter (Chinook), a Canadian computer has spent years - since 1989 actually - playing and re-playing checkers. 500 quintillion moves later, its finally figured out a way to play the game and win every time, or at least force a draw.

Schaeffer has been working on the checkers puzzle for 18 years.

For more information about Chinook please go to:
http:// http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~chinook.

Jonathan Schaeffer’s U of A website:
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~jonathan/

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Another update to 'OU' (or Over Unity)

as reported by Engadget, I'll include both updates here which are subsequent to my earlier this month post of "the world as we know it nearly stopped":

 

Steorn's Orbo device exploded -- for dissection, not the apocalypse

Posted Jul 11th 2007 6:35AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

With tail held firmly between legs, Steorn really had no choice but to take a less covert and cryptic approach to their public relations. Behold what shyster-Sean McCarthy calls a working device utilizing their Orbo "free infinite energy" technology (read: magnets). The exploded view below the photograph was cobbled together by Steorn forum members and is a best guess as to how the device "works" at this point in time. The stationary part -- the stator -- is colored green and blue and contains 8 magnets fitted into angled-slots around the central cavity. Within the cavity spins a rotor with an additional 4 magnets evenly distributed around the circumference. Between the two are those dastardly, watch-maker bearings which were to blame for the failed demonstration last week. So yeah, it certainly appears to be just another in a long series of magnetically driven perpetual motion machines debunked by the scientific community for centuries. Still, Steorn employees continue to assert the existence of their magical energy source; they just can't explain how it works or prove that it exists. You know at this point, their rabid self-deception and cult of believers investors are becoming just a tad creepy don't you think?
[Via BoingBoing]

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and then an update interview of a couple days ago... (note from DJ - I pride myself on having an ability to dissect double-speak and boil an explanation down into usable, valuable, and coherent parts to form a logical statement. For the life of me though, I can not for love nor money figure out what in heavens name this guy is speaking about when he explains what his company was initially founded to do and what they actually did, other than something with e-commerce and the police. I guess this kind of translates into his world changing business model and his supposed 'invention.' 

The Engadget Interview: Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn


Today's interview is a first for Engadget in a couple ways: we've never talked with an executive whose company doesn't actually make or sell something, nor have we talked with anyone whose technology is theoretically infeasible. Still, we've all had our chance to criticize Steorn for its scientifically heretical claim to the invention of a perpetual motion machine, its failed live demonstration of that machine, and so on. So now it's time to turn the mic over to Steorn's CEO Sean McCarthy, where he discusses his belief in the potential of Steorn's Orbo technology, his feelings about the scientific community and skeptics at large, and what happens next for the supposed free energy company.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. I'm sure that you're very busy, especially after the last couple of weeks--

I've had better weeks.

Yeah, I would imagine. But before we actually get started talking about the technology [Orbo] or anything like that I think that a lot of people would probably like to know a little bit more about the company. So what can you tell us about Steorn that we don't already know? I mean we know that it was a company that was founded not to break the laws of thermodynamics but rather technological means.

The company was founded by myself and three other guys back in 2000 and it was basically three of us had come from a company that I had been working with for a year and the Irish economy was doing well so we decided we'd set up a tech company with no real objective. We started working in the early days just helping people manage some of their big e-commerce spend. So it would primarily be contract management, so for example where corporate would be spending vast amounts of money on e-commerce projects.

But that day was over so we came in to restructure the contracts and try to manage them into a more realistic burn rate. So we did that with probably some of Ireland's biggest corporate e-commerce sites including people like Banks of Ireland and so on. In 2001 we were asked to get involved in the development of some anti-counterfeit technology for credit cards and basically that became the mainstay of our business both in terms of developing anti-counterfeit systems for optical disks and for plastic cards and also doing an awful lot of forensics and expert witnessing for law enforcements across Europe.

I see. So then you stumbled upon this technology by--

An awful lot of the work we would have done would have been done in ATM fraud, which is a very widespread fraud in the UK and in Ireland and across Europe, and from working with the police they have quite a different view on the crime than for example a bank, and the police's prime objective is to catch the bad guys. So we started looking at covert surveillance equipment to monitor high risk ATMs, because clearly what the law enforcement wanted to do was to get evidence of a person physically committing a crime and it was during the development of some covert CCTV cameras that we were looking at basically very mobile devices -- so we wanted wireless image transmission and also not to have to worry about wiring them up to anything. So we initially looked at solar cells and we looked at augmenting solar cells to extend the battery life of the system with winter at the top of these were lamp post sized devices. So it was during that we started really playing around with magnetic systems and that's where we began to notice some strange anomalies and got caught in this weird and wonderful world OU. [Over unity, aka free energy.] Sometimes we wish we hadn't but we have.

So we know you stumbled upon this supposed technology. How long did it take you guys to realize what you thought was going on here?

It took us an awful long time to be honest, because the first thing when you get an anomalous reading on a system in a lab, the first thing that you do is obviously question your test equipment. We obviously went out and we looked out and looked at the way we are testing it and systems we were using to make analysis and so on. And after a fairly extended period of testing in different ways -- I should make the point that when we discovered this we weren't generating, the systems didn't run away with themselves. What we noticed was at certain speeds the speed range for magnetic systems that we were getting substantially different energy results -- which is unexpected.

So we spent a good six months ourselves just looking at the systems and not full-time six months. We wouldn't jump on it and say, you know, this is the solution to the world's energy crisis. We did it in a fairly calm, rational manner and over a course of the six months we began to realize that hey this, these readings are not due to some measurement anomaly and that these readings are real. There are these energy anomalies at certain speed ranges with certain magnetic configurations and that's pretty much how we managed to convince ourselves that it was worth pursuing.

You just mentioned, to quote, that this is the solution to the world's energy crisis. Do you think that is actually the case? Do you think that this will end the world's energy crisis?

I don't... I mean... My own background just to explain to you is providing technology into the UK Royal and gas industries. So I know the energy industry pretty well. I don't think there is a single solution to the energy crisis. I think that certain energy demands have certain needs. We have no doubts that what we have can play a very significant role. However, there is one thing sitting in Dublin here with a claim on a technology that nobody believes. Making that a commercial reality is a long and difficult road. So we are not naive enough to say that we will have a massive impact in the short frame of time, but we can see that it's possible and that's what we're dedicated to.

It's interesting that you mention that it's a technology that no one believes and I've seen some of the videos where I think it was you or one of your colleagues refers to the technology as being "absolutely impossible."

That would be me. [laughs]

Why do you think that this is so difficult to pitch to people?

From the simple point, we're all believers up to the notch of pretty well qualified engineers. You know, we have very classical university training and we've worked months of our lives in a classical engineering and technology environment. And so, the only way I can describe how I would feel about this technology is that if I'd be looking at this technology from the outside I'd be going, "Hocum! This is complete and utter rubbish! This is the most incontrovertible law of physics and if this was untrue then the universe wouldn't work." So I understand the skepticism, I would be very much and like everybody else. I've seen these kind of claims come and go over the years. So I understand it and an awful lot of what we're about is to try and at least erode people's disbelief. Because we can't make this a viable commercial technology without obviously people accepting that it's real.

Right, and in the US the USPTO, our patent office, actually requires people to send in physical working samples of supposed perpetual motion machines because they have historically received so many claims for patents to this system.

[laughs] We work with a pretty large U.S. patent firm. We took the decision that because of the company, we have so many battles to fight, and the last thing we wanted to do was to fight a battle with a patent office. So from the patent perspective we don't make claims that would violate classic Newtonian dynamics. However we have constructed a portfolio of patents that do protect us. So we're making claims that protect the technology... So we're not concerned about our patent position or having to fight because even that statement about the patent office is not necessarily true according true according to our patent agents. But again, we haven't felt the necessity to make claims in our patents of you know overunity or anything that could be deemed scientifically controversial. That doesn't mean that we don't believe in the claim, it simply means that we can protect the technology without having to go through that step.

How many people do you have working on this Orbo technology right now?

Head-count in the company is 21 full time staff and we would have anywhere between probably 5 and 15 people working on the contract at any one time and they would be in partner organizations or direct contracts to the company. It's very substantial for a very little company's operations.

You guys are operating strictly on VC right now? Or what are your other means of income?

Since we went public last August we stopped all works with the forensic and expert witnessing simply because we would not be credible, we'd be too easily -- we're presenting obviously to the prosecution. It would be too easy to be discredited with a claim like this publicly in the eyes of the court. So it's currently no revenues at all and we will attempt to make no revenues until the technology is validated.

How are you paying your employees for the time being? Is this from cash reserves?

We're operating via private investment, which we took through this all last year.

So that's the company, let's talk a little bit more about the technology that you guys have supposedly developed here. Laws of thermodynamics basically state that you can't achieve 100% efficiency in any apparatus and that there are always transfers of heat and energy in any system. But obviously you guys are claiming 100%+ efficiency. Do you have a statistic or number of what you estimate the energy efficiency level of your machine is? Is it 110% or 150%?

It varies from configuration to configuration. I think the largest efficiency that we would have physically measured would be about 485%. These numbers can be misleading. For example we might be getting 485% per joule, which means were getting 4.85 J out, but there could be a configuration that's could be delivering 130% efficiency yet delivering 10 joules. So, the technology itself is pretty well researched in terms of punch line efficiency it's 485%, but that wouldn't be the optimum output of the system. Obviously we're more focused on direct power output of a device than the punchline numbers. 485 to 1 is 4.85, but we could easily say, 10 to 12 joules off of a system is going to have a lower punch line efficiency. And power output is obviously the key factor, energy output is obviously the key factor.

So you guys have been trying to bring the scientific community into the fold. Obviously kicked off by the full page ad in The Economist and there's the open invitation...

[laughs] It was a brave decision.

Well, it definitively opened you guys to a lot of criticism. My publication is definitely not excepted from that. I think it's one of those claims to where you're just going to have to put up with the lumps.

We knew it. Again, the only way I can describe this is that we didn't set out to do this. We stumbled upon it. I wouldn't believe a word of it if I wasn't working here and so in deciding the best route for the company was to go and do this, what they call a slap in the face of science. We had no illusions at all of how it looked or how it would be conceived, what we would be called and so on. But at the end of the day we have to face that, but it's a relatively easy thing to face when you know what you have is real because, you realize there is an end to it and we can get on with the business of business.

I think part of the reason why people didn't and don't take it seriously is partly because there is no [credible] university affiliated with the research. The fact that you guys were not out to actually invent this new science and that there was no big name physicist behind it at the time is, I think, what is most damaging to your credibility.

To be fair, I don't think of there's an awful lot of what we could have done with respect to credibility. But the other thing to recognize in terms of the August thing [running the ad in The Economist] is that we achieved our objective, and our objective was to get qualified scientists engaged. As much as we get an awful lot of criticism, and obviously the event the last couple of weeks haven't helped, the bottom line for us is that process has started and that process will end with very qualified people doing the analysis. So were quite happy to sit here -- happy is the wrong word -- but we're quite willing to sit here and take the smirks or the laughs or the cries of fraud and so on because August was a big victory for us because our biggest concern in doing all of this, is, well, what if no scientist responds? That would have been a disaster for us. The fact that we got ridiculed, that was going to happen anyway.

Since this open invitation to invite scientists to review the technology under their own means and their own circumstances, that they see fit--

We're obviously covering all of their direct costs and paying them a nominal fee to do it. But they're deciding the details of the process. It is and will be seen to be at the end of it, a fair process. We're not paying them massive consulting fees, which is one of the concerns that we had. We tried to structure it in such a way that when the results arrive, and obviously we are very confident in what the results are going to be, that people could look at the process and say, it was a fair process. Although we're obviously keeping it pretty non-disclosed, but in the end of it when these guys report, people will be able to see how much they were paid, the level of testing, and where they've gone through. And so they can see that the report, whatever it says, was fair.

I understand that some 5,000 scientists applied to be a part of this.

No, we had 5,000 total applicants. It was an online thing. So when you rule out the Bart Simpsons who had applied we had 1,000 qualified people, of which about 500 who would be qualified scientists, and 500 qualified engineers.

And so how many people have actually accepted this challenge and are currently working on this?

We've signed contracts with 22 of them. There is a copy of the contract on the website, and 22 of them are involved in an analysis of the technology.

Do you know when they are expecting to publish their results? Because I know that was one of the requirements as well, that they publish once they've made their conclusions about it.

The straight answer to it is no. We're not in control of the process. All we can do is facilitate it. So, while I think a lot of people will say, well this should easy, it actually isn't a simple process and also it's not a simple process on the technical level. There are a lot of energies that need to be looked at. It's also such a big claim that these guys need to be 100% sure about what they do, whether they prove us right or wrong. It's a thorough of process, it's a slow process, and we haven't set a time limit on it, and neither do we know how long it's going to take.

So, I'd like to talk about the demo.

I wouldn't. [laughs]

Yeah. Well you knew this was coming. [laughs]

[laughs]. I've done nothing but talk about it, but go on...

I'd like to know why you think it failed -- and not the reasons that you've already given. We've definitively heard that it was ball bearings, or it was mechanical failure, it was the heat from the lights. We heard all that. We know. I want to know why you think it failed, in the sense that why did the other two backups that you guys brought not work? Or why were you not able to relocate the demo to another location that didn't have these issues? Or why was it not thoroughly tested enough, and so on...

I'm not going to tell you anything that if you have read some of this stuff that you haven't heard. The simple fact of the matter, just to state, is that this is not production technology and so you know anybody who works in the prototype world will understand that there are always issues. But with respects to what happened, we brought three systems to us from Dublin, three component systems, we don't move them in their operational way, we stripped them down. They are very, very simple and there is not huge configuration to them, but they are very sensitive configurations because there are lots of magnetic loads and so on. We got one of the systems working on the Tuesday night which was the Tuesday before we were going live on Wednesday evening. We started to install that in the demo case and began to notice problems. It wasn't working. That being the prime problem.

We then took the classic engineering process of stripping it down and testing, testing, testing, and what we found was that in that prototype was that the bearings, while not visibly damaged but the friction had more than quadrupled in them, which would have been a killer in a this type of system that we were planning to show. And under pressure we just kept plugging in all the spare bearings we had. Now, these are not standard bearings you might buy from your local hardware store. These are very, very low friction bearings used in the watch industry. Our analysis of what happened is that the heat allowed play in the system that damaged the bearings to the point where the extra friction in the bearings didn't allow the technology to happen. Whether people believe that or don't believe it, there isn't a lot that I can say other then that's what happened.

As this is supposedly scientific phenomena that -- by your terms -- redefines the laws of physics, shouldn't this be demonstrable consistently? Of the machines that you brought, which by all appearances looked like a very simple closed system, why did only one machine work?

First of all, we only planned to get one machine working just in the time frame. The spare bearings that we had we took from the other systems, so at the end of the day we ended up on Thursday morning with six bearings of which we had damaged five for whatever reason. We were pretty sure we know the reasons whether people believe them or not. I then had to make the decision to defer because the reason that actually happened has nothing to do with the bearings, the reason it happened was just the ridiculous time frame that we were doing it in. So we will be doing a demo, again. Obviously people will believe it when they see it and I can understand the skepticism about that. It is a deferral, our guys are currently in the process of rebuilding some more robust systems and changing some parts to prevent the engineering thing from happening again and we'll be back out in the near future with it.

So do you have a time-frame that you're looking at for the next demo?

What we've decided to do this time, is rather then beating ourselves with a stick, we're going to get it running in a location and then we are going to announce that people can watch it online. So we are actually physically getting it operating, it will be the same. The principle behind London, which was clearly a failed demo, was that it wasn't for for a sequence of webcams to people to watch, but it was equally physical, so that people could go there. We put in some PCs so they could chat about it and so on. So the principle will be identical, that it's both a physical location where people can go view it. Obviously not everybody can do that, so people can watch it online and chat directly with people there and discuss theories of where batteries might be hidden and so and so on. It's a deferral, we have decided that we will only announce it when it's actually live and in place this time which is a mistake that we made last time. We should have done that but didn't.

I think another thing that might have raised some eyebrows about the London demo was that it was taking place in an art gallery of sorts. And, again, as I mentioned earlier, this kind of level of scientific community credibility that I think maybe some people had expected this demo to show up in the university setting with a far more controlled environment then what you would think of as your normal London art gallery.

I mean the thing about Kinetica is that it's a kinetic gallery. So that the stuff they do is kinetic art, and obviously our technology is kinetic in nature. The other thing about it is that is very open plan. It's glass on three sides, the demo case was suspended five feet in the ceiling, and we had invited some skeptics to come along and test it because if you've seen the device there is virtually nowhere to hide a battery, and there are obviously ways to transmit energy, but they are relatively easy to resolve. So the intention was to be open, and that intention will remain. The other thing that people need to understand is, to be honest, if it had gone as planned I would be expecting to have the conversation with you now and you going, "How did you trick us? How did you hide the batteries?" So, no demo is ever going to be deemed as conclusive proof of this kind of requirement and neither should it be because it doesn't answer all the questions.

But for us it's only a process of erosion where we're saying, look we will demonstrate the technology. Obviously we didn't last time, but we will be doing it. We don't expect that to be a slam dunk for anybody. We do expect it to at least erode some people's views of why we're doing this, and how we couldn't possibly have what we claim to have. But at the end of the day, our general analysis was that at the heart of the Steorn general watching community, the people who think that we're a fraud would use it as a definitive proof we're a fraud, and the people who believed us would use it as definite proof that they believed us. The audience was intended to be wider then that. But there is no demo that is going (and neither is it designed by us) to be perceived as conclusive evidence. Conclusive evidence is the views of the scientific community and that's an issue that's in hand with us and that's ongoing.

You mentioned inviting skeptics to come to the demo and I've actually read one of the reports of one of the skeptics that you invited, someone who identifies himself as Doctor Mike.

Doctor Mike, yes.

His quote about the technology was: "My conclusion..."

I believe that it was all spinning my head. [laughs]

Right... what he said was that, "My conclusion after going through all this is that Steorn is neither hoax nor scam. It is delusion. The reason it seems surreal is because it is surreal -- we are the real part of someone else's imagination."

How can I criticize. We invited the guy to come from Canada to see something. He didn't see it. It's his opinion. He has no other basis, he has nothing else to work on, other than sitting and having a chat with us. I can't possibly criticize, Doctor Mike for what he said. It's exactly what I would have said, I probably would have been harsher if I had been in his shoes.

I don't necessarily want to talk specifically about Doctor Mike, but I feel that is probably what a lot of people feel at this point. You've been very open about your process, which is more than what you can say about a lot of snake oil salesmen who might try to peddle a perpetual motion machine. But at the same time that I think that a lot of people just seem to think that what it really comes down to is that you guys have convinced yourselves that these are true phenomena, and that you actually believe it, whereas it's not necessarily the case.

Again, obviously if I'm delusional, whatever answer I give is going to be based on my own delusions. The only thing that I can say -- I can say a couple of things about it. First thing is that the answer that anybody looking at us and wants to know will ultimately be delivered contractually. It's going to happen whenever it happens from a bunch of scientists. So unless they're delusional as well, if they agree with us then we deal with that at the time. If you stand back from the failed demo and say ok, I don't think anybody should believe this -- I wouldn't believe this in the circumstances, demo or no demo -- there is a process that's in place that's a real process where real scientists are going to draw a conclusion and that conclusion will be made public.

The other side of it which I think is why people have taken the delusional route is because an awful lot of people had expected us to rig the demo. They expected us to have a hidden battery or whatever it is. If we were in that business, believe me, there would have been a spinning wheel. But we're just not in that business, the business of scamming people or rigging demos. It failed, it's prototype technology. Huge disappointment to us. We'll redo it. But the answers to the question -- the demo doesn't answer the question, it provides some thoughts from supporting evidence when it happens. But the answer to the question will be done by professionals and then were either be found to be delusional or not.

So what happens--

I mean, I was expecting a lot more criticism [from everyone] to be honest.

So what happens if you can't prove this supposed technology? If you can't figure out a way to convince people.

But we have. We have. There are lots of tactical things that we'll be doing, such as demos -- and obviously we'll have to respond to the failure of that demo and probably do more than we've intended to. We're a small company and maybe we're slightly overstretched in doing it, but we have to do it. But the jury process is happening, they will have to report -- they will either have to say yay or nay. Ok, so you can say how long will it take? I don't know. But the point of the matter is that there will be an end to the process and an answer will be provided. Now that answer, if it's what we think it will be, will obviously raise more criticism and so and so on. But we've got lots of other things that we are doing to address that. There is going to be no defining moment in my opinion where people go, "It's true!" Even if these 22 scientists -- who are really top scientists -- turn around and say, "By Jove they've done it!". We as a company will still have to drive that message home in other ways.

The purpose of the London demo -- which has clearly backfired on us -- was part of that process. We're going to have to do more things like that in a more creative way and a more convincing way. But none of these things and themselves are going to convince anybody. People are still going to think we're delusional or scam artists, or whatever the latest theory on it is. But, again, the answers will come. I know an awful lot of people have said to us, that's an excuse to raise more money and drag this out. We haven't raised a dime since last August and we've said quite simply we will commercialize this is no way, we are not going to sell film rights or book rights whatever the latest scam theory on it is. We're sitting here like everybody else waiting for the results of the jury and we will do other things to try and support the premise that we've made -- understanding completely how ridiculous it sounds.

So then assuming that your technology does then proves itself to be true. What happens then?

What happens then is that's in many ways is the smallest hurdle for us because obviously we believe it's true -- whether we are delusional or not will be found out ultimately. What we have to do then is actually make money from it and get it into the market. We've chosen a kind of open-source model. We do have a developer forum for people, were putting in learning modules about how you go about doing this. The concept is very simple, but once it's validated this released in an open-source way with a very comprehensive database of e-learning, designs and so on.

So people can go off and do this for themselves from a hobbyist level through to a commercial entity level. And the purpose of that is just to understand is to ensure widespread adoption. Typically if you believe this kind of stuff is possible you expect people to run off to the biggest company in the world and to do big fat licensing deal and retire off to the Maldives. We believe that there is a far more effective way to get it into market which is to release it to everybody in exactly the same way. Whether you are the biggest or the smallest company in the world you get access to it, and if you can go off and you can develop products to market fast, then you'll win, we'll win.

So then I guess the only other thing I'd like to know is what you have to say to everyone in the technology community who feels as if they have been toyed with or led astray.

I don't think that anybody in the technology community ever believed it. So I don't think we've been toying with them. I think it would be an unfair assessment, I think people in the technology community would probably scoff at how naive we were trying to do the demo in such a short time frame and we failed the thing. But we haven't toyed with anybody. If we were toying with people we would have rigged the demo and we were never going to do that. We're genuine about this. We fundamentally believed in what we have and we fundamentally believe in it's impact and what it can do. We just move on, it's as simple as that. I don't think that anybody in the technology community will believe this until it is validated and until they can build one themselves or buy one in stores.

Well whether or not they believe it -- and I do agree that almost everyone does not believe it and that everyone has been extremely skeptical about it. But the fact between the ad, the demo, and the PR campaign that has gone on inbetween those two bookends, Steorn has raised a lot of awareness and attention--

I don't think we have done any PR in between. To be fair, I have no problem marketing what we believe in. I'm not going to be apologetic for August because it was hugely successful for us. We went out to attract the attention of a critical world of science -- a rightly critical world -- we got it and now they are off doing their job and they'll deliver an answer. With respect to the demo, yeah we can't complain. When you shoot yourself in the foot, you don't ask yourself was the gun loaded, you just ask what were you aiming at. We can have no complaints.

But I don't accept that we were toying with people. We have a technology, we're putting more than our money behind this. We're putting everything behind this, our reputation and everything behind it, because we believe. That doesn't mean that other people believe, but we do believe, and we do believe in the medium term that this technology will make it to market and that is what we are interested in. The rest is noise.

So what are you guys planning to do going forward that will improve this process for the general public who is paying close attention to what you're up to?

Obviously we are going to have to redo the demo. There is no question that we are not going to do the demo. We will, as I said before, not pre-announce it this time. We will get it set up properly, but the ground rules will be identical. The ground rules will be physical public access to the device, online webcams so it will be as open as possible. If anybody has seen the intended device and then realizes that it's, well, not impossible obviously to hide a certain energy source, it becomes quite a convoluted process. So we are going to try and demonstrate the technology in it's simplest, simplest format in a place with public access where people can watch online and talk to people there.

That will be one thing we have -- and to invite skeptics along. We have to do that. We have to embrace the skepticism. But equally to understand, these are not intended to be slam dunk results, because they won't be. There will always be issues and rightfully so a simple demo, no matter how long it lasts, isn't proof of the claim. Proof of the claim is scientific analysis. But we are going to have to do other things as well. I won't go into details, but the biggest mistake that we've made and obviously we have to learn from our mistakes was to pre-announce the London demo. We've paid the price for that, we won't do it again. But we will be doing probably an awful lot more than we had intended. Basically when it happens we'll be letting people know. It will not be that far away.

Sean, I really appreciate taking some time to talk to us. And I appreciate you being very candid in speaking about this stuff.

No problem Ryan, I know how crazy all this stuff sounds. [laughs] I don't know what to say to people other than... I guess all that I can really say is that at the end of the day the key issue outside the demo and marketing and all that stuff, the answer is coming and we'll know. And it is never our intention to toy with people, and that's the first time I've heard that said. It just doesn't make an awful lot of sense.

I don't want to accuse you of toying with people. But I think that people feel as though they have been toyed with, and I'm asking on account of that.

Which is a fair point, I guess. I've met an awful lot of disappointed people. People who came, who believed, who wanted to see history made. Disappointed skeptics, people like Doctor Mike who we dragged half way around the world -- and all I can do is apologize to them and say look it didn't work, but we are going to do it again. It's not the end of the Steorn story. Unfortunately, I'm sure that many people wish they've never heard of us again but we'll be back and we'll be back in the not to distant future.

Well, we'll be waiting.

Alright. Cheers Ryan.

Thanks.

Tom Fruise

Ah, as pictured below, Tom is finally getting back to the roots of his *cough* religion...

(courtesy of Blemish)

Audio Video Post

Blowing through more music as I get my brain going again on such things.

 

In the VERY weird, but creative video category I have the following offering for you;

This offering is of a similar ilk to the comedic cult favorite movie " Real Men" starring James Belushi and John Ritter

The band: Arctic Monkeys

The song: Fluorescent Adolescent

click on the pic to play a wmv file

 

Next

Not a bad song, but killer video (filmed in total reverse):

The band: Mute Math

The song: Typical

(click the pick to see the video):

The Jeep Song

In another one of my unending pursuits for great music. I was intrigued by the new Jeep commercial. Here's the song, lyrics and the music video.

Paul van Dyk called "Time of Our Lives"

There's a time for us to let go
There's a time for holding on
A time to speak, a time to listen
There's a time for us to go
There's a time for living low down
There's a time for getting high
A time for peace, a time for fire
A time to live, a time to die
A time to scream, a time for silence
A time for truth against the lies
A time for fate, a time for science
There's a time for us to shine
There is a time for mis-believing
There's a time to understand
A time for hurt, a time for healing
A time you run, to make a stand
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives
Oh, this is the time of our lives

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Spoiler Alert!!!!!

Don't read if you want to read for the first time this weekend.

Harry and Ginny are married, with child.
Malfoy is deaded!!

Ciruque Update

 24 DAYS UNTIL CIRQUECON 2007: ORLANDO!
        THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2007 through SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings, fellow Cirquesters.

I know everyone has been waiting for this moment - the options regarding the purchase of La Nouba seats. Wait no more! This quick update contains all the information you need in order to secure your seat. Please give this your immediate attention, as the deadline for purchasing your La Nouba seat is 11:59pm Eastern Time, Tuesday, July 31st!

            -- Ricky "Richasi" Russo

 

 

FYI - we're front row center, up against the stage for your viewing pleasure, thankyouverymuch.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

I'm bullish today

courtesy of wizbangpop comes this great picture of two Philadelphia brothers who had staring roles in the running of the bulls. In this picture, both brothers are shown getting their ass's kicked.

Thankfully, both were injured and now are resting on their laurels in hospital

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Save Net Radio!!! PLEASE

Next Cirque Convention Update

Well, here's the next vital update as part of our planned fun.

Good Morning/Afternoon Passionates,

Ricky here with some exciting news regarding our Epcot Dessert Party!

In many of our previous updates to the CirqueCon membership body, I've teased and tantalized you with the possibility of having a "group only"
area at Epcot reserved just for us, with desserts and drinks to sample as we mingle with our fellow Passionate, tucked within our very own exclusive spot to watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth (Epcot's night-time fireworks extravaganza.)

If you’re receiving this email you are one of those passionates who committed to joining me at Epcot for this very delicious party!

        Russo (party of 2)      Garrett (party of 2)
        Alford (party of 1)     Peck (party of 2)
        Metzger (party of 5)    Meadows (party of 1)
        Colton (party of 1)     Howard (party of 1)
        Meyd (party of 2)       Long (party of 1)
        Gaveau (party of 2)    Marton (party of 1)
        Preece (party of 2    Strain (party of 2)
        Parisot (party of 1)    Serrano (party of 2)
        Fallis (party of 1)

Since Friday was our deadline for both the Hotel reservations and the Dessert Party, on Tuesday I was able to finalize the details with our hosts at the Walt Disney World Resort and having done so, I'm very pleased to announce that we made the minimum attendance requirements for Dessert
#4: the Deluxe party! (Which turned out for the best since it was the most popular by vote!)

So, what does Dessert #4 get us?

A Variety of Miniature Stemware Glassed to include Classic Tiramisu, English Trifle, Fresh Fruit and Berries; Pastry Selections in Miniature to
include: Fresh Fruit Tartlet, Vanilla Cream Filled Pastry Horns, Chocolate Éclairs, Chocolate and Pistachio Cannoli; Beverages: Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, Hot Tea and Fruit Punch.

I'm very excited; I can't wait!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Harry's almost here

We're getting close now. Only a few few visual days away and a little over a week away from entertaining our minds by the written word. Gotta love PR people for encouraging the timing for the mighty $$$.

I came across this picture today and it triggered a  need in me to report on a similar story about the boy wonder I flew past yesterday. Let's work our way backwards...

This picture courtesy of WizBangPop. Its obvious that a nice reporter has given dear Emma the following picture of the star of the day:

There appears to be a bit more behind Emma's expression than one might think..something like, 'bullocks, I work with this guy five months each year and have never thought of him as hunk.'

Then I interestingly read this quote direct from Daniel's mouth:

The 17-year-old actor insists he is too young to settle down and is keen to
take advantage of any groupies he has.
He said: "Girls who want to go out with me just because I'm famous has never
been a problem. I'm 17. I don't care.
"Obviously, if I wanted a deep and meaningful relationship then I wouldn't
want to be going out with somebody who is only with me because I'm an actor,
but if you don't a relationship like that then it's fine."
However, Daniel is adamant he wouldn't stay with a girl who called him Harry
during sex.
He said: "People do call me Harry. I once had a friend call me it by
accident. If there's another person in the room called Harry and somebody
shouts their name I do respond slightly, which is embarrassing.
"But no one has ever said it in the throws of passion. That would be the end
of that session. Go now!"

courtesy of The Bosh

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Yesterday, the world NEARLY changed

Courtesy of Teeoodle.com

 

Perhaps the only thing more impressive than claimed possession of an "infinite free energy" machine is the refusal to give-in under the weight of the world's skepticism-turned ire. "We screwed up," admitted Steorn's CEO Sean McCarthy yesterday after their failed demonstration, but "if we were here to rig a demo, we'd all be here watching a wheel spin." As shyster-Sean explains, Steorn brought three systems to London, one of which they got working for "about 4-hours" on Tuesday night. As we all know by now, it mysteriously ceased to function after it was moved to the display room. At that point, there where there was a breakdown of the watchmaker-quality bearings causing friction to "go to hell." Sean no longer attributes the failings to the lamp heat, lamenting only that his team doesn't know the cause. Moving forward Sean alluded to a less "covert and cryptic" Steorn as they attempt to regain the confidence (they had it?) of the public and more importantly, their shareholders who are more than likely discussing matters with legal counsel at this very moment. Still, he promised to return. Next time, however, the system will already be up and running before the demonstration is announced. While we seriously doubt they've circumvented the laws of our physical world, half the fun of any good scam (and this is a good'n) is picking apart the components to reveal the truth. Click-on through for the full Q&A caught on video.

Continue reading Steorn's CEO states the obvious: "we screwed up"

 

For those of you not in the know, Steorn is an Irish corporation that claims to have cornered the market on, for all intensive purposes, the 'perpetual motion machine.' If you go to their website you'll see them speaking about the 'Orbo' and what it entails (in no specific terms of course.)

 

Anyway, the world awaits this development.

Now, imagine, for a fleeting second, that it did actually work. The very first thing any government in their right mind would do, is issue the patent, and then assume it via provisions of eminent domain.  The company would get a marginal buyout, possibly, and the world would stop and spin on its poles launching everyone off into space. In one fell swoop, life as we know it would change forever, and quite literally, famine and want would cease. It would revaluate the entire global monetary system.

Stuff to dream about (though will never, ever happen.)  

Friday, July 6, 2007

A video offering day

So, pursuant to the other earlier posting, I'm cruising around YouTube and stumble upon the following.

To place this video into context, I read the NTSB crash report. It states:

This Danish pilot flying to Atlantic City for some weekend gambling with a couple buddies appears to have mistook Atlantic City's Baden Airport (AIC) for the larger Atlantic City Airport (ACY). Atlantic City takes jets, Baden does not.

The pilot makes a flyby to Baden and looks at the field (at between 100 and 300 feet.(?)) He goes around and then decides to land at this very small airport, with the wind to his tail (planes land INTO the wind).

Meanwhile, the 'control tower' at Baden (a construction trailer) is staffed by two controllers who have not spoken with the pilot (because he's a jet - and they only take prop planes - not that the pilot tried). They hear the jet fly over the runway a couple of times and are concerned and frankly amazed. One of these controllers has a camcorder with him and records the ensuing events.

It appears these controllers are not surprised by a small jet attempting to land at their tiny airport (as it must have been a frequent occurrence with mistaken identities or with aggressive pilots trying to fly in, in the past.

They walk outside and begin filming the landing of the jet. They capture the approach of the jet as it crosses the threshold of the runway and then proceeds to fly down it about 1/2 way before touching down (It should have touched down in the first 25% of the runway.) As the jet passes them, they continue to film and comment between themselves about how nutty a pilot this guy must be. They're, at first, amazed that the jet has been able to come to a stop before the end of the grass at the end of the runway (or the bay just after that.) They then realize the plane has disappeared, and therefore, must be in the grass.

They jump in their trusty auto, contact 911, and race down towards where the plane should be. Upon getting toward the end of the runway, they find the plane now in the bay!!

This isn't even the amazing part.

Watch the video with the following understanding;

1. The pilot and passengers exit the plane with the help of local fisherman in small row boats.

2. EVERYONE is out of the plane.

3. Watch how close a call it is for the evacuees.

4. Watch what happens when a plane starts thinking for itself.

Personally, I drooled on my shirt when I watched this because I couldn't retrieve my lower jaw from hanging wide open.

Now for your amazement;

View of the day

Check this horrifying video out. Some poor shlub comes into contact with a badly designed storm sewer system.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy July 4th

Courtesy of Fox News:

American Joey Chesnut Wins Hot-Dog Eating Contest, Shattering World Record

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

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 AP

July 3: Joey Chestnut poses with 59 1/2 hot dogs at the official weigh-in ceremony for the Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

NEW YORK —  American Joey Chestnut broke the world hot-dog eating record Wednesday at the annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, downing 66 franks to beat six-time defending champ Takeru Kobayashi.

"I made my body work for me," Chestnut said after his win was announced.

Kobayashi finished second with 63 dogs eaten, though he seemed to spew up some dogs as the 10 minute contest came to a close at New York's Coney Island.

Kobayashi had been suffering from a case of "jaw-thritis" as both men tried to break the previous record of 59-and-a-half dogs.

Click here for complete hot dog contest coverage from MyFOXny.com

Click here for MyFOXny.com's story on the Nathan's hot dog-eating contest.

The Japanese title holder had declared himself ready to gorge, dismissing suggestions by skeptics that his stiff jaw was nothing more than hot dog head games aimed at rattling world record holder Chestnut.

(Story continues below)

Showdown at Annual Hot-Dog Eating Contest Weigh-In

Photo Essays

Hot-Dog Eating Contest

"I don't care what they think," the 29-year-old said through an interpreter on Tuesday. "I just want to battle tomorrow."

Since going public with his ailment last month, Kobayashi underwent treatment by a specialist and a chiropractor. Event organizers said he also had a wisdom tooth extracted June 26 to relieve the jaw-thritis.

The slender Kobayashi weighed in at 154 pounds. Chestnut, 23, came in at 215 pounds and added his voice to those unsure what to expect from the champion. "Kobayashi is the underdog," he said, "and he's claiming an illness."

The two were among 17 contestants in this contest, where the winner must consume the most HDBs — hot dogs and buns. Last month, Chestnut eclipsed Kobayashi's mark of 53 1/2 in 12 minutes by inhaling 59 1/2.

Chestnut was favored to end Kobayashi's record run as holder of the mustard yellow belt presented each Fourth of July outside Nathan's Famous.

Click here for complete hot dog contest coverage from MyFOXny.com.

Click here for MyFOXny.com's story on the Nathan's hot dog-eating contest.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Terracotta Soldiers

This is one of the coolest things in the world.

Courtesy of Travel China Guide.com

 

Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses:
Terra Cotta Pit 1
Terra Cotta Pit 2
Terra Cotta Pit 3
Bronze Chariots
Military Formation of Terra Cotta Army
Exquisite Weaponry of Terra Cotta Army
From Rudiment to the Masterwork
Lifelike Terra Cotta Figures
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Xian Terra Cotta Army Museum - Pit1The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.

Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. Array in Pit1, Xian Terra Cotta Warriors MuseumA group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC).

The State Council authorized to build a museum on site in 1975. When completed, people from far and near came to visit. Xian and the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses have become landmarks on all travelers' itinerary.

Pit3, Xian Terra Cotta Soldiers MuseumLife size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor.

The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Xian, ChinaNo. 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994.Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses.

Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It has put Xian on the map for tourists. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

Admission Fee:

CNY 90 (Mar.1 to Nov. 30),
CNY 65 (Dec. 1 to Feb. 28/29)

Opening Hours:
08:00 to 18:00

Recommended Time for a Visit:
Three hours

Bus Route:
914 and Tourist Bus 5 (306) at the East Square of Xian Railway Station

Related Links:

Emperor Qin Shi Huang
Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
On-line Shopping
China Pictures of Terra Cotta Army Museum


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