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Euler’s Identity is said to be the most beautiful theorem in mathematics
Gauss is reported to have commented that if this formula was not immediately apparent to a student on being told it, the student would never be a first-class mathematician. "It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth." - Benjamin [...]
Time to Reboot America
Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones. I think a lot of our problems center around the fact that we worship our leaders and look to them for solutions just like the author did at the end. Hong Kong is full of people who find their own way and typically do so [...]
50 Things We Know Now That We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year
Well, well, well. Wasn't 2008 a newsy little year? Believe it or not, events happened that had nothing to do with the presidential election, fuel prices, or Michael Phelps. Not that you'd have an easy time sifting through all the media debris to find the information that actually meant something. With so many distractions, you probably [...]
Google Hands Out “Dogfood” as Christmas Bonus
In holidays past, when money flowed like hot Santa tears and melted gum drops, Googlers looked forward to cash bonuses that topped $20,000. This year, they're getting $180 worth of "dogfood"—a G1. Yep, they're all getting G1s—even Google, who prints money as a hobby, is feeling the financiapocalypse: "This is a chance for us to once again [...]
Ron Paul’s Passionate Speech on the Auto Bailout
A true hero in a sinking ship. It is so sad that this once mighty republic is going out with a whimper. I'd like to think we can turn it around and I'll go down in a rain of fire defending it, but it doesn't look real good. He brings up some interesting points, but the one I found downright scary is the nationalization of industries, because it [...]
Samsung Bluray player + 8 Blurays as low as $137 shipped
Samsung Blu-ray Player Save $200 when you buy the Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Player together with eight Blu-ray discs from Warner Home Video. Choose the Samsung Blu-ray Player and eight eligible Blu-ray discs from the below list and add them all to your Shopping Cart. At checkout, enter the code SAMWB2OO to receive your discount. The offer [...]
Recession jeopardizes corporate philanthropy
My company made the same announcement this year. I think it's the "thing to do" this year... The sluggish economy is starting to drag on the donations to charities and other nonprofits that rely heavily on corporate giving to meet their budgets. Some companies get creative in their philanthropy, Briggs said. Software developer Red Hat, for [...]
Flash 10 and WordPress File Upload Linux Problems
Well, Flash 10 is out with new features, security updates, and a fix for a Firefox video problem that I never noticed because it only affected Windows, and only sometimes. It seems a little less stable than version 9 on Linux, at least 64-bit (it’s kind of complicated, because they only have a 32-bit program, so you either need to run a [...]
I made this, you play this, we are enemies… the weirdest game I’ve ever played
I don't know that I've ever seen any computer art quite as -- I'm sorry, there's no other way of putting this -- as fucked up as "I made this, you play this, we are enemies," a Flash game that really strongly resembles the unmistakable bonkerosity of the complicated sketches left behind the crazy people who used to sit at their own tables in the [...]
Where money comes from: fractional reserve and debts
In this 47-minute video, Paul Grignon lays out the workings of the fractional reserve system, explaining how banks are able to create money and then collect interest on it. He's highly critical of the system (which I have a hard time getting my head around), and he makes a good case for the idea that the deck is stacked against everyone except [...]
NotifyMeWhenItsUp Emails You When a Web Site Returns or Disappears
Web site Notify Me When It's Up performs a very simple but worthwhile task: It sends you an email when a downed site you want to visit returns to the internet. Similar to Down For Everyone or Just Me, which helps you figure out if a site you're having trouble reaching is really down or its, well, just you—Notify Me When It's Up takes the next [...]
UK, Australia, Pennsylvania Speed Traps Thwarted
Vigilantes have thwarted speed traps across three continents over the past two weeks. In south Essex, UK a speed camera located next to Canvey Fire Station was set alight with a gasoline-soaked tire. The £40,000 (US $60,000) device on Long Road in Canvey was destroyed, despite its proximity to firefighters who eventually managed to put out the [...]
Why Are Gun Sales Booming?
Great article on why firearm stores are seeing business double and even triple. "It’s not a Democrat vs. Republican issue," Hamm said. "It’s a rural vs. urban issue. And the urban people don’t do a good enough job of saying 'Look, we need some help, people are dying here.' And the rural people don’t do a good enough job of saying, 'Look, [...]
Print this file and your printer will jam
Another story from printer-land of 20 years ago: this time about a seemingly impossible bug. While working on the LPS-20 PostScript software, a bug was filed that said roughly, Print the attached file. The LPS-20 will jam. You'll have to open the printer to remove the scrunched up paper. We were no strangers to jammed printers, but a [...]
Automotive Family Tree
Interesting to see how automotive manufacturers are affiliated with each other...
Internet vs. Dating
I get it... I get it. We've turned anti-humanist thanks to our short attention spans. Thanks a lot, Dilbert. (more...)
Good-Bye PC Magazine
Before I was a writer and I was a happy systems administrator, PC Magazine was one of my favorite computer magazines. After I started my tech. journalism career, I was thrilled to start publishing there from time to time. And, now, PC Magazine print will cease publication with the forthcoming January 2009 issue. I’ll miss it. I think anyone [...]
New York City’s skyline nearly half a century apart
Nearly half a century lies between the two views of New York City’s skyline shown in the pictures above. The two photographs were taken from the same point's a tower of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. The upper one was made only the other day and the lower one is over forty-seven years old. (more...)
