Steatopygous Mathophile

Ah ... Melbourne!

2008-09-28T18:04:00.000+10:00

There's an "authentic British pub" directly across from the hotel, so I figured I'd give it a shot while waiting to have dinner with an ex-colleague who is here for the same conference.

They have Old Speckled Hen on tap!

Finished tomorrow's SMH crossword far too quickly, so I have nothing to distract me from the dreaded drink for the next 45 minutes. Dave could be dining with a drunk :-).

Jake Shimabukuro

2008-09-27T10:07:00.002+10:00

I finally got around to watching this week's episode of Spicks 'n' Specks and they had Jake Shimabukuro performing a couple of songs.

If I'd not heard him, I would never have believed that a Ukelele could be made to sound good!

Here he is, performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

Blogging On The Go!

2008-09-24T08:33:00.000+10:00

Finally. A vaguely decent blogging app for the iPhone.

So, maybe you'll see some semi-regular posts from now on. No promises, mind you :-).

This Looks Like Fun

2008-08-22T15:34:00.003+10:00

"Lost In Austen" is a new British sci-fi drama from ITV that has a modern day woman transported into Pride & Prejudice.

From this video, it looks like it could be quite good. Hopefully, the torrents will be kind to me :-).

Thanks to io9.

Synthespians

2008-08-21T19:35:00.005+10:00

This is a pretty amazing video. The "person" being interviewed is synthetically constructed, using a number of images taken of a real human being to generate all of the facial expressions.

It was created by a company called Image Metrics, who are the people behind the animations in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Update: I've replaced the original YouTube video, which seemed to have some kind of glitch partway through. This seems to be a superset of the old one.

Thanks to io9.

Mushroom Time Lapse

2008-08-17T18:48:00.004+10:00

Wow, it feels like it's been a month since I last blogged ... oh, it has :-).

Anyway, here's a nice time-lapse video of mushrooms growing.

Thanks to Random Good Stuff.

How True It Is!

2008-07-07T20:44:00.002+10:00

The Joy Of Tech has me pegged perfectly :-) ...

Kinetic Sculpture

2008-07-07T05:52:00.001+10:00

This is pretty cool ...

Chronotopic Anamorphosis

2008-07-06T17:35:00.002+10:00

This is a clever bit of trickery that involves incorporating lines from subsequent frames into the current one, thereby causing parts of the video to move through time.

Thanks to Neatorama.

Dumpr

2008-07-05T11:49:00.009+10:00

Don't worry, this has absolutely no connection to that entry a couple of posts back :-).

Dumpr is a clever service that insinuates one of your own images into any of a number of interesting templates.

They provide a mechanism for publishing the result to an amazing number of other online services.

For some reason, they've gone to some trouble to stop you from simply downloading it yourself.

Fortunately, that's easy to get around, using a screen capture utility!

Caliper Radio

2008-07-05T11:39:00.003+10:00

I'd be surprised if the sound quality produced by this radio is anywhere north of mediocre, but I just love the design.

Moving the body of the radio itself to tune in a station is seriously cute.

It's called simply "08 Radio" and is the creation of Finnish designer Mikael Silvanto.

"Take A Dump In Your Pants ..."

2008-07-05T11:25:00.004+10:00

"... If You Need To" is an example from a collection of weird placards people have used to motivate long distance runners.

My favourite was this one.

I can imagine, though, that the subsequent running might be just a little uncomfortable ... assuming she's any good at her job :-).

Thanks to Neatorama for the link.

This Is My World

2008-07-05T11:13:00.004+10:00

Thanks to Mathematics Under The Microscope for showing me this wonderful image by Russian political cartoonist Mikhail Zlatkovsky, entitled "Facing Eternity".

It won the Ken Sprague Fund competition at Earthworks 2008.

I loved the title of Alexandre's blog post ... "One more cartographic projection" :-).

The Unbreakable Umbrella

2008-06-22T22:01:00.001+10:00

The title and this video say it all ...

New PC vs Mac Banner Ad

2008-06-22T21:51:00.001+10:00

A Handy Little Site

2008-06-22T21:26:00.004+10:00

Next time you're telling a joke while sitting in front of your PC, you may find Instant Rimshot useful ...

Well, at least if the punchline is so pathetic that it needs a little assistance :-).

The G Shot

2008-06-22T20:48:00.004+10:00

I heard about this on a podcast this evening.

Apparently, The G Shot, also known as "G Spot Amplification", involves injection of collagen into the Grafenburg Spot, to temporarily enlarge it (for up to four months).

While the idea of sticking a needle into such a sensitive area sounds just a little alarming, I guess the outcome could make it worthwhile. Mind you, they're very careful to point out that "results do vary".

Office Synchronisation

2008-06-22T20:39:00.001+10:00

This is just weird enough to be interesting ...

Thanks to Random Good Stuff.

97 Degrees?!

2008-06-15T22:06:00.001+10:00

You won't be getting me on this rollercoaster anytime soon ...

The Open Source Process In Action

2008-06-15T19:11:00.004+10:00

Via Projectionist comes this impressive animation of the Python language's development over time ...

Mathematics Problem Videos

2008-06-15T07:52:00.005+10:00

Via Teaching College Math, I discovered Math TV, which provides videos of worked-through high school level mathematics problems.

There are two sites: MathTV, which has problems presented by a couple of different people, and a YouTube site, which contains a lot more problems, all of which seem to be presented by the same guy.

That's OK, because I think he does the best job, anyway.

Unfortunately, they've disabled embedding, but click on the image for a nice example of integration by substitution ... although I think the last one could have been explained more simply than by using polynomial long-division!

All up, a nice resource.

They Set The Bar High at UNE

2008-06-14T10:15:00.005+10:00

One of the subjects I'll be doing next semester includes an assignment that requires you to create an animation of some form.

This was the best submission from 2006. If I started now, and worked 16 hours a day on it, I reckon I could create something at least half as good by ... oh, let's say ... the end of second semester, 2010 :-).

Hopefully the person who produced this has been able to carry the same level of creativity and skill with them into their day to day teaching!

I Got The New iPhone

2008-06-08T08:29:00.004+10:00

The title says it all ...

An Awesome Lecturer

2008-06-05T18:03:00.004+10:00

Apple just expanded iTunes U to cover more universities, including at least one in Australia ... the University of NSW.

So, I popped on over to see what lectures were available and stumbled upon some introductory C programming lectures by a chap named Richard Buckland.

When I finally make it into the teaching profession, I just hope my classes can be a fraction of the fun this bloke's are.

Even if you have no interest in computing, please watch at least some of this. I think Richard has a truly amazing ability to bond with his class.

Fortunately, the lectures are also on YouTube, so you don't need to subscribe to iTunes U unless you want to. Here's the one I watched last night.

A quick warning, though ... it starts out a little slowly, because it would seem the lecture theatre was a slightly tricky to find, so he waits a few minutes to give people a chance to get there.

Creme That Egg!

2008-06-01T12:52:00.002+10:00

Another, incredibly intricate Rube Goldberg machine.

Thanks to Dan Meyer for pointing it out.

Snake Jump

2008-06-01T00:00:00.004+10:00

The title says it all ...

A River, A Large Bag & Some Rocks

2008-05-31T23:46:00.001+10:00

That's what I'd be looking for if I had to put up with this performance more than once :-).

Gobbledigook

2008-05-31T19:36:00.008+10:00

This is a recent music video by Icelandic band Sigur Rós.

It's definitely NSFW, but don't let that stop you from watching it away from W, because while almost the entire content contains full frontal nudity, it's quite tasteful.

Thanks to Random Good Stuff.

Internet Safety

2008-05-31T18:51:00.004+10:00

I never watched Sesame Street when I was a young lad.

However, I still find this cartoon I found on Gizmodo very funny :-).

This post was brought to you by the letters L, S, and D and the number (e^π - γ).

Firefox 3 Download Day

2008-05-31T17:15:00.004+10:00

The last time I checked, a number of the plugins I rely on were still incompatible with Firefox 3. However, I'm hoping that will be sorted out before the final version is released.

Irrespective of whether that happens, I'll still get involved with Firefox Download Day.

Yes, it's really just a little silly, but what other chance am I every likely to have to get involved in a Guinness World Record attempt?

Of course, the actual date hasn't been announced yet, but if you follow the link, you can register to be alerted once it has been decided.

iPhone Earth

2008-05-28T21:38:00.003+10:00

Here's an example of the kind of thing that makes me think the next iPhone will really take off.

That's not to say I think there's much value in it for me, personally. However, the SDK they're using to develop this is currently in the hands of thousands of programmers.

Trust me; there will be plenty of compelling applications for this device from day one ... and that number will increase rapidly.

These Kids Obviously Saw My Last Post!

2008-05-26T22:44:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Projectionist for making my day with this ...

Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear

2008-05-26T22:25:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Teaching College Math for this wonderful cover of that great tranny show standard, I Will Survive ...

It Pays To Keep Things Neat & Tidy

2008-05-25T08:38:00.002+10:00

Here are some fairly funny IKEA ads that show why it's a good idea to keep your place tidy ...

Optical Illusions

2008-05-16T18:25:00.002+10:00

Again, the title says it all ...

Dollhouse Trailer

2008-05-16T18:13:00.005+10:00

This will probably get removed from YouTube pretty quickly, so only my devoted readers will get a look, which seems fair!

Dollhouse is Joss Whedon's latest series, coming next year. Here is (or maybe is not) a trailer.

It's kind of like Joe 90, just without the consent ... and obviously a whole lot sexier :-).

Update: As expected, it's been taken down. So, here's an io9 article containing some footage.

Latest "Get A Mac" Ad

2008-05-16T17:56:00.002+10:00

While you wait for all the announcements at WWDC, enjoy this ...

Shrimp On A Treadmill

2008-05-16T17:55:00.001+10:00

The title says it all!

Powerset

2008-05-16T16:11:00.004+10:00

Here's another Wikipedia related item that I meant to post about the other day.

Powerset is a site that does semantic analysis of Wikipedia and Freebase search results, trying to highlight information that more closely matches your query, and to show the essence of the content.

For example, click the following link to see the top result for "What is a merkin?". I particularly like this image from that page, which was taken at Burning Man :-).

Presumably, they will start handling content from other search engines over time.

Mapipedia

2008-05-16T16:00:00.005+10:00

I was just listening to Mac Break Weekly and Merlin Mann mentioned that there are hooks to relevant Wikipedia entries on Google Maps.

In the top right hand corner of the map itself, there is a set of buttons. One of them is "More...". Clicking on it provides a list of checkboxes. Just tick "Wikipedia".

You will now see little Wikipedia icons at various places on the map, at any points of interest that have entries. Kind of cool.

Wooden Spoon Award

2008-05-12T08:22:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Random Good Stuff for this video. Yeah, it's just an ad, but it's pretty damned funny!

Nice Backpack

2008-05-11T00:05:00.005+10:00

I've always been a briefcase ... or, more often, used plastic bag ... person, rather than one to wear a backpack.

However, this incarnation could almost tempt me to change my ways.

My biggest complaint about all previous backpacks I've seen is that they're too large and/or insufficiently protective.

This one is made from neoprene and is designed specifically for carrying a laptop, with a couple of pockets included, for accessories.

It definitely looks streamlined and light. At $US80, it's not expensive, either.

Thanks to Engadget for the heads up.

Floating Staircase

2008-05-10T23:54:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Apartment Therapy for pointing out this amazing staircase, designed by the Jordivayreda Projectteam.

I can only assume the steps have a fairly solid steel core, otherwise their use would be limited to only the most earnest anorexics.

How To Traumatise Your Children

2008-05-10T23:39:00.004+10:00

"How To Traumatise Your Children" is one title in what looks to be an extremely important range of "Self-Hurt" books :-).

Of course, any poor rugrat who happened to have me as a parent would already be traumatised ... as would I, come to think of it!

So, this particular one is unlikely to be of much benefit to me ... nor are "How To Get Fat" and "How To Procrastinate".

Nonetheless, I'm pleased to see such a pragmatic series of books being made available for the edification of those who do require help!

Jumping Jeans

2008-05-10T23:33:00.002+10:00

This is reminiscent of those French chaps who throw cans into various receptacles from large distances.

However, in this case, the projectiles are their own bodies and the receptacles are pairs of jeans!

Clever Cogs

2008-05-10T00:20:00.003+10:00

Bruce Shapiro makes some amazing, elaborate computer-controlled artworks.

Thanks to Gizmodo for the link.

A Cool Gadget

2008-05-10T00:11:00.004+10:00

Nike's PreCool Vest is designed to drop the core body temperature of athletes, prior to their events, so it takes longer for them to overheat.

However, I reckon I could make good use of one 24/7 during the summer. Damn, I hate the heat!

Thanks to New Launches for the link.

Citation Needed

2008-05-10T00:05:00.003+10:00

The T-shirt seems spot on.

However, I'd be very happy to give her "credentials" a thorough going over, just to make sure :-).

Priorities

2008-05-09T23:10:00.003+10:00

Hopefully, it won't be long until we can replace "911" by "000".

Claw Game

2008-05-09T08:28:00.003+10:00

This seems a little suss, but given that these game machines are presumably water-tight versions of the same ones that normally contain stuffed toys or watches, which are designed to make it very hard for the player to have any success at all, I can't imagine it's significantly worse than the normal situation for these poor sods.

HTC Touch Diamond

2008-05-07T04:43:00.004+10:00

If any phone could lure me away from the iPhone ... which Vodafone have just announced they will be (not necessarily exclusively) carrying in Australia sometime this year ... it would be the HTC Touch Diamond.

While I'm still seriously put off by that little logo in the top left of the screen, the user interface looks pretty damned good in this video ... although, it seems to me that they're quite often wasting a lot of the screen real estate by maintaining soft button images at the top and bottom of the screen.

Maleonn Ma

2008-05-07T01:48:00.004+10:00

Thanks to io9 for pointing me to the work of Maleonn Ma, a Chinese artist & photographer who creates weird scenes, like this one, that show naked men in bizarre alternate realities.

Quite fascinating ... and more than a little disturbing!

Green With Envy?

2008-05-07T01:14:00.005+10:00

If it's not weird hearing Bill Gates's voice coming from Kermit's mouth ... what he's saying definitely is.

I assume this audio was recorded quite some time ago. I wonder if Bill still thinks the same way?

Thanks to Mac User.

Passengers ... Yummo!

2008-05-07T01:08:00.004+10:00

As Neatorama suggests, I think the point they're trying to make with this ad is that the vehicle in question has room for a lot of passengers.

I just think it's cute that the giant shaggy beast is using the people to feed its offspring.

Weird Nails

2008-05-07T01:02:00.003+10:00

I've seen a number of these pictures of amazing fingernails before, but Crooked Brains has collected them all in one place.

You have to wonder what makes people want to manipulate their bodies like this, but I guess if they're happy to do so, the least we can do is have a good gawk at them.

Amazing ePaper Wrist Display

2008-05-07T00:48:00.003+10:00

Ticketime is a concept design by Jacky Wu, Neo Chen & Eric Liu.

It's intended for use by airlines, to provide travellers with a wristband containing information about their flights, and would be returned once the customer's trip was completed.

The band is held on your wrist by two magnets, one on each end. In a clever twist, when the two magnets meet, they create a circuit that powers the display.

I would pay real money if I could get a watch like this for normal use, so let's hope someone takes this design into production sometime soon!

Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Grass

2008-05-07T00:32:00.003+10:00

Chopping up herbs isn't a particularly onerous task, but the fact that something's easy shouldn't stop you from throwing some gadgetry into the mix!

So, here are some clever herb snips I found over at Cool Hunting. They're only $US13, which seems pretty reasonable to me.

What's more, you could even grab a second pair to use as a cheap personal shredder for your home office!

When Only The Best Will Do

2008-05-06T16:46:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Shiny Shiny for pointing me to Wrong Cards, the place to go when Hallmark just doesn't cut it.

Most of them are clever, but this is my favourite so far.

In case you're still looking for that perfect mother's day card, they have quite a decent selection ... assuming you're happy being cut out of the will :-).

Radical

2008-05-06T16:34:00.004+10:00

Hopefully, this isn't what happens when you get a question right in my mate Gavin's classroom :-) ...

Slow Mo Mango Munchers

2008-05-06T15:51:00.004+10:00

Somehow, even the silliest things look interesting in slow motion.

It doesn't hurt that the backing track is one of my favourite pieces of music ... the "Flower Duet" from Lakme by Delibes.

Of course, I'm no opera fan ... I first heard that duet as the accompaniment to a hot lesbian scene between Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon in "The Hunger" :-).

Thanks to Neatorama.

Sensual Coffee

2008-05-06T15:41:00.003+10:00

I have to say, this has to be the most bizarre coffee grinder that's ever been created.

The huge device is made from mahogany. You snuggle up to it and a sensor measures your heartbeat and grinds the beans in time with it, to "induce an experience of intimacy with the process of making coffee".

That makes me really thirsty for ... a beer!

Thanks to Gizmodo for the link.

Elaborate Wedding Reception Toast

2008-05-05T01:06:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Neatorama for the link to this impressive video of a huge production number the family and friends of a bride named "Amy" worked up for her reception. Pretty much everyone was involved.

It's quite long, so you may not make it to the end before nausea sets in. I just think it shows how much this woman is loved ... aw shucks :-).

Disappearing Ink

2008-05-05T00:32:00.006+10:00

I don't know about you, but these days I tend to print out very little content. I consume the vast majority of it on computer screens.

However, that's not because I prefer to read from a screen; it's related more to the ephemeral value of such printouts. It just seems so damned wasteful to print something, only to throw it into the recycling bin within a short period.

So, I was interested to read this article over at the Times Online.

It talks about new printer technology being developed by Xerox PARC (the research establishment that brought us many innovations, like the mouse and windowed environments).

As opposed to using plain paper to which toner particles are attracted, or onto which ink is sprayed, it utilises paper that is coated with photo-sensitive particles.

Basically, the way it works is that the printer causes these particles to change colour, hence producing a readable printout. The particles, when exposed to light, revert to their clear state over the course of a couple of days.

At that point, the paper can be directly reused, rather than going through a complex industrial process to effect the recycling. Further, if the content becomes redundant prior to the normal regeneration interval, the paper can be cleared on demand as part of the printing process.

All up, this sounds like something I would find very useful, indeed!

It's A Fair Cop

2008-05-01T00:56:00.002+10:00

Personally, I don't feel constrained by my gorgeous MacBook Air, but I think we'd all agree this video does make its point nicely ...

The NeoCube

2008-04-30T02:05:00.002+10:00

I'm not sure how this gadget works, but I want one!

Unfortunately, I get an error when going to the website referenced in the video, but I will definitely keep trying.

Gorgeous Teapot

2008-04-25T16:47:00.001+10:00

Thanks to Gizmodo for pointing out this wonderful teapot.

I'm feeling thirsty; be back in a minute ...

Christian Gene Discovered

2008-04-25T13:57:00.003+10:00

Somehow, I missed the episode of CNNNN that contained this important story.

Thanks to Random Good Stuff for bringing it to my attention.

Rythmic Pussies

2008-04-25T13:04:00.004+10:00

OK, I'll admit that I crafted that title purely to conjure up interesting images in my mind next time I see it :-).

However, this video is totally SFW, unless you W in a truly horrible place!

Thanks to Neatorama.

Crappy Souvenirs

2008-04-25T12:55:00.004+10:00

Thanks to Nerd Approved for pointing out this paperweight, from the wonderfully named True Blue Roo Poo Company :-).

It consists of a piece of smooth, round glass containing ... a turd excreted by a Tasmanian Devil.

I guess this is as good a way as any to preserve some DNA in case they all succumb to that horrible facial cancer that's been killing the poor buggers off in recent times.

Kids!

2008-04-25T12:44:00.004+10:00

Crooked Brains has a nice set of images depicting the strange behaviour of children.

This one's my favourite.

No idea whether that's a real laptop the kid's playing with, but it's still very cute how intently they're watching the screen.

Cheap(ish) SSD

2008-04-23T20:48:00.002+10:00

This adapter allows you to turn up to three compact flash cards into a SATA disk drive.

Given the ever-descending cost of flash drives, you could use this to build a much larger, or cheaper, solid state disk than the current crop.

Thanks to Engadget for the link.

Got Me In One!

2008-04-21T16:53:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Neatorama for pointing me to the Savage Chickens cartoon.

I loved this one, which I'm sure is more accurate in my case than I care to admit :-).

Impressive Keyboarding

2008-04-21T16:45:00.004+10:00

I've seen this clip referenced twice now in my blog universe, so I figured I might as well pop it in, too.

I'm sure some of this is pre-programmed, but that takes nothing away from the obvious ability of the ten year old player.

The music isn't really my cup of tea, but I can still appreciate her work.

Extreme Art

2008-04-21T00:28:00.004+10:00

I've come across some fairly interesting forms of artistic expression, but this one is definitely the most extreme that I can remember.

According to this article in the Yale Daily News ...

Art major Aliza Shvarts 08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself as often as possible while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages.

Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

An Interesting iPhone Service

2008-04-20T12:49:00.005+10:00

This is the kind of thing I think will make the iPhone really take off, once third party applications based on the SDK start to arrive, in a couple of months.

It's a service that allows you to take a photo of a book, CD or DVD cover and retrieve various pieces of information regarding the content.

Currently, it's a bit clunky, using e-mail as the interface, but they're working on a native application. Once that arrives, I can see it being very useful, indeed.

Thanks to Appletell.

High (Tech) Noon

2008-04-19T18:06:00.004+10:00

Here's an impressive bit of video editing by someone named Darryl Gold.

They took the classic western High Noon, from 1952, and updated it to include androids and other technology. Pretty cool.

Thanks to Neatorama.

Water Balloon

2008-04-18T21:59:00.001+10:00

Here's a nice video of a balloon full of water being pricked, recorded at 2000 frames per second.

Thanks to Neatorama.

Robo Hobo

2008-04-17T23:08:00.002+10:00

I find it amazing that people just kept walking past this remote controlled (half a) "hobo" that's pushing a shopping trolley.

If I'd seen this, I don't think I could help but walk up and give it a serious inspection.

Thanks to Oh Gizmo".

Progress?

2008-04-16T11:52:00.006+10:00

This cartoon I found at Core 77 is far too accurate for comfort :-). What's more, I'd need to replace "1990" with "1980"!

Musical Rollercoaster

2008-04-16T11:47:00.001+10:00

Literally ...

Thanks to The Real Adam.

Cute Baby Dolls

2008-04-16T11:33:00.003+10:00

I love these cute little realistic baby replicas shown over at Crooked Brains.

They're incredibly life-like, don't take up much space ... and they require a lot less maintenance than the real thing :-).

Geek T-Shirts #1 of 42

2008-04-15T21:49:00.002+10:00

Does it get geekier than this?

I don't think so!

The Height Of Fine Dining

2008-04-13T21:42:00.002+10:00

Dinner In The Sky looks pretty amazing.

They hoist a table, and up to 22 diners, 50 metres into the air using a crane!

Gorgeous Periodic Table

2008-04-13T20:07:00.007+10:00

I've been watching a series called Breaking Bad, which is about a high school chemistry teacher who has a major change in his life.

I won't tell you the details, so as not to give away any spoilers. You can check out the link above if you're not fussed.

Anyway, it made me realise that I didn't have a decent periodic table reference anywhere. So, I went searching and found this beautiful one.

It provides not only the basic reference information, but also a picture of one or more samples of the element ... and even Quicktime 3D videos in many cases!

Here's another excellent one, with a nice user interface. Clicking on an element displays a pop-up window containing a truly amazing amount of information, beautifully laid out.

Synchronised Dancing

2008-04-12T10:19:00.004+10:00

We've seen this before ... a few hundred times ... but not quite like this!

Thanks to App Scout.

Nice Desk Fan

2008-04-12T10:07:00.008+10:00

I've always kept a small fan on my desk at work.

Since I'm a fat bastard, walking around at lunchtime generally leaves me horribly sweaty, so I like to be able to cool down when I return.

Sadly, every small fan I've ever found looks incredibly boring, if not downright ugly.

So, I was pleased to see the nice design of the La Luna by Studio Hideki.

Presumably, there's a set of vertical blades inside, revolving around a central hub. I hope the holes are only open on one side, so you can control the direction of air flow.

Unfortunately, I can't tell whether this is actually available or simply a prototype design.

No To All

2008-04-12T09:53:00.004+10:00

You just have to wonder sometimes, whether those boys in Redmond went to the bookstore, found every tome on good user interface design and marked each good practice as something to be avoided like the plague!

Have you ever tried to copy (or move) a number of files at once, only to receive a popup like the one pictured, asking whether you really want to process a particular file?

While there's a "Yes To All" button, if you don't want to continue for that file, all you can do is say "No". There's no button to say "No ... and don't ask me again".

However, thanks to Download Squad, it turns out there is a solution. If you hold the shift key down when pressing the No button, it's interpreted as "No To All".

Why the hell did they not just put that button in the dialogue?!

New Etymotic Earphones

2008-04-11T23:01:00.005+10:00

When the iPhone eventually makes it to the antipodes, I'll need to update my current Etymotic ER6i earphones, since they obviously don't have a microphone.

Fortunately, Etymotic now have these hf2 earphones, which are designed specifically for the iPhone.

As one would expect, they're dirt cheap at $US179 a pair!

PC Magazine has a full review, giving them high marks for musical fidelity ... although not so much for the clarity of calls ... rating the product at 4.5 out of 5.

Mechanical Digital Watch

2008-04-11T22:08:00.004+10:00

This De Grisogono Meccanico DG is pretty amazing.

It displays the time in digital form, but is purely mechanical!

They've only made 170 of them, so I would imagine the price is astronomical.

Thanks to Gizmodo for the heads up.

I'm A Mathematician ...

2008-04-11T22:02:00.002+10:00

... and I'm an FBI agent.

This is a cute promo for the latest season of Numb3rs, realised as a parody of Apple's well known "I'm A Mac" ads.

Sip Lamp

2008-04-11T21:57:00.004+10:00

Here's another interesting lamp, thanks to Cool Hunting, this time.

It's shaped like a flexible straw, which can be mounted in any readily available cup or mug. Clever idea.

It was created by a designer named Sung-kyu Nam. Sadly, it's currently only a prototype.

Hanging Lamp

2008-04-11T19:52:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Oh Gizmo! for pointing out this wonderful lamp.

My only complaint is that it doesn't look like it provides much light.

No Sax Please, We're British

2008-04-11T19:44:00.001+10:00

... especially when it's the size of this Contrabass Saxophone ... bloody amazing!

Thanks to Neatorama.

Boxing Cat

2008-04-11T01:57:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Neatorama for this video of a cat that seems to enjoy the pugilistic arts :-).

G.H. Hardy Redux

2008-04-10T19:32:00.005+10:00

I was amused to read this post on Walking Randomly ...

"I am just about to go into hospital to have my wisdom teeth removed under general anesthetic, but before I go I thought I would mention that I have discovered an elementary proof of the Riemann Hypothesis and will share it with you all as soon as I get back."

Presumably, this is a humourous allusion to G.H. Hardy when he undertook what, to his mind, was a perilous trip across the English Channel, and mailed postcards to a number of friends, saying he had such a proof.

Hardy was a staunch atheist, and figured that, if he was wrong and there truly was an omniscient being, they'd never let him get away with leaving the world thinking he had found a solution to such a famous problem and taken it with him to Davy Jones' locker :-).

My best wishes for a successful operation and a complete recovery!

A Virtuoso Performance

2008-04-10T10:10:00.004+10:00

The concert I went to last Saturday was good, but this is better :-).

Thanks to Your Mac Life.

Of course, this initiated a serious YouTube search for more, eventually leading me to this ... Beatles fans close your browsers now!

Be Still, My Heart

2008-04-09T19:50:00.007+10:00

After my heart sinking when reading Walt Mossberg's retraction earlier today, it was just buoyed again when I read this story over at the Australian Mac Talk forums.

Hopefully, they're not just a week late publishing their April Fool's posts, because this sounds very promising:

Today however, Apple have been informing resellers of their iPhone strategy for Australia.

Resellers have been informed of the following things:

Last week of June release
More than 1 carrier
No contract lock in
Current resellers will be able to sell iPhones

Of course, I would recommend throwing this down with a small bag of sodium chloride crystals, but I still live in hope.

If nothing else, this is the most palatable rumour I've heard so far!

iPhone News

2008-04-09T18:09:00.004+10:00

Well, it turns out Uncle Walt was basing his comment regarding the iPhone being 3G in sixty days on the same information the rest of us have. In other words, he was guessing ... you got my hopes up, you bastard!

Fortunately, this video review of the iPhone (and a fake Chinese knock-off) lifted my spirits. I think I'll be watching more of this crazy woman's videos :-).

Oh, the audio content is possibly NSFW, depending on where you W.

Thanks to Gizmodo.

Time Management

2008-04-09T13:42:00.003+10:00

You may have already seen Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture". If not, I've stuck it at the end of this post.

He's a university computer science lecturer who has pancreatic cancer and at the time of writing is estimated to have less than six months to live.

This is another lecture he gave, on time management. The topic may sound a little dry, but in case you've not seen him before, he's an excellent speaker. Funny, witty expressive, but to the point.

Definitely worth watching. As Life Hacker said, you may want to skip forward to around the twelve minute mark, if you're short on time.

Randy's "Last Lecture".

Death Wish

2008-04-09T11:51:00.002+10:00

Some people are absolute nutters, but I'm glad they exist; otherwise we'd never get to see footage like this.